Week 06 — Active Listening & Empathy

Unit 2: Lead With Others • Domain II
Essential Question: Can I make others feel heard?
Key Performance: Listening Lab fishbowl + 1-page "What I do with my face" reflection.

Day 1 — The 3 Levels of Listening (Re-visit)

Objective: SWBAT distinguish listening to fix, to respond, and to understand.
Do-Now (5): "Describe a time someone really listened to you. What did they do?" • Circle (5): Single word. • Mini-Lesson (10): 3 levels chart + body cues. • Practice (25): Pair lab — A talks 3 min, B only listens (no questions), then re-voices. Switch. • Close (5): "Which level do I default to?"

Day 2 — Empathy ≠ Agreement

Objective: SWBAT articulate empathy as understanding without requiring agreement.
Do-Now (5): "A time I was misunderstood." • Circle (5): Roses/thorns. • Mini-Lesson (10): Show Brené Brown empathy/sympathy clip (3 min). Frame: empathy is feeling with, not feeling sorry for. • Practice (25): Triad — speaker shares a mild frustration; listener responds with sympathy phrase, then empathy phrase; observer scores. Rotate. • Close (5): Exit phrase: "What I'm hearing is ___ and that makes sense because ___."

Day 3 — Questions That Open vs Close

Objective: SWBAT generate open-ended questions that invite reflection.
Do-Now (5): "List 5 questions a parent or teacher asks you that you hate answering. Why?" • Circle (5): Check-in. • Mini-Lesson (10): Closed (yes/no, judging) vs open (what/how/when). • Practice (25): Question-storming — pair generates 20 open questions about a peer-chosen topic; rank top 5. • Close (5): "An open question I'll try this week is ___."

Day 4 — Listening Lab Fishbowl

Objective: SWBAT demonstrate active listening in front of peers and receive feedback.
Do-Now (5): Re-read the listening rubric. • Circle (5): Brave check-in. • Mini-Lesson (5): Fishbowl protocol — 1 speaker, 1 listener, outer ring observes with rubric. 4 min. Then feedback. • Practice (30): 4 rotations × 7 min. Different listeners. • Close (5): Self-rate.

Day 5 — Friday Circle: Heard

Do-Now (5): Write your "What I do with my face" reflection. • Circle (25): Friday Circle. Today's round: "Something a classmate said this week that stuck with me." (Names!) • Practice (15): Portfolio upload + peer shout-outs. • Close (5): Leader of the Week.

Assessment

4-pt fishbowl rubric: Attention (body) • Re-voicing accuracy • Open questions • Empathy phrase use.

Differentiation

Pass rule explicit. Foundational — sentence-frame card during fishbowl.

Sub Plan

Pair listening lab (Day 1) works as a standalone sub day.

Stretch & Swap

Bring in counselor or restorative-practices coordinator to co-teach Day 4 fishbowl.