Students believe that they are listening all of the time, when in fact they are hearing what is being said, but they are not always comprehending. To illustrate this difference, play a piece of music while students are working. After a period of time, turn the music off and get the students' attention. Ask the students to raise their hand if they were listening to the music. Then, ask the students to recall what the lyrics of the song were. Most students will not be able to recall the lyrics, or even what song was playing. Use this opportunity to explain that listening is not the same as hearing.
A fun way to practice listening is to draw a picture using verbal instructions. The teacher distributes a blank piece of paper and pencil to each student. The teacher then gives instructions on how to draw a simple object step by step. After listening to the instructions, students share their final product. They can then discuss the experience, reflecting on the challenge of the activity and what they can do in the future to listen better.
A KWL chart, which stands for what I know, what I want to know and what I learned, is a way to promote active listening during a lesson. The teacher starts the lesson with a three-column chart and asks what the students already know about the topic, which helps to activate listening. This information goes in the K column. Then, the students share what they want to learn about the topic, which promotes active listening during the lesson because they are listening for answers. This information goes in the W column. After the conclusion of the lesson, the students share what they learned, including any answers to the questions in the W column. This information goes in the L column. This reflection helps to cement the learning in their brains, and the KWL chart gives them a resource to return to for future information.
A way to demonstrate the importance of listening effectively is the telephone game. The telephone game involves students in two teams. The first person from each team whispers a short statement in the next player's ear. The teammates continue to whisper the statement from person to person until the last player. The last player then says the statement out loud, and the first person confirms or corrects the statement. The team that most accurately repeats the original statement in the fastest time wins.