Working together: productive discussions and active listening skills
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain what makes a productive discussion and understand what makes an effective active listener
Key learning points
- A productive discussion means thinking, listening and speaking clearly to develop it in a meaningful way.
- Listening is an important discussion skill - it helps to create a supportive and respectful environment.
- Active listening means you are completely engaged and focused on what is being delivered to you.
- Using positive body language can help demonstrate active listening and keep you focused on the content being delivered.
Keywords
Spontaneous - in speaking and discussions this means saying things without prior planning or preparation
Productive - achieving a lot or producing good results in an efficient way
Respectful - showing consideration and kindness for others' feelings and opinions; treating people politely
Active listening - fully concentrating, understanding and responding thoughtfully to what someone is saying
Body language - non-verbal cues or gestures such as facial expressions and posture
Common misconception
As long as I am being quiet, I am listening.
Although being quiet is an effective way to show you are listening, there are many other things to consider to ensure you are 'actively listening'.
Teacher tip
You may wish to adapt the scenarios for Task A and B to reflect your own pupils and their areas of development.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which skills are you most likely to be using when in a discussion?
Q2.Which of these would not be considered appropriate in a discussion?
Q3.What does it mean to be a good listener in a discussion?
Q4.Which of the following shows you are being respectful during a discussion?
Q5.Why might it be a good idea to ask questions during a discussion?
Q6. When giving your opinion in a discussion, what is the best way to communicate?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does active listening involve?
Q2.Which of these is not a key spoken language skill for a productive discussion?
Q3.When referring to speaking and discussions, which word beginning with 's' can be described as: 'saying things without prior planning or preparation'?
Q4.Which positive body language gesture demonstrates active listening?
Q5.How can active listening improve discussions?
Q6.Which of the following words are synonyms for the word 'respectful'?
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Working together: productive discussions and active listening skills, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 7 English lesson on: Working together: productive discussions and active listening skills, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 English lessons from the The fundamentals of effective discussion unit, dive into the full secondary English curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.