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Habits of Learning: Listening

I can listen with my ears, eye, mouth, and body.

I have been thinking of these Habits of Learning: Listening lessons for more than a year. When I heard the song used on day one of Listening, I knew how this Habit of Learning was going to take shape. I hope you enjoy learning all about Listening this week in Habits of Learning!

If you are just joining us, you might want to start at the beginning:

In this week’s lesson, you will love the song used on day one. I also really like the book that is used to teach how to wait and not interrupt. I liked it so much, the lesson spans two days!

Sounds pretty great! If you are enjoying your Habits of Learning journey…

Join our community! After you complete a lesson, snap a picture and post it to Instagram! Use the hashtag #habitsoflearning and tag @aoneroomshoolhouse. Follow the Schoolhouse and our hashtag to join other Habits of Learning users!

Preparation

Once you have completed the last few weeks of lessons, you are ready to dive into Habits of Learning: Listening. This week of lessons, however, could be done without doing any of the other Habits of Learning. Habits of Learning: Listening could be used as a stand-alone unit.

Here is all you need to do to get ready for this week:

  • Download the lesson plan (link below), print it if desired.
  • Bookmark this blog post that includes live links to use for each lesson containing a video.
  • Print out the song poster for Elmo Knows How to Listen
  • Obtain the book My Mouth is a Volcano or the video link (see above link)
  • Print How to Not Interrupt poster, My Mouth is a Volcano worksheet, and the game cards

Now you are ready to go!

Remember to Practice

The general instructions for the Habits of Learning stay the same from week to week. This week (and from here on out) you will want to encourage your children to do the exploration activities from the previous week’s lesson.

This may be a copy sheet, hymn study, or memorization. Maybe they might like to read a book from the list or watch one of the video links. It does not matter which activity they do, what does matter is that they are still thinking about and learning about the previously studied habit.

Furthermore, make sure you are always looking for ways to praise your children as they progress in the previously studied habits. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO DO!

This focus on continual practice and praise will help further development and generalization. It reinforces the idea that we are always working to improve ourselves.

Special Elements

Below are some of the special elements that you might want to read about before completing the Habits of Learning: Listening lessons.

The Importance of Developing Listening Skills

1. Listening improves language. When a child listens to what others have to say, they develop a larger vocabulary and become stronger communicators.

2. Listening develops literacy. If a child is not able to attend to a conversation, they will miss key development in speech patterns, grammar, and reading ability.

3. Listening aids social development. As children begin interacting with others, listening skills strengthen friendship, social acceptance, and self-concept.

4. Listening strengthens attention span. At a young age, children can improve their attention span by using active listening skills and learning when to speak while they are listening.

5. Listening (specifically problems in this area) can alert parents and teachers to a learning problem. Even before a learning disability starts to affect academic progress, a deficit in listening skills can be a cue that a child has a deeper, underlying learning problem. Intentionally teaching listening skills can help improve overall academic outcomes.

What is Copy Work and Why Do it?

Copywork is copying by hand a well-written passage, quote, definition, mantra, or verse. Really, you could copy anything, but it is more meaningful when you are writing something timeless or inspiring.

Copywork is important for many reasons. Here are just a few:

1. Improves handwriting.

2. Gives the opportunity to understand the verse or passage.

3. Provides a chance to memorize and internalize the passage.

4. Practices letter spacing, punctuation, paragraphing, and syntax without laborious lessons.

5. Reinforces vocabulary development.

6. Furnishes spelling practice in context of great literature.

7. Supplies a calming activity amidst the chaos of a school day.

8. Creates a dialogue about thoughts, feelings, and ideas.

9. Reinforces values and morals without parent or teacher lecture.

The Power of Praise (full post here)

Throughout the Habits of Learning lessons, praise statements are scripted throughout the lessons. This is done on purpose; don’t skip over these statements!

Praise is a powerful teaching tool that will help shape student behavior.

When I was getting my special education teaching credential, my professors were serious about the power of praise in the classroom. Every time we were observed teaching, our evaluator would take a praise rate. In order to score in the “A” range, we had to average 6 praise statements per minute during the observation!

Yep, you read that right. A praise statement every 10 seconds.

You had no idea when they were going to take your rate, so you had to be constantly positive. For a statement to count it had to be unique and specific. You could not just rattle off a million “good jobs”. You had to say things like “Sally, nice handwriting.” or “John, thanks for raising your hand.”

It sounds ridiculous at first, but the more I praised students at this rate, the more I felt the change as a teacher and in my classroom.

Pouring on the praise was like a shower of sunshine on my students. They felt more confident, worked harder, and tried new things.

My professors said that students with a healthy self-concept needed 2 to 3 praise statements for every 1 corrective statement to maintain their positive view. For students that struggled with their self-esteem or that were frequently corrected, this rate could rise to 10 praise statements for every 1 corrective statement to change the tide of negative emotion.

That was the reasoning behind the almost ridiculously high rate of praise required in our observations. We were teaching students with special needs that often carried the burden of very frequent correction and even ridicule.

To change the tide of negativity in these little student’s lives, the teacher needed to literally drench them in praise.

And, you know what? It works!

Grow Our Community

We are growing rapidly and we are so pleased with your support. Keep tagging your friends, using our hashtag (#habitsoflearing), and sharing your Habits of Learning journey.

Let’s keep the social media ball rolling and share this program with your friends! Take pictures and videos of your Habits of Learning: Listening lessons. Post these on Facebook or Instagram. Use the hashtag #habitsoflearning and tag @aoneroomshoolhouse. Follow the Schoolhouse and our hashtag to join other Habits of Learning users!

Downloads

Listening Lesson Plan

Listening Resources

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