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ACTIVE LISTENING

Truly Hearing What Others Say

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I've been a passionate classroom teacher for 16 years, working across Title I, charter, magnet, and National Blue Ribbon schools with students in grades 3–9. I'm AuDHD — autistic and ADHD. I believe in empowering students through engaging lessons that connect to their real lives and interests. This resource was built to help your students think for themselves in a world that's changing fast. Questions about this resource or anything education-related? I'd love to hear from you at amandawritenow.com/contact.

FOR THE TEACHER

MEET AMANDA

LISTEN TO THE

EMPOWER STUDENTS NOW PODCAST

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This slideshow by Amanda Write Now/Amanda Werner includes a limited license for one classroom use only.

This slideshow may not be copied and distributed outside the scope of your classroom. This slideshow may not be uploaded to the Internet or stored in a public retrieval system outside of the scope of the product itself.

This slideshow may not be used to create something new, and or, distributed in any way without written consent from the author, Amanda Werner.

If a colleague is interested in this slideshow please refer them to amandawritenow.com. Sharing the file with others is against the terms of use for this resource.

If you have any questions pertaining to the limited license for this product, please contact Amanda Werner at amanda@amandawritenow.com

Thank you so much for abiding by these terms and for your business!

TERMS OF USE

FOR THE TEACHER

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Claude by Anthropic was an artificial tool used to support the creation of this free resource. The specifics of how Claude was utilized are outlined below.

Claude was used to draft the copy of this resource. Amanda revised and edited the copy as needed.

All the images used in this product are royalty free, open source graphics from Pixabay, they are not AI-generated.

The design choices (fonts, organization, image placement) were drafted by Claude, then restructured, and customized by Amanda Werner.

Amanda Werner �amandawritenow.com

AI TRANSPARENCY STATEMENT

FOR THE TEACHER

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ACTIVE LISTENING COMPONENTS:

Presence: Being mentally and physically there

Comprehension: Understanding meaning, not just words

Reflection: Checking your understanding

Response: Engaging with what was actually said

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WHAT IT'S NOT

✗

Just hearing words

✗

Waiting for your turn to talk

✓ Giving full attention to understand meaning

WHAT IT IS

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REFLECT (1 minute):

Think of the last conversation you had…

Were you really listening, or planning your response?

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ACTIVE LISTENING LOOKS LIKE:

Put down distractions (electronics, phones) when someone speaks

Try to make eye contact if possible/if conformable

Use body language to show engagement (nodding, leaning in)

Ask clarifying questions

Paraphrase to check understanding

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PAIR UP

(5 minutes total)

Partner A: Talk for 2 minutes about something you care about

Partner B: ONLY listen. No talking, no interrupting. Then, summarize without adding opinions.

Then, switch!

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HOW HARD WAS IT?

Most people find just listening incredibly difficult

We want to jump in with our own stories

We want to give advice

We want to agree or disagree

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DIFFERENT TYPES OF LISTENING

Information

Learning facts or instructions

Understanding

Grasping perspective or reasoning

Emotion

Someone needs to be heard

Collaboration

Building ideas together

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ACTIVE LISTENING = ASKING QUESTIONS

Examples of good questions to ask:

"Can you tell me more about that?"

"What do you mean by...?"

"So what I'm hearing is... Is that right?"

"How did that make you feel?"

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LISTENING ≠ AGREEMENT

You can deeply listen to someone and completely disagree

Listening means respecting them enough to understand their perspective.

It doesn't mean you have to change your mind.

But it creates space for real dialogue.

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QUESTION MARATHON

SMALL GROUPS (4 minutes)

One person shares something they care about

Everyone else can ONLY ask questions—no statements, no advice.

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WHY ACTIVE LISTENING IS IMPORTANT

Active listening is the foundation of:

✓

Empathy and connection

✓

Learning from others

✓

All meaningful relationships

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YOUR CHALLENGE

THIS WEEK:

In ONE conversation, practice full attention.

Put down your phone, make eye contact, just listen.

Notice what changes.

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REMEMBER

Being truly heard is rare and powerful.

When you listen, you give someone that gift.

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