Communication Game
Three students are selected to come to the back of the room while the remaining class members sit. The seated students need a piece of paper and a pen. They are to close their eyes and draw only what their peers say. With the three students selected, I have them take turns in describing the picture to the class. Discussion Questions
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Listening Game
All students stand with their eyes closed holding a piece of paper. As the teacher I provide them all with the same instructions. Every time I play this I create new instructions about folding and tearing the piece of paper. At the end of the instructions the students hold their paper open and see the differing results. Discussion Questions
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Effective Communication - Students brainstorm questions about effective communication. Prompts are Why? What? How? When?
Students work individually before sharing and collating work with their table groups. Groups put their questions on the board under the relevant headings. Students rank the most important questions they believe need answering. This year the questions were:
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Gallery Walk
Once the poster is on the wall, students walk around and read their peers answers. Students write questions that if answered would allow for extended understanding. They leave the post-its on the poster for the group to answer. |
Students start by reading the "Styles of Communication" Evidence and Kid Health Article on Communication
Once they have completed the readings they find their groups, return to their posters and collect the post-it questions their peers provided during the Gallery Walk. Each Group attempts to edit their poster to answer the questions, considering the new information. Students complete another Gallery Walk reading the new information on the poster. |
Students are provided with 1 style of communication (passive/aggressive/assertive. They are asked to create a short skit where they address a "typical" middle school problem and the participants use their allocated communication style to deal with the situation. Students are encouraged to research their communication style and demonstrate their understanding (formatively) in the skit. Students perform their skit in front of the class or a peer group, class members attempt to guess which style they are using. Class discussion on the accuracy and effectiveness of the style. The performing groups takes this feedback to make improvements to their work. |
Formative Assessment
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Introduce students to the task.
Work with students to build an appropriate to take notes on their peers skits (the above formative template is a guide) Students perform their skit in front of the class, the others take notes. Remind students to take into consideration the Task Specific Criteria. I tend after each skit to lead a group discussion to ensure all of the product requirements have been discussed. Remind students to take notes. Provide time, once the skits are complete. To write up their draft. Draft copies should be submitted on google classroom by the end of the lesson for formative feedback. |
Students take the learning from their paragraph and apply the communication techniques to hosting their own Device Free Dinner (an organisation with all the resources you and they will need).
I really enjoy this activity, it address students need to communicate with family, technology etiquette and the creativity of the task. Teacher Warning: Give parents a heads up so they see this one coming. |
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