Empathic Listening Curriculum
The Empathic Listening Curriculum is designed to help middle school students (grades 6-8) develop essential communication skills, with a focus on empathic listening, social awareness, and relationship-building. The curriculum includes eight core lessons that build upon each other, integrating social-emotional learning (SEL) competencies and aligning with the Chapman Foundation for Caring Communities’ mission.
Curriculum Structure
Grade Level: 6-8
Total Lessons: 7
Duration: Each lesson is designed to be delivered in a 45 minute session.
Instructional Strategies: Interactive activities, video-based discussion, role-playing, group discussions, self-reflection, and real-world application exercises.
Lesson Plan
#1
Adolescent Brain Development: Why is it Important to Practice Empathetic Listening Now?
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will know strengths of adolescent development, and they will understand benefits of practicing social emotional skills during their teenage years.
Key Concepts: adolescent development; brain development; empathetic listening
SEL Competencies: Self-Awareness
Standards:
1A.3a. Identify the connections between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
#2
Why is Emotional Awareness Key for Communication and Relationships?
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will identify emotions (e.g., anxious, nervous, excited, deflated, concerned) and personal catalysts of emotional reactions and emotion regulation skills.
Key Concepts: there are a wide range of emotions; emotions are not mutually exclusive; emotion regulation
SEL Competencies:
Self-Regulation: identifying and expressing emotions
Standards:
1A.3b. Apply self- regulation skills to effectively express emotions, including strong emotions.
#3
How Can I Be a Better Communicator: Reflective Listening and Nonverbal Communication
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe effective and ineffective non-verbal communication.
Key Concepts: active and reflective listening, paraphrasing, summarizing, validating feelings, nonverbal cues
SEL Competencies: Social awareness
Standards:
2A.3a. Practice perspective-taking to infer understanding of others’ thoughts, feelings, and intentions.
2B.3a. Exchange ideas and beliefs with individuals and social and cultural groups across lines of difference through open-minded communication.
#4
How are Emotions, Communication, and Decision-Making Connected
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will know two regions of the brain that are developing especially during adolescence (limbic system and prefrontal cortex) and how emotions, communication, and decision making are all connected in the brain; Students will practice making decisions aligned with values.
Key Concepts: brain development; prefrontal cortex; limbic system; emotions are in the brain too; risk-taking in adolescence
SEL Competencies: Responsible decision-making
Standards:
3A.3a. Consider how curiosity, honesty, fairness, and compassion enable them to take the needs and wants of self and others into account when making decisions, including seeking help from an adult for a peer whose well-being may be endangered.
3B.3a. Reflect on how decision-making skills contribute to their study habits, academics, relationships, and participation in group activities in and out of school.
#5
Multifaceted Identities and Perspective Taking
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will reflect on their multifaceted aspects of their identity and be able to identify ways we often perceive others and ways we want to be perceived.
Key Concepts: identity, stereotypes, perceptions, the communication cycle
SEL Competencies: Self-awareness; social awareness
Standards:
2B.3b. Demonstrate understanding of how culture or life experience shapes communication within and between identity groups.
2B.3c. Reflect on the role of bias against individual, social, and cultural differences in bullying, stereotyping, prejudice, and microaggressions.
#6
How to be an Accountable Community Member?
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to distinguish accountability behaviors and destructive behaviors in communication; students will be able to use accountability behaviors to promote personal and collective wellbeing.
Key Concepts: destructive communication behaviors (e.g., gossip, victim thinking, blame throwing, recreational complaining, automatic listening), accountable communication behaviors
SEL Competencies: Social awareness; responsible decision-making
Standards:
2C.3b. Demonstrate cooperation and teamwork to promote group well-being and collective efficacy.
3B.3b. As part of decision-making, consider strategies for making choices based on their values that promote personal and collective safety and well-being.
#7
How Can I use Empathic Listening When It Is Hard?
Objective: By the end of the lesson, students will be able to describe potential causes of conflict using the communication cycle and use “I” statements or other empathic listening skills to respond constructively to conflict.
Key Concepts: accountability; conflict; “I” statements
SEL Competencies: Self-awareness & social awareness
Standards:
2D.3a. Describe potential causes and consequences of conflicts; recognizing that power and privilege impact relationships.
2D.3b. Practice strategies for responding constructively to conflict and relational aggression.