Development Goals - Review Process
- Take Action
Development - A project of LSF
Listening Takes Heart is the first lesson plan in a set of three centered around the theme of Citizenship prepared for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
In this lesson, the students will observe an artwork and using Visual Thinking Strategies prompts describe what they see and support their observations with evidence from the picture. Using this discussion as a springboard, the students then move on to role-playing listening with kindness. As a class the students will brainstorm things they like about their community and make a list of what could be improved. The students will choose one issue to work toward making better and then create individual posters with text that communicate to others to take action on the issue. Posters will be shared in class and then displayed around the school.
Through the role playing activity, the students are taught explicitly how to listen with kindness and visual thinking strategies.
The lesson is meant to be used as part of a three part unit for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day but it could also stand alone in the Visual Arts room as a beginning of the year lesson. It is also applicable in Social Studies as a lesson focusing on community and how an individual has responsibilities within that community.
The following tool will allow you to explore the relevant curriculum matches for this resource. To start, select a province listed below.
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives | Very Good | |
Consideration of Alternative Perspectives:
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions | Satisfactory | |
Multiple Dimensions of Problems & Solutions: Effectively addresses the environmental, economic and social dimensions of the issue(s) being explored.
Respects Complexity | Satisfactory | |
Respects Complexity: The complexity of the problems/issues being discussed is respected. | ||
Acting on Learning | Good | The acting on learning in this lesson is to create a poster for their school to encourage others to act upon the problem selected by the class. |
Acting on Learning: Learning moves from understanding issues to working towards positive change — in personal lifestyle, in school, in the community, or for the planet
Values Education | Very Good | The opportunity for this arises through the discussions that will occur during the lesson as well as with the final poster project. |
Values Education: Students are explicitly provided with opportunities to identify, clarify and express their own beliefs/values. | ||
Empathy & Respect for Humans | Very Good | Students are taught how to listen with kindness along with a message that we might interpret things differently as we all have different traits and backgrounds that make us who we are. |
Empathy & Respect for Humans: Empathy and respect are fostered for diverse groups of humans (including different genders, ethnic groups, sexual preferences, etc.). | ||
Personal Affinity with Earth | Poor/Not considered | This component is not a focus of this resource. |
Personal Affinity with Earth: Encourages a personal affinity with -the natural world.
Locally-Focused Learning | Very Good | As the goal of the lesson is to create posters to encourage positive change in the students' community, this lesson plan is definitely locally focused. |
Locally-Focused Learning: Includes learning experiences that take advantage of issues/elements within the local community.
Past, Present & Future | Very Good | |
Past, Present & Future: Promotes an understanding of the past, a sense of the present, and a positive vision for the future. |
Principle | Rating | Explanation |
Open-Ended Instruction | Very Good | |
: Lessons are structured so that multiple/complex answers are possible; students are not steered toward one 'right' answer. | ||
Integrated Learning | Good | Strong Visual Arts focus could easily be used in a Language Arts classroom as well as in Social Studies. |
Integrated Learning: Learning brings together content and skills from more than one subject area
Inquiry Learning | Very Good | |
Inquiry Learning: Learning is directed by questions, problems, or challenges that students work to address.
Differentiated Instruction | Good | Addresses the needs of visual, auditory and kinesthetic learners, lack of strategies for learners with difficulties. |
Differentiated Instruction: Activities address a range of student learning styles, abilities and readiness.
Experiential Learning | Poor/Not considered | This component is not a focus of this lesson. |
Experiential Learning: Authentic learning experiences are provided
Cooperative Learning | Good | With the focus on listening with kindness, the students are learning skills that are cooperative in nature; however, these skills are not assessed. |
Cooperative Learning: Group and cooperative learning strategies are a priority.
Assessment & Evaluation | Poor/Not considered | There is a short assessment suggestion that says, "Student pictures should demonstrate thought and attention to visual design to communicate a message of respect and take action for the school." The teacher may want to develop a rubric with the students in order to provide direction for the students. |
Assessment & Evaluation: Tools are provided that help students and teachers to capture formative and summative information about students' learning and performance. These tools may include reflection questions, checklists, rubrics, etc. | ||
Peer Teaching | Good | Students share their posters and what they hope others will learn from their pictures. |
Peer Teaching: Provides opportunities for students to actively present their knowledge and skills to peers and/or act as teachers and mentors.
Case Studies | Poor/Not considered | The focus of the lesson does not lend itself toward the examination of a case study. |
Case Studies: Relevant case studies are included. Case studies are thorough descriptions of real events from real situations that students use to explore concepts in an authentic context. | ||
Locus of Control | Very Good | This is a strength of this resource as the students direct the nature of the poster's content as well as how they will illustrate the issue. |
Locus of Control: Meaningful opportunities are provided for students to choose elements of program content, the medium in which they wish to work, and/or to go deeper into a chosen issue. |