MindUP - Lesson 4

Mindful Listening

Sensory Awareness

Activities in this unit will teach us how to train our brain to pay more attention to the things that matter.

What is Mindful Listening?

Mindful Listening helps us choose which sounds to focus our attention on and helps us to be thoughtful in the way we hear and respond to the words of others.

Day 1 - Linking to Brain Research - RAS

R.A.S. - Reticular Activation System - nerve pathways that connect the brain stem to the brain.

IMPORTANT because:

- - - keeps the brain awake
    - attention-focusing center
    - all information coming in is screened: important stuff sent on to the brain / unimportant stuff is blocked

The brain can not make sense of the millions of bits of information coming in at once.

Just think of ALL the stimuli (things you see, feel, hear, smell, and taste) around you right now.

- - - teacher's voice
    - other students talking
    - air temperature
    - sounds from outside
    - watching another student doing something
    - a bird flying by the window
    - smell of someone's snack
    - rumbling stomach

A mindful / focused student can keep his / her attention on the task at hand.

Focused professionals have trained their RAS to choose the most important stimuli so they can give their full attention to what they need to do.

Right now, what are some things you can....

see
hear
taste
feel
smell

senses recording chart

Activity:

Find two substances, one of which can filter through a strainer, the other can not. The smaller substance represents important stimuli (information) that must get to the brain, the larger substance represents unimportant stimuli that the RAS blocks. The strainer represents the RAS. Poor both into the strainer and discuss the results.

Discuss:

What information from your senses is your RAS allowing through right now?

How about at lunch or in Phys Ed class?

Day 2 - Warm-Up - Volume Control Practice

Activity #1

One student at a time demonstrate the appropriate voice level for the following situations:

independent work time
working in a group
performing on a stage
reading out-loud to the class
playing outside at recess

Activity #2

With the teacher (or a student) acting as "conductor" slowly open and close your hands as the class makes a singing "Ahhh" sound.

The closer the hands are together, the softer / quieter the sound.

The further your hands are apart the louder the sound.

Discuss:

How might learning to self-regulate your voice be a useful strategy for getting along and doing well at school?

Day 3 - Engage, Explore, Reflect - Mystery Sounds!

Discuss:

Why is listening important for....

- - - school
    - friends / family
    - your own pleasure (music)

Do you think listening is a skill or a talent? What is the difference?

How do you pay attention to just one sound when there is a lot of sound going on around you?

What are some times you are able to ignore distractions and focus on one important sound?

Activity:

Material

- - - personal white board or Mystery Sound Activity Sheet
    - various items that make specific sounds (paper, cards, coins, marbles, sandpaper, wood blocks)

The teacher or a chosen student makes a hidden sound (behind a divider, somewhere out of sight)

- - - tap a pencil
    - crumple paper
    - shake coins in a jar
    - shuffle cards
    - clap blocks together
    - open / close a pair of scissors

The class records what they think they are hearing on the activity sheet or whiteboard. They can include specific descriptions of each sound and / or say what it made them think about.

Reveal the identity of the sound-maker.

Discuss:

How did you listen differently to the activity when compared to how you listen to regular sounds?

If you lost your focus on the sound, what happened?

How can this kind of listening affect your brain?

What areas of your brain did a lot of work during this activity?

Day 4 - Career Connection - Doctors

Mindful listening can be a matter of life and death!

Doctors are master mindful listeners.

- - listen to a patient's body: hearts, lungs, abdomens
  - listen to what the patients say: what is bothering them and their symptoms

What it takes to be a doctor - YouTube 1:00

What are some other careers that depend on mindful listening?

Try:

- - to take some time BEFORE answering a question from a teacher, friend or parent
  - put together a thoughtful response

Day 5 - Journal Writing

Draw and write about 2 sounds, one that is enjoyable and one that is upsetting.

Journal Page

Day 6 - Stories Full of Sound

Talk about how characters in movies or on TV often have theme music when they are on the screen.

- Movie Theme Song Quiz - Youtube 10:00 (fast forward once one is guessed or totally unknown)
- List of 20 choices

- Movie Theme Song Quiz II
- List of 20 choices

Choose a favorite story and have children brainstorm several sounds they can make when they hear recurring words or phrases such as:

- a character's name
- a repeated line of dialogue
- an action that's repeated, such as walking through the woods.

Have them make the appropriate sound every time they hear a word of phrase on your list.

Day 7 - Who Said That?

Use word choice and tone in dialogue to identify characters and feelings.

Select several phrases of dialogue from various books or stories you've read aloud.

After listening to the words, the students should try to name the speaker and explain why they think he or she is saying these words.

You can use these excerpts from Bedroom Tales and Fairy Tales and Tall Tales
You can display this list of choices to refresh memories.

Day 8 - Regrouping is a Song

Practice addition with regrouping by putting the skill to use with a song.

- Adding Doubles: Youtube 4:30
- Addition with Regrouping: Youtube 3:19

Day 9 - Journal Writing II - what you hear when...

Use this journal page to draw a picture of yourself.....

- by a lake
- in a forest
- on a beach
- in a busy city
- or anywhere where you can imagine specific sounds you know.

Then list the sounds you would hear if you were mindfully listening in that setting.

Day 10 - Literature Link

The Cat Who Wore a Pot on Her Head

by Jan Slepian and Ann Seidler

Little cat Bendomelina, in an attempt to drown out family noise, wears a pot on her head. A hilarious set of misadventures ensues as a result of Bendomelina's unfocused listening.

Youtube reading: 7:40