Conversation Journal Lesson Plan

SEL Competencies

Self-Awareness

Social Awareness

Objectives

Students will be able to demonstrate social awareness by keeping a journal of their conversations over a school break or weekend, nothing who they spoke to and the topics of the conversations. Students will practice active listening to create more meaningful connections with others.

Assessment

Classroom Participation

Conversation Presentation

Completion and Content of Journal Entries

Lesson Key Points

Social awareness includes being mindful of others and understanding other perspectives and feelings.

Keeping a journal can help increase reflection on interactions, strengthen self-awareness, and encourage ownership of one’s behavior.

Practicing active listening increases engagement in meaningful conversations and can deepen relationships with family and friends.

Being socially aware can positively impact our personal and academic lives.

Opening

Discuss the definitions of social awareness and active listening (see below).

Then, ask the students the following questions:

Have you ever thought about the impact of your conversations with others?

Do you actively listen when others speak and remember what they talked about?

Social Awareness: the ability to understand the perspectives of and empathize with others.

Active Listening: Being fully engaged while another person is talking and listening with the intent to understand the other person rather than to respond.

Activity

Introduce the Social Journal Sheet and model how to fill it out. Break students into pairs to have a conversation as they complete the first line of the sheet.

Support a class discussion by asking questions such as “What was the conversation about?” and progressing to more in-depth questions like “How does it feel when someone is actively listening to you?

After the Break/Weekend

Students will share one engaging conversation that made them feel the most connected to the other person.

Allow students to write or share their responses to the following questions:

Why did that conversation stand out to you? How did it make you feel?

Do you feel like you’re a better active listener now? Why or why not?

Access the downloadable Conversation Lesson Plan and Journal here.

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