·       Self-awareness

·       Self-management

·       Social awareness

·       Relationship skills

·       Responsible decision-making

NCSS Social Studies Themes:

·       Culture

Common Core ELA-Literacy:

·       Speaking and Listening Standards – Comprehension and Collaboration

●      What does active listening look like?

●      What does constructive feedback look like, and how can it be helpful?

●      Answer questions about a topic to help a peer understand it better

●      Offer constructive feedback on productive dialogue in an interview

●      Practice active listening skills as an interview subject, interviewer, and observer offering feedback.

Warm Up: Have the class make a list of challenges that could arise during an interview. Some possible suggestions are listed below. Ask the class to come up with examples of what this could look like:

●      The interviewer could ask a question that makes an assumption about something the person does or believes in based on their religion.

●      The interviewer could ask a question that has so many parts to it is hard to understand.

●      The interviewer could a one question that has already been answered.

●      The interview subject could answer a question using spokesperson syndrome.

●      The interview subject could answer a question in such a complicated way that the interviewer cannot understand the response.

●      The interview subject could show discomfort about answering a question. 

Once students are in small groups, review the following directions:

1. Pick a topic about something you know a good amount about and care a moderate amount about.  It should not be something you care very passionately about or something you can’t talk much about.  This is a topic you will be interviewed about.
2. Write down your interview topic on a slip of paper and exchange in your small groups.
3. Once you have a topic from someone in your group, spend 10 minutes thinking about what you want to learn about the topic in the interview you will conduct.  Do some additional research if needed.  Jot down some questions.
4. Once you have the questions created, let your teacher know you are ready.

Teacher notes: As the teacher, you may decide to time each rotation (5-10 minutes is suggested).  You may also configure the group sizes based on the number of students in your class.  Make sure all students have a role and are clear on their responsibilities.

Before they begin, you may need to review what is constructive feedback that is helpful, as opposed to generic, vague feedback.

Prompts for constructive feedback (which you may print out individually for students):

●      What went well in the interview?

●      What obstacles/issues did you see come up in the interview?

●      What constructive feedback do you have for both the interviewer and subject?

●      What did you learn about the topic?

You may also instruct students to not stick to all the questions they wrote or ask them in the exact order they have time in order to practice active listening skills. They should ask follow up questions which could be an effort to clarify something or based on something said that sparks a new interest.  Students may also cut out a question or reorder questions for a more genuine, natural flow of topics.

You may choose to model an interview yourself with a student, showcasing some natural skills or some potential issues for students to identify.

Once students have topics and questions and are clear on directions, have them rotate through so they each get a chance to interview a subject, be the subject in an interview and offer constructive feedback when observing an interview.

When all students have completed this exercise, you may have a whole group discussion on main takeaways and constructive feedback.

●      What did you learn about this topic from the interview? 

●      What skills did you practice?

●      How will you use this practice to help you in an interview in the future?

A follow up self-reflection assignment could be assigned based on the wrap up prompts.  Students could be graded on writing an in-depth reflection that is personal based on their roles in the class lesson.