Whole Earth Curriculum WEC

Lesson 09 — Listen and Fair Fix, Rehearsal

Learners rehearse the unit's two interpersonal skills together — active listening and fair negotiation — by role-playing a disagreement, paraphrasing before responding, and then negotiating a solution both sides can live with.

D02 P1: Emotional & Social Awareness D02.S1 45 minutes Draft

Objectives

Essential question

How do listening and negotiating work together to solve a disagreement fairly?

rehearserole-playlistensay it backnegotiatefair fix

Materials

Standard materials

Low-tech / no-cost

Enriched / lab & device

Works in different contexts

A two-step path with check marks. Step one reads "listen — say it back, check" and step two reads "fair fix — name it, needs, options, choose, check", joined by an arrow, with the words "both skills, one disagreement" beneath. The words and shapes carry the meaning, not color, so it prints clearly in grayscale.
A two-step path with check marks. Step one reads "listen — say it back, check" and step two reads "fair fix — name it, needs, options, choose, check", joined by an arrow, with the words "both skills, one disagreement" beneath. The words and shapes carry the meaning, not color, so it prints clearly in grayscale.

Lesson 9 — Listen and Fair Fix, Rehearsal

Summary

Learners rehearse the unit’s two interpersonal skills together: active listening (say it back, check) and fair negotiation (name it, needs, options, choose, check). They role-play a disagreement, paraphrase before responding, and then negotiate a solution both sides can live with.

Objectives

  • Practice active listening by paraphrasing what a partner said before responding. (D02.S1.04.01)
  • Negotiate a fair solution to a disagreement with a peer, with minimal adult help. (D02.S1.04.02)

Connection

Real disagreements do not wait to be solved one skill at a time. You listen and you negotiate, in one flow: first you say back what the other person needs so they know they are heard; then you find a fix that gives both of you something. It is like two steps of one dance — listen, then fix. A fisher listens to the water and then casts; a friend hears you out and then helps you find a way. Today you rehearse the whole dance, slowly, until it feels natural.

Materials

  • A combined-skills poster
  • Role-play scenario cards
  • A voice recorder (optional)

Preparation

  • Post the combined-skills poster: “listen (say it back, check)” then “fair fix (name it, needs, options, choose, check)”.
  • Prepare friendly role-play scenario cards with two clear sides.
  • Arrange a “stage” space for role-plays.

Facilitator note

This rehearsal combines and retrieves Lessons 1 and 2 — the heart of the unit’s interpersonal work. The evidence-based move here is spaced practice with feedback: rather than teaching anything new, learners retrieve and use both skills together, and get a peer-check on whether they used them (see docs/contexts.md on retrieval and feedback). Run it as guided practice before any independent role-play (Kirschner, Sweller & Clark, 2006). Protect the flow: listen first, then fix — a fair fix that skips the paraphrase often misses what the other side actually needs. Watch for the learner who jumps straight to “winning”; invite them back to “what did you hear them need?” Honor every way of performing — sign, gesture, a written script, a puppet, a scribed line — all are full rehearsals. This is egalitarian and ethical practice: both voices get heard, and the fix must serve both. A learner who uses only one skill today is not yet at both — name the one they did well, then invite the second. Read the procedure aloud.

Procedure

  1. Gather (5 min). You have practiced two skills: listen and say it back (Lesson
    1. and negotiate a fair fix (Lesson 2). Today you put them together, like two steps of one dance.
  2. Recall the two skills (10 min). Say them back without looking: listen — say it back in your own words, then check. Fair fix — name the problem, say what each side needs, think of options, choose one both can live with, check it feels fair. Watch a worked example: two volunteers run one whole flow for the class.
  3. Rehearse in pairs (20 min). Draw a role-play card. One of you starts with the problem. The other listens and says it back before responding. Then together you negotiate a fair fix using the five steps. Switch roles and try a second scenario. Your partner checks you: “Did you say it back? Is the fix fair to both?”
  4. Swap feedback (5 min). Tell your partner one thing they did well and one thing to try next time — kindly, like a coach, never like a judge.
  5. Close (5 min). Listen, then fix — the whole dance. You have both steps now, and you can do them together, with almost no adult help. That is a skill for life.

Differentiation

  • Support: Offer the poster as a two-step script and a scenario with only two options; a non-speaking learner points to each step as their partner performs it.
  • Extension: Add a third role — a “checker” who watches and then tells the pair whether both skills were used and whether the fix served both sides.

Assessment

  • Formative (performance/observation): In the role-play, does the learner paraphrase before responding and then use the five fair-fix steps to reach a solution both sides accept?
  • Peer (check): The partner (or checker) confirms: “They said it back” and “the fix was fair to both.”

Home connection

The next time a disagreement comes up at home, try the whole dance — listen and say it back, then find a fair fix — and tell someone which step was hardest for you.

Resources