Podcasting+Ideas

There are endless possibilities for using podcasting in the classroom. Here are just a few:

Word-of-the-Day/Week For this lesson, teachers can create word-of-the-day (or week) lists. The recording may include: • Word (pronounced properly) • Syllabic pronunciation of the word • Spelling of the word • Meaning of the word • The word in a sentence • Synonyms and/or Antonyms of the word This type of lesson is very useful when teaching a new language and introducing new linguistic concepts. Another version of this type of lesson is to ask students to record their own word-of-the-day/week to share. They can record their word and then use it in a sentence.

Class Report For this lesson, teachers can create a summary of class activities for students and/or the families on a weekly or monthly basis. Alternatively, students may work in groups to take turns in creating reports or summaries of what they've learned and/or what they did in class. This may then be listened to in class and/or shared with families.

Student Interviews For this lesson, students can create podcasts to record interviews. They can choose to record each other, their family members, their friends, and/or significant individuals. Another possibility is to record 'role play' activities in podcasts. For example, if a class is doing a lesson in history, some students can 'role play' the role of reporters, while other students can 'role play' the role of historical figures.

Sound Tours For this lesson, teachers may wish to create digital recordings of places, activities, and other concepts. For example, when teaching about transportation, teachers may wish to create a sound tour podcast of what bus depots sound like, or airports, train stations, etc. Students may also be encouraged to create their own sound tours using basic recording equipment like mobile phones. They can create a sound tour of their everyday activities or their favorite places to visit.

Listening Comprehension For this lesson, students listen to a podcast and report out what they learned. This could be done as a whole class activity or in small groups where each team has a different podcast on the same topic. Each team reports out their learning, which adds to the class collective. This is a great lesson for Language Teachers!

Exit Visas On the way out, students are prompted to respond to comprehension questions posed by the teacher. Teacher records their answers as an exit interview. The next day, while the students are entering the class, the podcast is playing. This provides students with a review of the previous day’s learning.

The sky's the limit. Use your creativity. - short talks; impromptu speeches; - self-evaluation of own talk; - oral assignments, eg., individually, students answer the question posed by the teacher; - panel discussions; - interviews; situatinal dialogues; - radio plays; dramas - reading-aloud: poetry, prose, fiction, Bible, jazz chants, ELT rap - story telling; - presenting the results of a project, survey, etc.
 * MORE?**