Only Social Studies in the Building. Using podcasts as teaching tools
I know I’m not the only one who’s waiting to find out the ending to Season Two, Only Murders in the Building. A True Crime show about a True Crime podcast? With Steve Martin? What could be better?
Even if you’re not an #OMITB fan, I’m guessing that you’re probably following at least one or two actual podcasts. Perfect for anywhere, anytime learning and listening, podcasts can also be great additions to your social studies classroom.
Why podcasts?
Better listeners make better readers make better writers
Researchers understand that when kids are exposed to the sounds that make up spoken words and listen to stories, they hear grammar and syntax and understand how words should come together. All of this helps lead to higher comprehension. And better readers make better writers. Which we want. So it doesn’t matter how old your kids are, listening to podcasts is a good thing.
Podcasts offer a wide range of narrative types and content
So many podcasts. So much content. The good thing about the current love of podcasts is that there is a ton of options to choose from: current events and news, history, TED talks, geography, civics, fiction, sports, entertainment, investigative journalism, if you have a topic, I’m pretty sure you can find a podcast about it. You get to choose the content and style that fits your specific instructional needs. And using different types and formats hooks your kids while exposing them to a hodgepodge of narration, dialogue, and interviews styles that helps expand their understanding of communication types beyond simply text.
If a student misses class, they don’t have to miss the content
This is anywhere, anytime. We need to be taking advantage of the technology.
Podcast transcripts can help students stay focused
Most podcasts provide transcripts along with their audio clips. Reading along with the audio helps with student focus while listening. Transcripts also support the ability to go back and review anything that they didn’t get the first time.
Even without the transcript, students need variety in the way that they access and comprehend information. Listening to a podcast just adds one more option to your teacher tool belt.
Podcasts are free, easy to use, and well . . . it’s kinda the cool thing right now
Zero dollars. That’s how much it costs to use a podcast. Zero. Which is probably what your classroom budget is right now. They literally will download to your device without you having to do a thing. And let’s just admit it . . . a good podcast is a good time.
Podcasts are good for the SEL
Listening plays a huge part in your student’s social and emotional well-being. Researchers found that when we’re engaged in listening to stories, our brains associate that with safety and not with social anxiety. And guess what? This encourages even more listening which encourages even better SEL which encourages . . . well, you get the idea. It’s a good thing.
The Cult of Pedagogy people created a great graphic that combines a bunch of these ideas. Be sure to catch all of what they have to say on – what else – Episode 174 of their podcast.
Before using podcasts
- Understand your school’s media policies.
- Review the podcast for appropriateness and quality. Listen for diverse voices and perspectives.
- Make sure students have access if you’re asking them to listen outside the class or during the school day.
- Decide how much frontloading needs to happen.
While using podcasts
- Provide a way for students to summarize the content. This could be something as simple as having them complete a History Frame or Story Frame while listening. You might also encourage kids to improve their Sketchnoting skills while listening.
- I’m a huge fan of Hexagonal Thinking. You can provide pre-filled hexagons for students to arrange while listening or, even better, have them fill in and manipulate the hexagons as they listen.
- Ask students to create a list of words and phrases that catch their attention while listening. Have them use their list to create found poetry that summarizes their thinking.
- Project Zero has so many great thinking routines you should be using. But the 12 strategies focused on Synthesizing and Organizing Ideas seem perfect for podcast listening.
- A series of simple Think Pair Share activities during podcast commercial breaks can work.
After using podcasts
- If you flipped your classroom and had students listen outside of your class, you’ve probably already decided what to do with the content once your kids file back in. But a Socratic Seminar would work.
- Have students create a mind map of the podcast.
- Ask students to pull out their connected hexagon tiles. Have them explain their arrangement either orally or on a shared Google Doc or a big poster paper or in small groups or . . .
- Create a FlipGrid that encourages student discussion and teacher feedback.
- Continue the conversation using popular social media hashtags while asking students to connect what they learned to larger themes.
- Encourage (or require) the use of podcasts as primary sources that students incorporate into their own research.
- And perhaps best of all, ask that students create their own podcasts as research or as formative and summative assessments. NPR has a great how-to guide for creating podcasts.
What are some podcasts that can work in the Social Studies classroom?
I’ve haven’t seen a better place to start than this amazing spreadsheet of podcast goodness created by #sschat co-moderator and social studies guru Chris Hitchcock. You get titles, links, and suggestions for use.
The good and bad all at the same time? There are hundreds of options but . . . that can make it difficult tracking down what you need. So head over there, then come back here for some of my favorites.
The classics
- The Stuff You Missed in History Class
You get complex and relevant facts, like how smallpox was eradicated and shares histories lost or manipulated over time, including the tale of Mildred Fish Harnack, a Nazi resistance fighter from Wisconsin. Hosts pay special attention to the histories of underrepresented groups. - RadioLab
Radiolab asks deep questions and uses investigative journalism to get the answers. Episodes might whirl you through science, legal history, and into the home of someone halfway across the world. - This American Life
An entertaining kind of journalism that’s built around plot. In other words, stories! Our favorite sorts of stories have compelling people at the center of them, funny moments, big feelings, surprising plot twists, and interesting ideas. Like little movies for radio. - Listenwise
Listenwise is designed for educators with short audio clips that engage all your students with multimodal lessons for Social Studies and ELA. Find easy to embed and flexible lesson designs for varied classroom settings.
Some that might be new to you
- TED Radio Hour
TED Radio Hour investigates big questions with the help of the world’s greatest thinkers. In each episode, host Manoush Zomorodi explores a big idea through a series of TED Talks and original interviews - American History Tellers
The Cold War, Prohibition, the Gold Rush, the Space Race. We’ll take you to the events, the times and the people that shaped our nation and show you how our history affected them, their families and affects you today.
- Womanica
Thinking back to our history classes growing up, we had one question: Where the ladies at? Enter, Womanica. In just 5 minutes a day, learn about different incredible women from throughout history. - History This Week
This week, something momentous happened. Whether or not it made the textbooks, it most certainly made history. Join the HISTORY This Week podcast as we turn back the clock to meet the people, visit the places and witness the moments that led us to where we are today. - Every Little Thing
Why do we cry? Did cavemen really carry clubs? Can swearing make you stronger? On ELT, you call with a question, we find you an answer. - History Becomes Her
Host Rachel Thompson speaks to women making change about the women of the past who paved the way for them. - The Experiment
Each week, we tell the story of what happens when individual people confront deeply held American ideals in their own lives. We’re interested in the cultural and political contradictions that reveal who we are. - The Daily
This is how the news should sound. Twenty minutes a day, five days a week - Kidsnuz
Perfect current event podcast for the upper elementary and middle classroom. (With an handy quiz at the end of each episode.) - You’re Dead to Me!
You get a comedian and historian on each episode discussing a specific historical topic. You also get two different versions of each – the original and the radio edit. (You’re gonna want to use the radio edits. Save the originals for yourself cause they’re long and inappropriate and not made for students but oh so fun.) - The Past and the Curious
Think the TV show Drunk History but without the alcohol, this podcast features people telling interesting, little-known stories from history with an emphasis on fun and humor. With a fun song at the end!
Just for You
- Mr. D Social Studies
Comedian and elementary school teacher Dombrowski mixes humor with real-life stories from his own experience or from fellow educators across the country. Topics include mobile classrooms, teacher hairlines, the hunt for a kindergarten position, and the wildest parent emails he’s ever received. - Black Educators Matter
Brooke Brown and Danielle Moneyham created the Black Educators Matter podcast to highlight the stories, challenges, and successes of Black educators around the country. - This Teacher Life
How do we enjoy education “when it feels like a hot mess?” What does “learning” mean in 2022? These are the types of questions that Monica Genta, a middle school teacher and educational consultant, explores through her weekly podcast This Teacher Life. - Self-Care for Educators
There is way more to self-care than simple suggestions to have another latte at Starbucks. On Self-Care for Educators, Dr. Tina H. Boogren welcomes you to join her on the road toward creating and sustaining a truly happier balance in your life. - Let’s K12 Better
When the pandemic hit, Amber Coleman-Mortley came up with an idea – host a podcast at her kitchen table with her three school-aged daughters. You’ll get experts, teachers, and parents all sharing their best thoughts. - Educational Duct Tape
A podcast focusing on educational technology as a tool to solve problems in the classroom. - Teaching Hard History
Dr. Hasan Kwame Jeffries from Learning for Justice starts with the history of chattel slavery and continues through the Jim Crow era, sharing lessons many don’t learn in the classroom and advice for teachers who want to change that.
History Tech 