3~PreProduction
PreProduction: Planning your podcast
Before students even think of stepping up to the microphone, much planning must be done. In fact, preproduction takes over three-quarters of the time to produce a podcast.
- Format: Who will actually be heard in the recording? Should you have a host? What segments do you plan for the show?
- Audience: Who will listen to the podcast? Is it everyone in the school? Is it parents? Is it students in another state or another grade level?
- Name: The more creative, the better! (theme song?)
- Length: This will depend on your audience. Start short and grow if needed.
- Practice: The script should be written and Students should practice before recording. Students tend to have trouble speaking at an appropriate volume and speed. They will probably need help enunciating too.
What to Podcast? There are many different types, purposes and formats for student created podcasts. Here are a few suggestions.
- Writing/publishing
- Science experiments
- Social studies reports
- Interviews
- Foreign language practice
- Public speaking
- Lectures and Notes
- Travel Guide/Town Tours
- Weekly/Daily news broadcast
- Document a field trip
- Record a class discussion
- Share book reviews
- Share reading circle discussions
- Reader’s Theater
Worksheets and Handouts
- Radio Willow Web Handouts These wonderful handouts were made by another teacher that does a great podcast. Radio WillowWeb is a podcast for kids and by kids from the students at Willowdale Elemetary School in Omaha, Nebraska. Each new show is called a Willowcast. Each Willowcast can be heard on WillowWeb as an mp3 digital audio file.
- Podcasting for Teachers By: Sheri German This article is written with some basics about subscribing and creating podcasts.
- School in the Coulee - Coulee Kids Podcast Rubric A teacher’s grading rubric for kid produced podacts from the Coulee School in Wisconsin
- Evaluating Podcasts: Here is an activity that you might have kids do before they make a class podcasts. This worksheet asks questions to be answered while listening to other student made podcasts. Pre-select some podcasts that are similar to what you plan to create with your students and have them complete the worksheet while listening to one or two. listening-and-evaluating-podcasts
- PROJECT 1: Teaching kids the basics of recording? Try this radio interview.
- PROJECT 3: Here is a teacher handout and guide for planning your class podcast. project 3 and podcast planner
- classroom ideas for Podcasts (Download a Flash slide show)
- Check out more information about preproduction at Learning in Hand
Continue to Production (recording your podcast), or skip ahead to Post-Production (editing your podcast) and Publishing.
