Assignment 2: Podcasts in the Classroom

A Podcast for the Student

Grammar Girl is a well-known podcast that has won numerous awards and has been acknowledged by Writers Digest as one of the 101 best websites for writers. In this podcast, host Mignon Fogarty provides short and easy-to-understand tips to improve writing. 

"Research on teaching and learning that draws on digital and print-based texts and technologies have come to complement other resources rather than replacing them or being used as alternatives" -Vaca, et. al, 2021, p. 33

How to Use in the Classroom	Podcast as a Supplement	Student Engagement
Using Grammar Girl podcast in the classroom can allow for individuated instruction and remediation on a more personal and independent level. One common concern in writing instruction is providing customized and effective feedback. While this sounds easy in theory, it is anything but when you are grading 100+ essays. However, one way to address this is by using podcasts that focus on singular concepts. If you notice a student struggling with a vs. an, then you can assign them episode 967 of Grammar Girl. If another students struggles with topic sentences, you can assign them episode 949: “How to Write Great Topic Sentences. Fanilects. Throwawayable.”	Podcasts can reinforce skills taught in the English classroom. Podcasts also allow for the development of active listening. Similarly, podcasts can reinforce the skills of summarizing, paraphrasing, and analyzing. By using Grammar Girl in the classroom, students can extend their knowledge on a writing concept that they have already been taught. For example, episode 949 about topic sentences extends upon topic sentences to show how they can be beneficial outside of the classroom.	By using podcasts in the classroom, you are allowing for choice. Students can choose which episode they find most relevant and exciting. They are in control of their learning, which adds a factor of engagement not found with teacher-led, teacher-choice instruction. Specifically with Grammar Girl, you are assigning short (usually around 20 or less minutes) lessons that are relevant to each student. Because the lesson is personal to each student, students will not feel like they are wasting their time with instruction that will not benefit them.

More Podcasts for the ELA Classroom

https://abetterwaytoteach.com/blogs/news/three-podcasts-that-work-in-high-school-english-language-arts

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Additional Resources for Podcasts 

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A Podcast for the Teacher

The Leading, Language and Literature Podcast is hosted by Chris Jordan, who is an international teacher of English. The premise of the podcast is to "innovate and inspire within international secondary education." The podcast contains 59 episodes, which explore literacy, assessments, teacher considerations for in and outside of the classroom, AI and writing education, and many more topics. 

Favorite Episode: 28

This episode features Donal Hale, an English Head of Department at a secondary school in York. In this episode, they discuss planning the curriculum around concepts, formative feedback, summative assessments, and great resources for the English teacher. 

Jordan and Hale discuss concept-based curriculum in which students study abstract concepts that are considered "thresholds" for comprehending and analyzing literature: for example, masculinity, heroism, honor. They vertically align this curriculum by continuing to study these concepts in different years, but also by adding other concepts into the curriculum.

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References: 

Fogarty, Mignon. (Host). (2024, February 6). 'A' vs. 'an' 'larruping' rides again. eponyms. flavoring. (967) [Audio podcast episode]. In Grammar Girl. QDT. https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl/

Jordan, Chris. (Host). (2021, January 21). Donal hale-head of department-work (28). [Audio podcast episode]. In The Leading, Language, and Literature Podcast. https://www.leadinglanguageandliteraturepodcast.com/

Vacca, R. T., Anne, J., & Mraz, M. (2021). Content area reading: Literacy and learning across the curriculum. Pearson.