PODCAST DAY!
The kiddos love a good Podcast Day. I do too!
Last week, we watched a replay of a Morning Brew Daily interview where hosts Neal Freyman and Toby Howell talked with Atomic Habits author James Clear about New Year’s resolutions and goal-setting.
The interview originally aired on Jan. 1, 2024, but it’s definitely not a boring leftover from last year. Like spaghetti sauce, homemade soup, and lasagna, this podcast is even better the second time around.
In our Introduction to Journalism & Media class, the students watched the video version of the pod on YouTube in preparation for our upcoming podcast unit. It’s helpful to see interactions between hosts and guests and eye-opening, if you aren’t a podcast watcher, to see how much of podcasting is reading a script.
Podcasting is writing, y’all.
I know it’ll come as a shock, but high school students sometimes think all they have to do is hop on Voice Memos and record 20 minutes of randomness to create top-level content. We’re not tryna be THAT authentic.
Watching professionals shows students the craft of producing listen/view-worthy content.
I love to share, so if you think this activity might be helpful in your classroom, feel free to try it. I’d love to hear how it goes!
Here’s a little resource info based on my experience using this guide with my students…
I structured the guide around the “chapters” identified in the MBD YouTube transcript. The students seemed to find it easy to follow and walked away with solid goal-setting advice they can use irl as they pursue individual goals.
They noticed that Neal and Toby read a script through much of the podcast, but the students also pointed out how closely the hosts listened and that they asked follow-up questions. Turns out podcasting is writing and listening and speaking.
The two-day lesson was a great introduction to our podcasting unit and a challenge to set goals to make the most of the rest of the school year.
Here’s the video we watched…
And here’s the download of the listening/viewing guide…
To all my Christian education friends… we focused a segment of our class discussion on Psalm 90:12 and walked away from the lesson with a renewed commitment to living intentionally as we roll through 2025. Good stuff.
Always Learning HQ 