Podcasting: The Chronicles of the Gifted & Talented

Students in Mrs. Flores’ 7th grade GT ELA class ended their spring semester reflecting on the learning and growing that occurred throughout their year together. As an outlet for sharing their reflections with others, the class delved into the world of producing podcasts. It proved to be an excellent opportunity for students to let their creative and fun personalities shine.

Podcasts are being used to educate others on a particular topic, to entertain an audience through storytelling, or even just to share about personal experiences. With a wide range of topics available, it seems as if there is literally something for everyone. Podcasts are definitely growing in popularity across all generations. Even knowing this, Mrs. Flores was unsure how many of her students had personal experience with podcasts. To ensure the project’s success, her first plan of action was to provide her students with age appropriate podcast episodes that might peak their interest. From the list she provided, she encouraged them to listen to a variety of episodes paying special attention to their format, music, and special sound effects.

As a class, it was decided the name of the podcast would be The Chronicles of the Gifted and Talented. Each student was then responsible for contributing an episode. In thinking about the content/topic for their episode, Mrs. Flores encouraged students to think about their accomplishments from the year. What elements stood out? What reflections from that learning can be shared with others? 

“I think one of the things I liked most about the project was the amount of freedom we had. Sure we could only use the topics that we covered in class, but the topics were so broad that it wasn't very constricting.” Ella was not alone in this thinking. Students were very excited about choosing their episode idea. Topics were selected and more intentional planning and deeper thinking occurred to help generate content. Careful consideration to following questions was encouraged:

• How has this aspect of our class made a positive impact on you?
• How will you use this topic to inspire or entertain your audience?
• How can you share an interesting perspective or a unique “take” on this topic?
• What will the tone of your episode be?
• How will you create that tone?
• What resources & information will you need to write your script?

It was also important for students to think about their listeners. While current and future students were the target audience, the likelihood principals, teachers all over the district, and other administrators would take a listen was high. For the podcast to gain the attraction of others, they would need to be carefully planned and thought out. Catchy titles, attention grabbing introductions, and sharing the why behind the chosen topic definitely helped. Some students even chose to create advertisements for relatable sponsors to be endorsed during their episode.

Although individuals were responsible for contributing their own episode, students were working with their peers throughout the entire process. It was during that collaboration phase that they were able to give and receive feedback on each other’s episodes. Many of the students also helped co-host a peer’s show. Natalie said it best, “I really enjoyed applying what I learned throughout the school year, and being able to review the year in a fun and creative way. I loved seeing my friends projects and participating in them.” Final podcast were edited using Beautiful Audio Editor and then exported to Google Drive, where they would ultimately be shared with the class. Students had a bank of resources for royalty free music and sound effects they utilized throughout the project as well.

And, now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for… explore some of the class podcasts linked to the images below. If you are interested in finding podcasts that may be appropriate for your students or yourself, be sure to explore the Best Podcasts for Kids resource. Check it out, there is something for everyone!