If you’re reading our stories weekly, you’ve probably noticed a recent trend. We LOVE podcast projects in the classroom. This week we’ve got another incredible iteration on this awesome audio assignment. 😉
In Mike’s Grade 5 class, students embarked on an immersive learning journey that explored the connection between the history of Canadian immigration policies and how they’ve affected the lives of their family members and close friends. In the past few years, Mike has assigned his students the task of interviewing someone they know who has immigrated to Canada. Typically, these interviews were conducted with parents, grandparents, or family friends. These personal stories shared by the people close to them served as the foundation for an engaging in-class presentation.
Host, Interviewer and Producer 🎧
This year, we thought it would be great to turn these interviews into episodes for a class podcast: From There to Here. The class recorded 28 episodes 🤯! Each one featured a student as the storyteller of their family’s own immigration journey.
Equipped with templated questions to guide their interviews, students used whatever means they had, such as phones and tablets, to capture audio recordings of their conversations. They then listened back to these recordings, noting key moments and summarizing the most compelling parts.
We love this because Mike’s students become the host, interviewer and producer! They practiced their comprehension, summarizing and analyzing skills in a real world role to create a real world product with a genuine audience.
From these summaries, the students crafted scripts, condensing each narrative into a 2 to 5-minute segment. They made new recordings using Twisted Wave, which were imported into Canva for students to design their podcast covers to complement the story. With the addition of music and sound effects, the class produced a collection of migration stories ready to be shared with family, friends, and even you, dear reader! 😉
Owen, Maria, Cristina, Alex, Jayden, Marian
Cross-Curricular Projects 🔀
As the project neared the end, Mike realized the true cross-curricular potential of this project. What initially began as a social studies initiative expanded to incorporate elements of ELA, STEAM, and cultural studies. Students got a chance to deepen their personal understanding of Canadian immigration while developing their skills in research, writing, presentation and digital media production.
By interviewing family members and friends, the class integrated real-life experiences into the curriculum, sparking curiosity, empathy, and a sense of cultural appreciation among the students.
This project is an awesome example of how using creative technology can elevate existing ideas and redefine the way that students express their knowledge and skills in the classroom!
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What is a border? 🇨🇦
This Tom Scott video shows how the answer isn’t so straightforward. A great video to start a discussion in your class.