Ten years ago, podcasts weren’t nearly as popular as they are today. Now, they’re a huge asset to our personal and professional lives—including in the classroom. That’s why today I’m walking you through how to use podcasts in Middle School ELA classrooms.
If you’re not a big podcast listener, you might be wondering how on earth that would even work. (LOL trust me, it can!) But did you know that since August 2020, there are more than 1,000,000 podcasts that exist?
With such a wide variety of podcasts nowadays, there are plenty of storytelling and educational podcasts that your students will love!!
Podcasts help your students who are more auditory learners. And it also helps students hear the proper pronunciation of words that they may otherwise only see on paper.
Plus, if you listen during class time … it gives you a short break. You have to love that, right??
Best Practices for Using Podcasts in Middle School ELA Classrooms
Using podcasts in your classroom is more than simply hitting play on a random episode and hoping your students will care.
In order to get the most out of educational podcasts in class, you have to be intentional about it.
Here are some ways to make the most out of using podcasts in middle school ELA classrooms:
1. Choose podcasts that align with your lesson plans.
Try to make sure there’s a connection. Maybe you’re teaching your students to analyze character development in stories. In that case, use a podcast that tells stories with rich character development.
With the recent rise in educational and storytelling podcasts, this shouldn’t be too hard!!
2. Follow up the podcast with questions and fun assignments.
The point of using podcasts in Middle School ELA classrooms is that it’s a fun and engaging way to teach your lessons. But it still should be educational…
So when you play a podcast episode, consider taking about 10 minutes afterward to talk about it with your students. And if you can ask questions in line with your lesson plan, even better.
For instance, let’s go back to my example of using a storytelling podcast to analyze character development. After the podcast episode is over, ask questions like:
A. Which characters did you see change in this episode? B. How did their character change or develop? C. What caused those changes? D. How did those changes affect other characters’ development?
Podcasts are a great way to spark conversation, so get ready for some healthy dialog!
3. Assign podcast episodes as homework.
You can’t always take 15 to 30 minutes out of your class time to listen to a podcast … so try assigning episodes as homework to your students.
Students are more likely to listen to podcast than do traditional homework anyway. (No surprise there!! They can multitask while they listen…)
This way, students can listen to the podcast on their own time and then come into class ready to jump into the discussion.
Best Podcasts to Use in Your Middle School Classroom
When using podcasts in Middle School ELA classrooms, you want to make sure you find good ones. Like I said before, there are about 1,000,000 podcasts… and not all of them are great quality.
So I’ve compiled a list of several podcasts that I think would work wonders in your classroom. Other teachers in my Middle School ELA Teachers Facebook group have used these podcasts and loved them. (Click here to join my Facebook group and get support from teachers like you!)
This podcast follows the fictional story of a girl who can’t remember who she is and starts developing supernatural abilities. These episodes are great to use in class since they’re pretty short (about 10 minutes or so…)
This is a fascinating podcast series about the strange disappearance of 326 people from a fictional small town in Tennessee. Yep, you guessed it—Limetown. What makes this podcast so fascinating is that it sounds real because its main character is a reporter investigating the (fictional) events.
Mars Patel is another mystery podcast. This one is about the disappearance of a Middle-School boy named Mars Patel. Your students will enjoy the drama AND relate to the characters!
This podcast takes history and adds a narrative twist by creating stories about Benjamin Franklin at 14 years old. Ben Franklin’s humor, wit, and knack for getting into trouble will keep your students engaged.
The Constant: A History of Getting Things Wrong isn’t a story podcast, but it’s just as fun to listen to!! It takes a look at misinformation or false explanations people have had throughout history. It’s a great combination of education and laughter.
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