Students need to be able to sit and listen to a passage or short audio program, take notes, recall information, and then answer critical thinking questions about the material. To help prepare students for our e-learning world, I’ve scoured the internet to find high-interest, school-appropriate podcasts that fit within one class period.
In this Listen & Learn activity, students will listen to a 28-minute podcast focused on the case of an 11-year-old boy who was the sole survivor of an airplane crash near Los Angeles. The story focuses on his grit and determination to survive, as well as the complex relationship he had with his adventure-seeking father.
(Note: The language of the podcast is clean, but the interviewee does use the word “screwed” once. As the plane is about to crash, he says, “When I saw the tree…I knew we were screwed. I mean, I knew we were going to crash into the trees.” The description of the crash site is not overly gruesome and is appropriate for advanced middle school and high school students. To listen to the podcast before purchasing these lesson materials, click here.)The easy prep lesson materials in this download include:
• A list of suggested lesson procedures for the teacher (or just print and leave for a sub) with several links to use to access the podcast online. Several of these sites also allow users to download the program and keep it on their personal mp3 players, a great option if the internet isn’t always reliable in your classroom. (PDF)
• A two-page handout with questions for students to answer both while they listen and after the program is finished (PDF & Google Drive versions)
• A two-page answer key to make grading easy and to provide talking points as you review answers with your students (PDF)
This lesson, designed for students in grades 8-12, will take about 45 minutes to complete or a bit longer if you review answers/allow students to debate some of the questions.
Download includes: 5-page PDF + Google Drive version of student worksheet (uneditable)
Want this item plus four more podcast-based lessons at a 20% discount? To avoid a double-purchase, don’t buy the lesson materials on this page; instead, click here to download my Listen & Learn podcast 5-pack of high-interest lessons for secondary students.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cover image credit: Marcus Quigmire, Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
$2.50
