Podcasts

http://cache.mypodcast.com/cached/group4storyelements1_20091009_1817-513389-246438-3.mp3
This address above is a podcast of 'Where the wild things are" .This podcast is accompanied by the sounds of the story along with the readers voice.
In the classroom this could be used to introduce the genre of story writing or as a spring board for sequencing the events of the story as learners raise their hand to indicate when an event has occurred. It could be used for comprehension tests to assess if learners are picking up the finer detail that comes from listening and not viewing the story.
It would be interesting to note how many descriptive words the students could identify listening to this story.


http://c1.libsyn.com/media/17954/Three_Pigs.mp3?nvb=20100725043806&nva=20100726044806&sid=2d01f5d49dc57f4776a02bbe5c0d7b8a&t=01bcdff10dab851ddd282
This recording is very expressive and the increase and decrease in pitch and pace of the readers voice led me to think that this could be one way that children recognise the difference it makes in an oral presentation and when they read a story. This may encourage young readers to use expression in their reading if they could listen to their own voice.

The voice of the reader allows the listener to recreate the characteristics of the participants in the story by using pitch, power and pace. It would be interesting to see what illustrations they would draw to illustrate the minor characters without seeing them first.
Both of these pod casts could be used as hooks into a unit on fairy tales or story writing. They both encourage the student to use their listening skills and recreate the images for themselves.

They may provide an activity for early finishers, good behaviour or to assist students with vision impairment.
One idea for a unit may require the students to examine a particular genre such as fairy tales then scaffold the learning to have the students write their own fairy tale and record it as a podcast to share with friends and family. This may also serve to improve oral presentations as the shy students may find their voice without an immediate audience watching them perform.