Objectives of the Project:
Students will be able to select music based on their interests and musical understandings.
Students will understand how the music they chose fits into a larger view of the world.
Students will create a podcast episode based on their own musical interests.
Project Steps:
Exploration
Students listen to and discuss a variety of podcasts. Students share any podcasts they listen to or enjoy. Students explore music-specific podcasts.
Discussion
Students discuss how music can be shared in a podcast. How can music be organized around a central theme?
Creation
Students create a podcast episode in a small group. They decide the theme, the music chosen, and the purpose of the music (affect emotions, share music from a decade or by an artist, etc.)
Students research the context of the piece as it relates to the larger world. How does the music they've chosen fit with other music? When was it written? Who is the artist?
Students then write intro music for the class podcast and vote on their favorite. This becomes the intro music for all of the podcast episodes and unifies the class podcast.
Students share their podcasts with others in the class and with the larger community (principal, peers, etc.). Students reflect on their experience creating and listening to other podcasts in a journal entry or in a Goole Form reflection.
We used BandLab for this project. It's a free online digital audio workspace that is user friendly. Here is what a podcast episode looks like on BandLab:
A few important things to note:
I had never made a podcast before designing this lesson.
Students came into the room with skills and experiences in podcasting.
Students come into the room with their own musical interests, likes, and dislikes.
Project plans are key.
Guidelines around feedback from peers. We have to teach our students how to give constructive feedback before asking them to do it. Model what helpful and constructive feedback looks like.