We have entered the stretch. The one that makes us ache for a long winter’s nap or a Hallmark movie-marathon. Many of us are pouring from empty cups. We’ve been sprinting at full speed since early August. We’re tired. We’re worn down. We’re low on fuel, yet we must press on. Holiday breaks cannot come soon enough, amiright?
As we consider the season ahead — which here in Michigan, means months of winter and cozying up indoors — I’ve got an idea that might just nurture your soul and breath new life into your instruction. I believe it’s possible to both rejuvenate ourselves and inspire our students.
I spend a lot of my “miscellaneous” time listening to podcasts. They keep me company while I wash dishes, run on the treadmill and take care of laundry. One of my favorites is TED Radio Hour from NPR. There are a few things I love about this podcast:
-each episode focuses on a central theme
-the featured TED Talks and interviews are highly engaging
-the content is easily relatable
-NPR provides 12’ish minute audio clips of each portion of every podcast on its website
In addition to inspiring and refreshing my soul, these podcasts truly engage my students in a different way than other content-delivery-formats do. I recently played a 12 minute audio clip from a TED Radio Hour podcast for my eighth graders. The topic related to our Language Arts unit of study, “What Matters,” and man-o-man were they locked in. I had my students jot down information in the form of a Thinking Map (Flow Map) as they listened. [Side note: you might marry podcast clips with Thinking Routines — various other formats into which students can catalogue the information and their own thinking.]
I’m newly committed to tucking these little TED Radio Hour podcast clips — along with a Thinking Map or a Thinking Routine — into as much of my content as possible.
So, maybe take a few minutes in this next season to cozy up with TED Radio Hour. At the very least, you’ll hear a few fascinating stories and glean some thought-provoking information. And, heck, who knows — you might just find that you’re fueled back up and ready to try a little something new in your classroom.