Postcards from Asia

[Dennis O'Connell]

The website https://audioboom.com/postcardsfromasia provided by the University of Kansas, Center for East Asian Studies is a wonderful resource for teachers of all grade levels.  I teach third grade, but the ways I use this website in my classroom can be adapted to all grade levels.  Firstly, I choose a podcast which I believe will be of high interest to the students.  I also choose based on which Asian country I hope to highlight that week.  My choice is also based on the vocabulary used in the podcast.  Teaching third grade, I do not want material which will be too difficult for my students to grasp.  It is ok for them to struggle a tiny bit, and to learn some new vocabulary, but I focus mostly on words they can comprehend.  Secondly, I project the podcast image on a large screen.  I have students talk about the image.  What do they notice?  What do they think is the significance of the image?  Thirdly, we listen to the podcast.  Students are asked to take notes on what they hear.  I teach my students that we are not looking to transcribe the information, but to get the broad idea of what is being communicated.  We listen to the podcast a second time, so students can pick up information they missed the first time.  Fourthly, we discuss the podcast.  What notes did the students take?  What was interesting?  What new information did they learn?  Finally, I ask at least one comprehension question based on the podcast.  For these last two steps, I rely on the written text provided under each podcast image.  Any disagreements about what was said in the podcast can usually be cleared up by looking at the written text.  

As an educator, this is a valuable resource for so many reasons.  On state testing, my third graders are asked to listen to an oral presentation and then answer comprehension questions.  This gives them practice developing the skills necessary to be successful on that task.  Listening and speaking are given precedence in these lessons, but the notetaking is also an important skill in Writing for them to develop.  Reading is relegated to the written texts provided by the website, but this is a chance for the students to see any new vocabulary they were unfamiliar with in print.  My students also benefit from hearing about cultures outside of their own.  I am able to feature Asia in my classroom in a quick, engaging way, which also touches on all the Language Arts areas of emphases.  While the website started as a way of introducing Asia to students, it is has expanded to other regions of the world.  Check it out and use it with your students!

[Author]

Posts