- Wydown Middle School
- Overview
WMS Students Explore Social Studies Through Podcasting
WMS sixth grade students in Sarah Miller’s social studies class warm up their voices and prepare their scripts to start their first podcast. Miller’s class was able to receive podcasting equipment in part due to a Teacher Innovation Grant from the Clayton Education Foundation (CEF). This includes microphones, headphones and even sound barriers.
"It made me feel more professional when I was doing my work and it made it a lot easier to do my work," said sixth grader Allie Fields.
In their first podcasting project, their focus was learning about modern Indigneous people. Each student chose a topic around this subject and wrote their own script with guidance from their instructors. Working in pairs, they interviewed each other on their own topic based on their script.
"I was kind of excited because I could hear us a lot better because it blocked out a lot of the noises. It felt kind of professional to use the equipment," said sixth grader Kaitlyn Creer.
In the future, they will be creating podcasts about the different neighborhoods in St. Louis and their history. They may even be able to interview experts on these neighborhoods to form their own scripts. The possibilities are endless as to the projects they can create.
“The opportunity to have real equipment helped students take the whole project much more seriously. Their eyes lit up when they saw how professional looking the equipment really was. They were super kind to it and used it with care. They were very eager to use it. So many kids are so comfortable with the concept of podcasting now that they have done it,” said Miller.
Learn more about the Teacher Innovation Grants from the Clayton Education Foundation here.