LITR 630

Lesle Martin-Skrine
Podcast Assignment
Common Core Standards
RF.K.5- Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
Grade Level
Kindergarten
Time needed to complete the assignment
1 hour
Materials
Laptop with program audacity, smart board, leveled reading passage: Bright as the Sun
(readworks.org), book: Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, choral reading self assessment
rubric (1 copy for each student)
Learning Targets of the lesson
I can read grade level books for a reason and understand them.
Procedures (Steps):
This lesson will take place over the course of a week. The recorded readings will be on Monday
and Friday.
First, the students and I will have a discussion about what good readers do when they read a
book. We will make a chart of the things good readers do (change voice, read at a good pace,
stop at periods, use expression, read words correctly, etc.). After we make a chart, I will tell
students that I am going to read a book called Green Eggs and Ham and they will grade me
on how I read using our self assessment rubric. I will show students the fluency assessment
rubric they will use to assess my reading. They will assess me using 3 categories: expression,
smoothness, and pace. They can rate me as not so good, okay, or great. Once students
understand how to assess a reader on their fluency, I will read Green Eggs and Ham aloud and
make mistakes on purpose so they can hear what a non-fluent reader sounds like. I will read the
book too fast, skip over words, and use a monotone voice. When I finish, I will ask students to
assess me on the 3 categories. We will discuss what I did wrong while reading and why it didnt
sound fluent. I will read the Green Eggs and Ham again, but this time fluently. I will read
with expression in my voice, at a just right speed, and read all the words correctly. When I finish,
I will again have students assess me on the 3 categories of expression, smoothness, and pace. We
will discuss the differences of the 2 read alouds and why one was considered fluent and one was
not.
Next, I will tell students that we are all going to read a passage titled Bright as the Sun together
(choral read), record it using audacity on the laptop and assess ourselves using the choral
reading self assessment rubric. The passage will be displayed on the smart board so that
everyone can see it and each student will have their own copy of the passage in front of them.
First, I will read the passage to students so that they can hear the words. I will read aloud in a
loud voice, at a just right pace, using expression in my voice. Then, we will read it together one
time. Next, I will preview some vocabulary with students that I think they might struggle with.
After that, we will read it a second time. While we read the passage together the second time, I
will record us reading using the program called audacity. When we are done, I will play the
recording of our choral reading for the students to hear. Then, I will pass out a rubric to each
student, explain how to use it again and have students mark the categories based on how they
thought we did choral reading the passage. We will also have a discussion on what we need to do
in order to improve our fluency.
We will practice choral reading the passage Bright as the Sun every day for the rest of the
week. We will practice reading the passage different ways such as echo reading (I read a
sentence, they repeat the sentence and continues till the end), and antiphonal reading (students
break into 2 groups and read a sentence or paragraph back and forth).
On Friday, the students and I will read the same passage again and record it using the program
audacity on the laptop. I will play the podcast for students and they will once again assess the
recording using the self assessment rubric. We will compare the results from Monday to the
results on Friday. The choral reading should have improved after all of the practice and we will
discuss why and how it improved. The new and improved recording of the reading (podcast) will
be uploaded and placed on the class wiki so that parents and family members can hear it.
Assessment
Choral Reading Self Assessment Rubrics/ Notes from discussions
Accommodations
As students are reading and following along with the reading passage, I will be walking around
the room. If students are having a hard time following along, I will point to the place where we
are reading so they can get back on track. Also, when students are filling out their choral reading
self assessment rubrics, my assistant and I will walk around and assist students in filling them
out correctly.


Connection to IRA Standards 1.2, 2.2, 2.3, 4.2, 5.1:
1.2 Candidates understand the historically shared knowledge of the profession and changes over
time in the perceptions of reading and writing development, processes, and components. My
lesson relates to this standard because I am using available technology to allow students to hear
themselves reading a passage. Reading can now be recorded and made into a podcast so that
students can hear their voices reading. This really allows them to hear what fluent reading sounds
like.
2.2 Candidates use appropriate and varied instructional approaches, including those that develop
word recognition, language comprehension, strategic knowledge, and reading-writing
connections. My lesson relates to this standard because I use different approaches to teach
students fluent reading. First, I read a book the traditional way and allow them to hear me read
fluently and not fluently. Then, I record them choral reading a passage so that they can hear and
assess their own voices reading.
2.3 Candidates use a wide range of texts (e.g., narrative, expository, and poetry) from traditional
print, digital, and online resources. My lesson relates to this standard because I teach fluency in a
traditional way by reading aloud, and I teach fluency digitally by recording student voices and
making a podcast using a program called audacity.
4.2 Candidates use a literacy curriculum and engage in instructional practices that positively
impact students knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with the features of diversity. My lesson
relates to this standard because every single student is engaged during the lesson. All students are
included in choral reading. All of their voices are heard.
5.1 Candidates design the physical environment to optimize students use of traditional print,
digital, and online resources in reading and writing instruction. My lesson relates to this standard
because I use traditional print (book and reading passage) to teach fluency and the program
audacity to record a podcast during the lesson. Both traditional print and digital resources are
used in the lesson.
Connection to ISTE Standards:
1a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. My lesson relates to
this standard because students will be choral reading (something they already do) and recording
it to make a podcast (new product). They will be using their existing knowledge of fluency and
choral reading to create a new product, the podcast.
2a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital
environments and media. My lesson relates to this standard because students will be
collaborating with their peers to publish a podcast on our webpage.
Connection to KTS6:
6.1 Uses available technology to design and plan instruction. My lesson relates to this standard
because I will be using the available technology in my classroom to help students improve their
reading skills and hear what fluent reading sounds like. I will use the laptop in my classroom to
help students create a podcast that they can listen to.
6.2 Uses available technology to implement instruction that facilitates student learning. My
lesson relates to this standard because I will be using a program called audacity on my laptop to
record a podcast of students choral reading. The students will listen to the podcast and assess
themselves on the 3 main components of fluency: expression, smoothness, and pace.
6.4 Uses available technology to assess and communicate student learning. My lesson relates to
this standard because students will be using the recorded podcast to assess themselves on
fluency. They will listen to themselves reading and determine if their expression, smoothness,
and pace was not so good, okay, or great.
Connection to Literature
A podcast is a web 2.0 digital social networking tool like Facebook, blogs, and YouTube
(Smythe, Neufeld, 2010). User-generated content can be created and shared through a podcast
(Smythe, Neufeld, 2010). In my lesson, students will be collaborating with one another to choral
read a passage and create a podcast. The podcast will be uploaded to our class wiki and shared
with their family members. One benefit of using a podcast as an instructional tool is that students
can create content quickly and easily with the intention of reaching an authentic audience
(Smythe, Neufeld, 2010). In my lesson, students will be creating a podcast of them choral
reading and then uploading it to reach an authentic audience which will be their family members.
When students create a podcast, creative processes are involved. This keeps learners engaged for
an extended amount of time (Smythe, Neufeld, 2010). I believe students will be engaged during
the lesson because they will like the idea of their voices being recorded and then uploaded to the
web to be shared with family.
Like text-to-speech software, podcasts help students to listen to drafts to improve their
logic and fluency (Davis, McGrail, 2013, pg. 523). Even though students are not writing in my
lesson, they are choral reading a passage, recording it, spending time practicing it, reading it
again and recording it. This allows students to hear themselves read the first time and
determining what they need to improve on as readers before the next recording. I believe that
after students hear themselves the first time, reflect on what they need to improve on, practice
reading and then read the same passage again, their fluency will improve.
Connection to TPACK Model
My lesson relates to the TPACK model because I will be teaching in an authentic
situation (my classroom). I also know the content that I am going to teach and how best to teach
it. The technology that will be used in my lesson is the program audacity on my laptop to
produce a podcast. According to the common core, Kindergarten students should be able to read
grade level texts with purpose and understanding. In my lesson, I will be showing students how
to read a text fluently and students will be given the chance to assess me on my reading. They
will asses me on 3 categories of fluency: expression, smoothness, and pace. Next, the students
and I will practice choral reading a passage for an entire week. This will help students with
fluency because they will be practicing the same passage every day and they will begin to
understand that we read for a purpose and that purpose is to gain information. Their reading will
be recorded on Monday, practiced the rest of the week, and then recorded again on Friday. They
will complete a self assessment rubric on Monday and Friday of their reading. They will also be
able to listen to the both recordings so that they can hear how much they improved on fluency in
just 5 days. The podcast that they create will be uploaded to our class wiki in which parents will
be able to listen to the students read. The use of technology in this lesson clearly helps students
accomplish the learning objectives/goals.


Connection to Common Core
RF.K.5- Read emergent-reader texts with purpose and understanding. My lesson relates to this
standard because students will be reading a grade level reading passage for a purpose. That
purpose will be to become more fluent readers.



















References

Smythe,S.; Neufeld, Paul. (2010). Podcast time: Negotiating digital literacies and communities
of learning in a middle years ELL classroom. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy. 53 (6).
International Reading Association. (pp.488-496).
Davis, A.; McGrail, E. (2009). Proof revising with podcasting: Keeping readers in mind as
students listen to and rethink their writing. The reading teacher. Vol. 62. No. 6. International
reading association.