Isabel from @creationssigneisabel thinks Newsela is an AMAZING resource for ELA teachers. It gives teachers access to tons of non-fiction texts you could use for English, Science, or Social Studies. Also, for each text, you have the option of changing the text level, making it easily accessible to even the most struggling reader in your class! It comes in a free and premium option, which you might consider if you want to use Newsela for assessment opportunities in your classroom.
Katie from @mochasandmarkbooks suggests Welcome to Night Vale, a podcast presented in the style of a radio broadcast about the latest happenings in the fictional town of Night Vale. The narrator and main character, Cecil, is the radio announcer, conveying the strange and supernatural occurrences of this eerie place, including angels, goddesses, and five-headed dragons.
Suitable for a high school audience, this series would make a great addition to any short fiction unit, giving students the opportunity to apply their understanding of the elements of fiction to one or a series of the episodes from Welcome to Night Vale. Because the episodes are told in the style of community updates on the radio, students could complete a group graffiti activity, where groups are assigned different elements of fiction such as setting details, characterization, conflicts, themes, suspense, and so on, and write all of the details they hear on their respective papers. After listening to the episode, groups can present their findings to the class and invite any details they may have missed.
http://www.welcometonightvale.com/
Jen from @TheSupportedTeacher loves starting the year with “How to Start a Movement,” a Ted Talk by Derek Sivers. The talk is great for the beginning of the year because it is a short, humorous way to introduce the concept of leadership and to engage students in conversation about what it takes to be a leader – or at least to get others moving around an issue.
Jen likes to invite her students to complete a quick write before watching the video. Try asking your students: How do you start a movement? What does it take to lead others or to get others to join you?
“I like to use the video during the first week of school because it’s so funny – my students who still barely know each other are belly-laughing together…LOUD! It’s also so fun because somehow or another we end up referencing that video all year long, kind of like an inside joke.”
– Jen from The Supported Teacher
Lesa from @SmithTeaches9to12 suggests Criminal and This is Love as two podcasts for a high school ELA classroom. Episodes range from 15-40 minutes so there’s time to frame a lesson with a preview activity, classroom listen, and post-episode discussion.
While many love a good serial killer podcast, those can be a bit heavy for the classroom and so Criminal may be a great alternative for your ELA class. With 166 episodes the podcast offers oddities about crimes and criminals, and just about anything within that realm.
Favorite episodes are hard to choose because there are SO MANY good ones but maybe start with episode 77 The Escape about the only “successful” escape from Alcatraz or episode 113 Hostage about the origins of the term Stockholm Syndrome. For a FREE guide to several episodes along with suggested activities check out this resource.
On the flipside, This Is Love – by the same creators – focuses on love but in some of the most tangential ways possible. While there are stories of romantic love, the majority focus on variations of familial love, friendship, animal connections, and everything in between. Some favorite episodes include episode 13 Ugly Club, episode 24 Gobi, and the best by far, episode 20 Roselle and Michael, about a man and his guide dog on the 78th floor of the Twin Towers on 9/11.
https://thisiscriminal.com/ and https://thisislovepodcast.com/
