Description
We have created this Active Listening: Podcasts resource to support teachers to use podcasts in their classrooms. It’s great to listen to podcasts, but to keep students engaged, they also need a purpose for listening. Our Active Listening resource can give students that purpose.
In this set of Active Listening: Podcast Task Cards, we’ve selected a variety of engaging student-friendly podcasts.
Each podcast episode in this resource has two task cards associated with it.
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The first task card asks students to take notes and summarise as they listen. This involves sketch-noting, finding key ideas and writing a one-two sentence summary.
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We have provided a working model of this skill that can be taught and modelled to students.
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The second task card has six comprehension questions for students to answer while, or after, listening. These questions are designed to correspond to the content in the podcast and reinforce the main messages of the podcast.
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The questions cover many aspects of comprehension including summarising, making connections, questioning, evaluating and visualising, as well as some vocabulary activities and creative tasks.
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QR code links are provided as well as a full list of web-links.
A full set of answers are also included.
Please note: The targeted age range for this podcast set is between 8-12 years, but some podcasts may be appropriate for younger or older students.
Why Practice Active Listening?
Research tells us that better listeners are better readers. Reading is a function of two key components: decoding and language comprehension. Listening is a key part of language comprehension. In the Science of Reading, the awareness of sounds that make up spoken words is critical. Listening to stories helps students hear grammar and syntax and understand how stories work. Incidental exposure to vocabulary through listening together helps students learn the meaning of unknown words.
The podcast episodes featured in this variety pack include:
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That’s Incredible! Stories to Share with Kids: Animals
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Imagine This: How does the sun light up the world?
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Imagine This: Why did the dinosaurs die?
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Moment of Um: How does pencil lead stick to paper?
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News2Me: Kiwi Slang
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News2Me: The Metaverse
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The Science of Bubbles
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Water Jellyfish made of?
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Are you Smarter Than a Goldfish?
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Wacky Wordplay Wednesday: Oxymorans
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Can a Crocodile be part of your family?
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The Luckiest Cat in the World
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Animals We Thought Were Lost
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Why do Stars Twinkle?
