3, 2, 1 Book Podcasts
@Brian_Sepe_
In my last post, I shared the power of Top-Ten Lists as an end of the year activity. Here is yet another great activity you can try tomorrow.
We’ve all seen or heard our favorite authors on various podcasts. Most likely, you’ve also heard a few book recommendations and even went so far as to purchase the book(s) mentioned. While these podcasts can prove costly at times, just check my Amazon account, they most always prove valuable for the things we want to learn and read.
The inspiration for the 3, 2, 1, Book Podcast came from this PBS News Hour interview with Jacqueline Woodson and Dan Pink back in 2016. These two powerhouse authors and thought-leaders sat next to each other and shared their favorite books. That’s it. They shared, I listened, and I purchased.
So, the question is, “why are our students not replicating a similar model for sharing?”
Enter the 3, 2, 1 Book Podcast:
3 Minutes
2 Books
1 Question
Simple, yet effective.
Most of all, it will get your students curating and sharing their favorite books.
Students can interview each other on the books they bring to the show and recording for that day. It’s three minutes max for each interviewee and the students are responsible for having a conversation off of one question.
So what do you need?
Recording Device
Use whatever you have access to on your campus. Some colleagues have decided to use iPad’s and others Chromebooks. Some have gone as far as having lapel mics and external auxiliary mics. The key is to not let the device deter you from having your students engage in the activity. If you have to, use your phone and upload to your Google Drive!
Work in Pairs
Have your students work in partnerships. Altogether, it might require 6-10 minutes. Partner A can interview Partner B asking one question, then they will switch roles.
Tech-it-UP
Some colleagues are using Flip Grid, SeeSaw, Padlet, and Google Classroom to actually record the Podcast. Honestly, choose a platform that you are comfortable with in your classroom and makes sense for how you want to share the interviews. Again, don’t allow this to become a sticking point for trying this format. You can always have students download it to the device or upload it to their Google Drive.
Questions
Feel free to generate your own questions or even better, have your students generate the question-bank. The key is that they ask one question that is open-ended enough to get the person they are interviewing talking about the book they’ve selected. Here are a few that we’ve tried:
“Out of all the books you’ve read to this point in the year, what made you select _______ and________?”
“Obviously, these books have had an impact on you this year. What impact have these books had on you?”
“Tell me a little bit about why you brought these books to the interview.”
That’s it.
Let the students take over and conduct these short, yet powerful, podcasts with each other, the entire class, or even the global community.
As always, if you try this idea in your classroom, please tell me how it goes or simply share your spin in the comments below.