Around Grade 5/6

While much of the reading curriculum in Grade 5/6 involves the comprehension, analysis and close reading of  hard copy texts and books, we also remember that an important component of teaching reading in the 21st Century is the use of media and digital content.

Lockdown and online learning has provided the teachers with an opportunity to use the technology available each day in families' homes to view and respond to content such as Behind The News and to listen to audiobooks or podcasts.

This week, I was excited to timetable the listening and responding to a podcast called 'Six Minutes' as part of the Grade 5/6 students' reading activities. Six Minutes is a well produced podcast in which a mysterious story is unfolded over many episodes. Each episode lasts just six minutes. This week, we listened to the first three instalments and completed a task relating to them afterwards. We will continue on with this next week, as well as when we get back to school. 

There are many advantages to using podcasts in the classroom. Not only are they a medium that has taken off over the last few years for adults to listen to - so they are a current use of technology - but they can help to engage children in the process of story making.  They can be a lot more accessible than books for reluctant readers and help with their participation in classroom discussions as well as develop their understanding of more complex storylines, how to support opinion with evidence and the art of characterisation.

If you are interested, you can listen to Six Minutes for free via Apple Podcasts and I also encourage you to check out the other podcasts that have been developed by the same company: Gen Z Media - but no spoilers, please!

Mrs Healey