Family Stories Podcast Makeovers

This year, I was inspired to revise a family stories digital project I've assigned in the past. When I heard that StoryCorps would be in Sacramento, I got excited and asked myself, "Could my students create podcasts?" Knowing that I wanted to find a way to incorporate this genre into my curriculum, I looked to ways to revise my units. 

In the past, as part of an immigration unit, I asked students to interview family members to discover their immigration stories and then in their technology class, they created a video to show their story. This was very successful and students created some incredible projects, even creating winning entries for the 'Cortos Y Fuertes/Short and Strong' Video Contest (here is a link to one of the winning student films). In Leading Edge, our students have spent the beginning of the year creating videos in their Tech and Science classes, so Podcasts seemed to be a new text to explore. When I approached Trisha Sanchez, she was very excited to create curriculum to partner with this project. Yay! 

One of the challenges we've faced with student recording is that while we have tools for filming, we lack professional microphones for high quality audio. I have applied to Donor's Choose to see if we can get a set of 8 microphones for students to use in future recording projects. 

In looking for an appropriate audience for their pieces, our Dia de los Muertos exhibit immediately came to mind. I know that some students would be selecting parents to interview, but others would want to find out about family members who they lost or never had the chance to meet. I think that the theme of remembrance, finding ways to memorialize and share unique family stories, fits with the exhibit and will give parents a great way to see their students' powerful work on display. We plan to have QR codes on the walls so that parents can listen to their student's recordings during the exhibit.

In revising this project, I also knew that I wanted to switch up the writing genres they would be studying. I decided on Biographical Narratives, as this genre includes aspects of informational and narrative writing modes. Our ELA team in Leading Edge has created a study group around writing genres, using Ruth Culham's The Writing Thief, to center our conversations. Revamping this unit and giving it a new focus provided a perfect opportunity to integrate some of the strategies we've discussed!