Text sets, and specifically post ELA podcast pairings, help create dynamic ELA lesson plans because they provide ways for students to connect and synthesize information. When readers synthesize information, they bring together a collection of diverse perspectives and varied genres to create a better overall understanding of the material and themes.
Podcasts are my favorite text pairing media because they are unexpected, fun to listen to, and open up a whole new literacy world for students.
You know that thrill you get when you introduce a student to a new book that they love? Well, having the opportunity to introduce students to a completely new form of media that they get so into and can listen to for FREE intensifies that feeling ten-fold. So many of my students have searched out other podcasts on their own after finishing Serial. I truly believe that listening is a form of reading, so for this English teacher, that is a huge win.
So, I hope this post and these podcast pairing pages inspire you to add more podcasts in the classroom!
ELA PODCASTS FOR TEXT SETS
HOLOCAUST TEXT SET
The Sum of All Parts podcast is a math podcast which makes it an even more interesting ELA podcast pairing! The podcast description reads, “Sum of All Parts tells extraordinary stories about the unseen influence that numbers have on the way we think, feel and behave.” I paired episode 12 “The Tattoowierer” with Man’s Search for Meaning and my students had a great discussion about the themes in both. This episode will pair well with any Holocaust text. If you need some podcast pages to help students focus and take notes, grab those here: Podcast Worksheets for ANY podcast.
POE PAIRING IDEA
The Wild is one of my favorite podcasts because the topics are interesting and the nature sounds are so soothing! When I heard “The Brain of the Raven,” I knew it would make a great pairing for Poe’s “The Raven.” This episode talks with an animal scientist about ravens and the blurb reads, “Being a “bird brain” is a complement if you’re talking about ravens. They are smart. Their intelligence allows them to empathize and read emotions, which helps them survive. But it’s their ability to manipulate others, and even plan for the future that allows them to really thrive in the wild.” Have students color these raven wings and think about how the raven in Poe’s poem manipulates his psyche.
INTO THE WILD OR JACK LONDON PAIRING
The Wild podcast also makes a great ELA podcast pairing for Into the Wild or Jack London stories. You could even let students do a podcast “sampling” (template in this podcast bundle) and pick an episode that they want to pair with your whole class text!
FRAKENSTEIN INFORMATIONAL TEXT PAIRING
Overheard at National Geo is another favorite of mine. I love that their episodes are usually short, interesting, and entertaining. The Frozen Zoo would make a great ELA podcast pairing for Frankenstein! If you need some podcast pages to help students focus and take notes, grab those here: Podcast Worksheets for ANY podcast.
A ROSE FOR EMILY PODCAST PAIRING
If you listen to This American Life regularly, then you will find a plethora of pairing ideas. One ELA podcast pairing idea is “Grand Gesture” Act 1 Dr. Strangelove.
The Southern Gothic short story, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner is a creepy story that will shock students. Act I of “Grand Gesture” is an equally shocking story about the same topic–except with a real-life example. This episode tells a story about a man who is so in love with a woman that he keeps her preserved body in his house and treats her as his wife. As I have explicitly pointed out in the image above, you may need to cut out part of this episode at your discretion because there are 3 mentions of sex in this episode. The value of the pairing is so good that I think it’s worth the extra effort! For a super easy way to cut this episode, I recommend downloading the episode and then cutting it with EdPuzzle. All you have to do is put the link to the video in and use their simple cutting tools. The story starts around minute 14 and ends around 32:40. You will need to cut parts at approximately minutes 27, 27:38-27.52, and at 31:46. EdPuzzle also allows you to add in questions at certain parts if you wish to do so! It’s a great tool that will work for any podcast that has a downloadable file or any podcast that is uploaded to YouTube.
One of the best podcast pairings I’ve found for Romeo and Juliet is Reservation Math: Navigating Love in Native America by Smithsonian Sidedoor. Not only does it educate listeners on the nuances of blood quantum, but it also provides a modern lens to discuss the timeless themes in the play. Keep reading here for more Romeo and Juliet activities, teaching Ideas, and lessons.
HAMLET ELA PODCAST PAIRING
After students hear about this unique production, have them create their own mini play using these Hamlet finger puppets!
ELA PODCAST PARING FOR THE CRUCIBLE
Lore is the only fictional ELA podcast recommendation on this list. As you can probably tell, I much prefer to create text sets with informational texts or literary nonfiction, but many ELA teachers love using Lore and this specific episode (Half-Hanged) makes a fantastic pairing for The Crucible.
YEATS POETRY TEXT SET
Rick Steves has a number of episodes devoted to celebrated authors or novel settings. I use his program 392 Ireland’s W.B. Yeats; Scotland’s Robert Burns; Agatha Christie’s England to teach Yeats’ poetry. There’s really nothing like hearing a native Irishman recite Yeats–it’s mesmerizing. Download this lesson here: W.B. Yeats in Ireland
PODCAST AND POETRY PAIRINGS
Speaking of poetry, my favorite text sets are ELA podcasts and poetry pairings. I’ve found these two genres go well together because:
- Class time normally allows for both an episode and poem
- Both poetry and podcasts are meant to be listened to and come alive through sound
- Poetry and podcast are very different genres so students have to use deep thinking skills to make the connections
You can find all of my ELA podcasts and poetry pairings here: Activities for teaching podcasts and poetry
In college, my absolute favorite class was Literary Nonfiction. We read things like In Cold Blood and Devil in the White City, and I fell in love with the genre. When I found Serial last year, I knew that it would be in my top 5 list. It’s so well done, and it works well in upper grades because: 1. It’s free 2. It’s relevant (deals with high school-aged subjects) 3. It’s rich in teachable content. I actually use this unit as a stand-alone text, but I have heard teachers report pairing it with In Cold Blood. Because of the similar reporter relationships, I think this would make a powerful combination.
One thing that really surprised me while teaching it for the first time was that my students CHOSE to read the transcripts while listening to it. Studies have shown that reading comprehension greatly increases when students both read and listen simultaneously, so I was thrilled when the majority of my students would open their Classroom OneNote to the transcript each time we listened in class (it would be very hard to print this many copies for each episode. If you don’t use OneNote, you can email them the transcripts or put them in Google Classroom). For more on transcript use, read more here: How to plan a podcast unit for middle school and high school
As we read and listened, we hit a ton of standards. We had four Socratic Seminars where students had to use evidence to prove their insights, we close read and compared 3 writing styles (fiction, nonfiction, and literary nonfiction), we found examples of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, we wrote speeches to work on argumentative skills and so much more.
I can tell you that I had students excel with this unit in a way that they would have never excelled during a traditional classical-fiction unit. Though this podcast has some mature language and topics, I feel that analytical and interest value outweigh the risks of pushback. Some students just need something real and raw to make a connection with their lives, and this production will do just that. You can read more about teaching Serial here: Teaching Serial Podcast in High School ELA
I hope that this post has inspired you think outside of the typical text set box and try some ELA podcast pairings! If you need more resources and ideas, here are some helpful links:
