I’m that Dad that on long car trips has his family listen to old radio plays. They humour me, sometimes they even like them, but sooner or later they want to get back to listening to music or playing video games or yelling at each other to stay on their side of the back seat. The main fault (and what I find endearing… sigh) is that they are OLD and my kids have trouble identifying with them.
Skip ahead a pandemic. I have delved far into my Spotify library and have started having my kids listen to serial podcasts and using them as virtual novel studies. Yes, my kids still read (I have always felt lucky that both my children like to read, as do my wife and I), but these podcasts have allowed for a more in-depth analysis of the material than most novel studies I have seen. It also allows for cross curricular experimentation: Language Arts (writing in character, alternate story lines), Science (I used Sci-fi-ish podcasts so we examined some of the science behind what was happening to see how far-fetched things were), Art (as it’s all audio, it was quite interesting to see how my kids visualized the characters). Serial Podcasts are a modern way for students to take on a novel study without having a book. Most can be found for free (Mars Patel Season 1 was on their website) or are streamed on music apps. Educators need to think outside the box (or book) in these times and allow students to access experience that they may not have before.
Night vale is a HIT in my classroom.