Multimedia: Audio or Video Lesson Idea

Lesson Idea Name: Immigration Podcast

Grade Level/Content Area: 5th Grade Social Studies
Content Standard Addressed: SS5H1 d. Describe the reasons people immigrated to the United States, from
where they emigrated, and where they settled.
ISTE Technology Standard Addressed:  What would you like students to know and be
Knowledge Constructor 1.3a : Students plan and able to do by the end of this lesson:
employ effective research strategies to locate By the end of the lesson, students will know how to
information and other resources for their intellectual use research engines to learn more about the
or creative pursuits experience of immigrants. Working with a group,
they will write a script based on their research and
Creative Communicator 1.6b: Students create original use the platform Anchor to create a 3-5 minute
works or responsibly repurpose or mix digital podcast from the perspective of immigrants traveling
resources into new creations to America.

What is the student learning goal for this lesson idea?

I can collect research from online platforms such as kids.britannica or Smithsonian Education to describe the
experience of people immigrating to the USA.
I can use Anchor to record a podcast with my group.
Selected Instructional Software Tool: Anchor
Description of Software: Anchor is a podcasting platform from Spotify. It is simple to use and easily edit
audio.
URL(s) to support the lesson (if applicable): https://anchor.fm/dashboard/analytics
For Research:
https://learninglab.si.edu/
https://kids.britannica.com/
Bloom’s Taxonomy Level(s):
☐ Remembering ☐ Understanding ☒ Applying ☒ Analyzing ☒ Evaluating ☒ Creating
How do you plan to implement this lesson and integrate the technology? Check all that apply:
☐ Teacher-led: There is no student voice and choice in the activities. Students are guided by the
teacher's direction and expectations. Learning activities are assigned to the student and mostly
practice based.

☒ Student-Led: Students are given voice and choice in the activities. They may select the topic of
learning and/or determine the tool they will use to meet the learning goal. The teacher facilitates
the learning as the students direct their own learning processes.

☒ Problem-based and/or Publishable: Students are solving problems and completing projects to
demonstrate their learning. Additionally, the projects can be shared outside of the classroom.
(Note: This objective could be reached by displaying the project on the school’s morning
newscast, posting the project to the classroom blog, presenting it to another class, or publishing
it via an outside source.)
Lesson idea implementation:
learning about the experience of people immigrating to America during the turn of the century, students will
create a podcast from the perspective of 2-3 immigrants. To begin the lesson, students will be introduced to
their “I can” statements as well as go through the rubric. The rubric lays out the expectations for research,
script, and podcast. They will first form groups of 2 to 3. In their group they will utilize approved search
TFrazier, 2022
 Multimedia: Audio or Video Lesson Idea
engines such as kids.Britannica or Smithsonian Education to research some key parts to the experience of
immigrants. They will compile their findings into a group word doc. which they will need to turn in. They
should search for details such as why many immigrants left their country, why they chose America, what was
it like during travel, what did they feel when they arrived, etc. Teacher may guide students with questions to
further their research. Once enough creditable research is done, the group will write a script together. Their
script should lay out an intro, what the interviewer will ask, and the experience of immigrant. Each student
should have a speaking part whether in the role of the interviewer or the immigrant. Once the teacher
approves the script- looking for thoroughness and division of parts, students may log onto Anchor. The
teacher will give them a login to use. The group will then record their podcast remembering to speak clearly
and slowly. Once they are finished recording students will add intro and outro music before submitting their
podcast to a drop box. At the end of the lesson, students will review their graded rubric and adjust as needed.
Podcast will be played in the next lesson to share with peers and review their findings.
Managing student learning: 
To manage student learning there will be check in points throughout the lesson. The group may not move
onto the next step without approval. For example after research and then after writing their script they will
need to be approved by the teacher to move on. As the project is student- led the group has responsibility to
divide their time properly, however the teacher will project recommended timers to lead groups in the right
direction. If the group has a question, they must all be able to ask the question they have. This makes sure the
group is communicating and have already tried figuring out their question together before asking the teacher.
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Reflection:
This lesson supports UDL as there are several points in the lesson for students to demonstrate their strong
suit. For example, students who best learn through reading benefit through the research potion. Auditory
learners will benefit from discussing as a group what they found. Tactile learners will enjoy producing a
podcast. Anchor allows students to express them self with all it’s different features. Students can add music
and sound effects to their podcast. The UDL principle of engagement is demonstrated as there are several
parts to the lesson. Students will only work on one step of their project for a brief amount of time meaning
they will be engaged in several activities (writing, recording, producing, etc.) Representation and expression is
seen through the students using their creativity to write from a different perspective. Their learning is
demonstrated through their voice.
Reflection:
I feel that the activities I created will get students excited about the topic. It’s important for them to see
things from a different perspective and I believe by putting them self in the seat of an Immigrant they will
produce a better understanding of what they experienced. Students will be excited to make their own
podcast, as many of them have started listening to podcast on their own. Having them write out a script will
make the process run more smoothly as they will have something to base their podcast on. The script also will
act as an agreement of the group on what they want their podcast to be like. I look forward most to helping
students research. Research is an important skill they are developing and by providing them two safe options
to practice will allow them to work more effectively. The teacher will guide their research with questions
which I believe will enhance the experience by challenging the students to think in a different way.

TFrazier, 2022