Full confession time. I spend at least an hour a day listening to podcasts. I feel like I need to join some sort of “Podcast Anonymous” meeting or something. To be honest, I listen to many different podcasts. My guilty pleasure type of podcast is anything dealing with true crime. The more mysterious the better! I love listening when I get dressed in the morning, on my drive to work and on the way home from school.
It finally dawned on me that I needed to find a way to use podcasts in my classroom!
I knew podcasts were a valuable tool for learning, but I needed to find just the right podcasts for my US History classroom. After months of binge listening, I’ve narrowed down my list.
Here are my favorite (so far) podcasts to use in my US History classroom.
- American History Tellers. This podcast is told like a story, which students are really drawn to. It is easy to understand and well organized. Favorite series: The Great Depression, The Age of Jackson, Prohibition, The Cold War, Political Parties – The Golden Age of the GOP (which has a short (awesome) part on the Populists and an incredible story on the free coinage of silver.
- Print the Legend: AP US History with Mr. Nesossi – I just found this podcast recently and it is incredible. It’s definatly for ALL US History classes, not for just AP. Trust me. Go subscribe for this one! Favorite Episode: #14: The Roaring 20s – In Reality.
- American Scandal – Like American History Tellers, this is told in the form of story. It is well written and easy to understand. Favorite series: Iran Contra & Exxon Valdez
- Presidential – 40-45 minute summaries of each of our Presidents of the United States. This would be great to use with a substitute, or for extra credit.
- Presidential Elections – Wicked Game – This podcast revisits elections from the past and breaks down the candidates and key issues of the day. Favorite Episode: 1800: Tiebreaker
- Skimm This – Looking for current events podcast? Look no further! Skimm This breaks down the top stories of the day (Monday – Friday) in manageable chunks and explain things in a student-friendly way. I listen to this one every day without fail. It keeps me in the loop on all things current events.
- Stuff You Missed in History Class – This one has a wide variety of topics. The hosts do a great job of explaining topics and making them interesting for the listener. Favorite Episode: Who was the last queen of Hawaii?
- Throughline – Really well told podcast by NPR (National Public Radio) that goes back in time to help tell stories of the present. Favorite Episodes: High Crimes and Misdemeanors, Dark Side of the Moon
- A Teacher’s History of the United States – This is a great way to replace your lecture. Episodes are short and the host does a great job building important background information for students. Favorite Episode: Great Awakening
- They Signed: The Signers of the Declaration of Independence – Short episodes (most around 15-20 minutes) related to topics about the Declaration of Independence. Favorite Episode: July 4, or July 2, 1776?
- AP USHistory: Buschistory – Before you say “I don’t teach AP” – neither do I! What I like about this podcast is that he explains important court cases in 5-8 minutes in really easy to understand language. Seriously – these are great, quick summaries. They would be great way to review! Favorite Episode: Schenck v. United States 1919 and Dred Scott v. Sanford 1857
- Anti-Social Studies – Really well written and funny! Students love this podcast by an incredible history teacher. Favorite episode: The Progressive Era, or, “No thumbs in our meat, please!”
- History This Week – Created by the History Channel, most episodes are 20-30 minutes. They cover a wide array of topics and many are perfect for the classroom. Favorite episode: Scopes Monkey Trial
So how do I use them?
It varies on the podcast and the standard I am trying to teach. Here are some of the ways I use podcasts in my classroom:
- Replace part of my lecture. If I do this, I usually try and keep the segment limited to about 10-20 minutes and play it for the whole class. They take notes or respond to questions.
- Complete a one pager over the episode. There are a ton of resources online about creating one pagers. Students love them and they work great with podcasts. I use these one pager templates with my students.
- Stations: Students listen, then respond to questions I have created. Sometimes I have the same podcast at each station, other times I have different ones related to the same topic.
- Create a mind-map of the episode.
- Create a meme as a reaction to the information or as a summary of the perspective of someone in the podcast.
- Extra credit. Many of my students have jumped at the chance to have extra credit by listening to a podcast I recommend. I have them respond to a prompt for extra credit.
The possibilities are endless!
What I like overall is the novelty of a podcast. Students get to hear a different voice than mine.
Feedback from students?
They love that they they can listen while working out or in the car. The fact that they can repeat an episode as many times as they wish is always a bonus!
If goes without saying that you should always listen to the entire podcast before assigning it to students. Just because the title matches your standard to the “T” doesn’t mean something quirky or inappropriate might be included. Always do a test run of the episode first!
Professional Learning - Of Course!
I also love listening to podcasts for my own professional learning. Peacefield History has a great blog post for history teachers on this topic.
