2nd Grade Ancient China Podcast
Today, second graders at Laburnum Elementary made podcasts about ancient China (SOL 2.1) using Pixie. I had actually planned on doing the podcast in GarageBand (and since I already made the template, you can download it and the folder of pictures to use by clicking here), but then I found out that they had already done a GarageBand podcast, so I taught them how to do a podcast in Pixie. First we chose a good font and size for our title, then we searched the Stickers for pictures relating to ancient China. We typed in words like “bronze, silk, compass, fireworks, kite,” and of course, “China.” Then I showed the students how to change the color of the stickers by gluing them down and using the paint bucket. Finally we recorded our voices telling about ancient China, and I exported them as QuickTime movies. You can take a look at a couple of student samples by clicking here and here. One of the great things about podcasting is that it helps improve student fluency, and this is especially important for ESL students. Here’s a sample from an ESL student in the same class.