Listen Edition is an “amazing resource” for teachers

So many times, I find myself listening to public radio and thinking how easily and powerfully it could intertwine and supplement some of our elementary curriculum. I admit, though, I have never gone back to the NPR archives.A few weeks ago, when I was at the New England Social Studies Convention, I met Monica Brady-Myerov. Monica has founded listenedition.com, a resource for educators that weaves public radio broadcasts with Common Core and State Standards. Working with public school teachers, Monica has developed and categorized many lesson plans with direct links to national and state standards. Each broadcast is about 4-5 minutes and comes with a detailed lesson plan, listening prompts, extension activities, homework suggestions, assessment opportunities. Additionally, the lesson plans have links to all of the standards that they address.Monica has done an amazing job at organizing this website to make it easy to search and find resources. Lessons are organized by grades (3-6 and 7-8), as well as by subject. Some of the subjects include, but are not limited to, geography, immigration, the Civil War, STEM, mathematics, the Constitution, and Westward Expansion. I have included a screen shot of the dropdown menu that gives an idea of how easy it is to search for lessons. Monica has made it easy for teachers by including summaries of broadcasts, detailed notes on the transcripts, and specific questions with answers that accompany the broadcasts.

At the convention, I spent time talking with Monica about the importance of listening and of increasing students’ awareness of and curiosity about the world around them. From broadcasts about the noise of worms to others about border states during the Civil War, public radio is an amazing resource for developing or supplementing curriculum, especially at the middle school to high school levels.

For the time being, listenedition.com is free. You do have to register in order to view the lesson plans and extension activities and I highly recommend that you do, as you will also receive updates about newly added broadcasts and lessons.

Enjoy your listening,