Rudine Sims Bishop describes the power of literature to provide students with “windows, mirrors, and doors.” Like other instructional texts, our podcast collections can offer windows, mirrors, and doors that illuminate people’s experiences and enrich learning.
Podcasts that serve as mirrors can validate students’ identities and experiences. Research indicates that instructional materials that do this are critical to engagement and deep, meaningful learning.
Podcasts that serve as windows may build background knowledge (necessary for reading comprehension) and understanding of diverse perspectives.
Finally, podcasts that serve as doors can foster empathy and other skills that build competency in social awareness as defined by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). Learn more about how you can use Listenwise to apply the CASEL framework to teach SEL skills at this blog post.
Listenwise has published seven elementary, middle, and high school collections that explore aspects of people’s identities:
- Stories of People with Disabilities (elementary school);
- Black and African American Stories (middle school);
- Latino and Hispanic American Stories (middle school);
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Stories (middle school);
- Native American & Indigenous Peoples Stories (middle school);
- LGBTQ+ Stories (middle school);
- Stories of People with Disabilities (middle school);
- Women Making History (middle school);
- Exploring Identity (middle school);
- Black and African American Stories (high school);
- Latino and Hispanic American Stories (high school);
- Asian American and Pacific Islander Stories (high school);
- Native American & Indigenous Peoples Stories (high school);
- LGBTQ+ Stories (high school);
- Stories of People with Disabilities (high school)
- Women Making History (high school);
- Shaping Identity (high school);
Our content philosophy guides our story curation and the instructional materials we create. Our new collections can be used to develop literacy skills while fostering social and emotional learning and encouraging consideration of diverse perspectives on a range of topics and issues.
In order to best enhance academic learning with our new collections, which provide students mirrors, windows, and doors to explore identities, we suggest teachers consider the following tips and resources:
#1 Define and Discuss Identity
Teaching students the term “identity” and doing developmentally appropriate activities to consider their own and others’ identities may help students prepare for learning with audio stories that offer them windows, mirrors, and doors.
Check these resources for activities and lessons that are appropriate for different age groups.
- Learning for Justice “Identity” Lessons
- Scholastic “Who Am I” Unit Plan
- University of Michigan “Personal Identity Wheel” Activity
- University of Michigan “Social Identity Wheel” Activity
Check out this clip from one of our past webinars that shares strategies for using Listenwise podcasts and videos to help English learners see themselves in books, as well as teach them about the lives of others.
#2 Reflect and Select Accordingly
Choosing appropriate instructional resources can be influenced by different student and community populations, times of the year, current events and issues, and/or curriculum topics. We encourage teachers to reflect on the two questions below, scan our new identity collections, and check out our related blog posts before selecting audio stories.
- Reflection Questions:
- How often are students in your school/district offered opportunities to hear from and learn about people of various races/ethnicities, cultures/religious backgrounds, socioeconomic backgrounds, dis/abilities, gender/sexual identities?
- Which specific student group(s) might see themselves reflected LEAST in your curriculum?
- Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Classroom with Podcasts
- The 1619 Project: Teaching Resources and Podcast Lessons
#3 Plan and Prepare for Success
Thoughtful planning and preparation can help to ensure that academic, social, and emotional learning (SEL), and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals are achieved while using podcasts to provide windows, mirrors, and doors. Teachers can use Listenwise’s DEI/SEL Lesson Plan Worksheet, which includes helpful DEI/SEL integration reflection questions and resources) and our related blogs for assistance as they plan and prepare for success.
- Listenwise DEI/SEL Lesson Plan Worksheet
- 5 Ways to Address SEL Goals Using Podcasts
- Customizable Podcast Lessons Support Busy and Novice Teachers
Learn how to add instructions on empathy into your lesson plans with our blog post, “Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Classroom With Podcasts.”
