This last spring I did a trial run of a book group project for my students instead of reading the required novel, which I don't really care for. Instead my honors students were divided into small groups, and each group was given a different topic (bullying, teen suicide, racism and prejudice are just a few examples). Each student within the group read a different young adult novel that dealt with the topic in some way and brought that perspective to their discussion groups. At the end of the project, students wrote a letter to the student who would read the book next year, introducing the novel and highlighting their individual experience with the text.
For my podcast, I decided to create an introductory podcast for one of the group topics (teen suicide) using Garageband. The podcast introduces the book project and briefly describes the four novels I have selected for the group (including pictures of the book covers). This would be something the group could listen to when choosing which book to read if I created one for each topic. I think it would be a more interesting way to introduce the books than just printing book reviews, which is what I did last year. It would also be helpful for absent students to be a part of the choosing process.
In addition, I would like to extend the activity at the end of our book projects. I would still have students write a final letter as a script, but I would have each group recreate my podcast with their own to introduce the book and their engagement with it for students who are entrusted with the same topic the next year. I think it would be an excellent way to use technology to sum up the book groups and gain a student perspective on the experience. I also think they would find it more interesting because it is more than just letter writing, and they would be creating a real class tool.
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