Earth and Sky
Before I left Alaska, two of my students entered the Earth and Sky Young Producer’s competition, which was an international contest where kids could produce a 90 second radio broadcast about anything involving science. While the contest no longer exists (sad…because these two students won $1000), all the performances are archived. This is a great example of a podcast, which is essentially a radio broadcast that is available over the internet. Wouldn’t that be an interesting project for your child? It involves not only writing development but speaking skills. I know our students in the Brea science group are learning amazing facts about the ocean and giving speeches about what they are discovering. Maybe we can get some of these speeches tied together in a readers theater production to put online. Wouldn’t the grandparents in Florida or North Dakota love to hear their grandkids online? salmon.mp3
More examples of winning performances (as well as lots of great science information) is available at www.earthsky.org. Just type in a subject in the search box. If any of you have a performer ready, give me a call and we will get it rolling. It’s amazing how much information can be conveyed in 90 seconds, and it gives kids a great sense of an introduction, body and conclusion.
