Radio WillowWeb

"Radio for kids, by kids from Willowdale Elementary School in Omaha, Nebraska." I listened to Radio WillowWeb's Space Mission podcast given by the fifth graders. The entire podcast was written by the students in the class and addressed many different curricular areas, containing topics like Poetry Corner, Jokes and Riddles, Did You Know?, Science Class, Vocabulary Theatre, and Wonderful Website. During Poetry Corner, one of the students read a space-themed poem she had written and then told the audience why she liked it, her favorite part of it, and what the poem reminded her of. There were several students that shared jokes and riddles they had written about space, making the host of Space Mission try and guess the answers. The best joke: Where do astronauts park their space shuttle? At a parking meteor! :) During Science Class, the order of the planets was sung and fun facts about certain planets were shared. The kids went so far as to explain that their teacher would have weighed over 200 pounds standing on Neptune but only 9 pounds on Pluto (the podcast was from 2005). In Vocabulary Theatre, the listener got to hear BOTH definitions of "Milky Way" in great detail. Finally, the class invited the listeners to their choice for Wonderful Website. In podcasts like these, it is so much fun to listen to children's voices doing the teaching. The students in this podcast were very professional, making few mistakes, and their excitement for the project was evident in their voices. Shorter podcasts like this one, made by other students, would be perfect to use as an introduction to a planet unit. What a way to grab the attention of your class...listening to space riddles or poems or a few fun facts right before they begin the unit themselves. Great Job Radio WillowWeb!