Lesson #2

In-service Course

Ben Amato | Newfield HIgh School

The newspaper and television are only two of the ways we see and understand the world around us. We also hear about the events that shape the future. Radio and other audio resources can enhance Multimedia Lessons and make a classroom experience even more meaningful. This lesson will have you exploring the Internet for radio newscasts and other material that will "turn up the volume" of learning within a classroom.

Listening is a skill we can teach, no matter the subject or grade level. The WB11 video clip used in a Multimedia lesson is more a listening exercise than a visual one. Radio news broadcast are uniquely suited to promote good listening habits. National Public Radio has a website that offers access to the news broadcasts they have made during the past 9 years. They also have a search engine which allows you to type in the subject of a news story you wish to hear. Within seconds, they list audio recordings directly related to the subject selected.

NPR.org will be the website I want you to explore first this week. Then I want you to surf over to MSNBC.com, where both audio and video clips are available, free of charge. Some websites now want you to pay a fee for access to their video library. CNN.com is one of those pay sites. CBS.com and ABC.com don't charge but have only limited offerings. The WB11 News at Ten site also features video archive called the WB11 Feedroom or the Newsday Feedroom.

Most radio broadcasts follow a distinct pattern in the presentation of information. The scripts for these news stories follow a traditional writing style, where the TOPIC and the SETTING of the story is delivered first. The PEOPLE involved in the story come next and their PROBLEMS or CONFLICT round out the start of just about every news story. The key to becoming a better listener is to anticipate what the story is going to be about, and then actively listen and take notes on the facts and details you are looking for. The middle of a radio news story is filled with the DETAILS about some topic or a SEQUENCE OF STEPS that make up the event. The final section of the radio broadcast offers a RESOLUTION to the CONFLICT, concluding in the THEME or MESSAGE the story presents. These are the TYPE of details an active listener will take down when hearing and analyzing a radio story.