Kara's plan

Kara Kulak
Old Radio Shows
Grade Three

Purpose
To introduce students to the entertainment form of old radio shows and allow them to create their own radio show through script writing and recording.

Rationale
This unit will expose students to a form of entertainment they probably have no previous experience with – old radio shows. They will listen to a variety of old radio show genres. By providing this assortment it is hoped that students will find at least one program that they really enjoy, thus making the unit more interesting to them. Once students are hooked on this form of entertainment, they will be told how they will be writing and producing their own radio show! During this process they will engage in a beneficial and authentic writing experience - culminating in an exciting and original finished product. This project will be a welcomed challenge for students at the grade three level and with the proper instruction, guidance and encouragement, the finished radio shows will be remarkable. Their writing will be allowed to come off the page and will come alive with the addition of character voices and sound effects. This unit provides an opportunity for students to practice their oral presenting skills without the pressure of doing so “live”. The element of sound also ties into the grade three “Hearing and Sound” unit in science, and cross-curricular connections can be made.

Planning and Teaching Sequence*
Familiarity with Text Types
• Listen to and categorize old radio shows
• Explain how design, layout and organization of old radio shows and their scripts create effect
• Discuss how to compose radio shows according to audience and purpose
• Draw on reading (of comic books) to design old radio show script
• Demonstrate expressing personal responses to old radio shows (in journal entry)
Teacher Modeling
• Expose students to old radio shows
• Discuss conventions associated with old radio shows
Capture Ideas
• Explore ideas for old radio shows using the sound scavenger hunt and episodic stories found in comic books
• Record ideas through note making and story maps
Children’s Independent Learning
• Listen to old radio shows and express preference
• Create own radio show scripts based on a comic book story
Teacher Modeling
• Demonstrate making sounds for scavenger hunt and creating old radio show scripts based on a comic book episode
• Show how to take notes and use story maps
Plan
• Demonstrate how to choose the comic book episode that works best for this task
• Show how to collect and arrange ideas using graphic organizers, lists, storyboards
Children’s Independent Learning
• Decide what comic book story to use for their radio show
Teacher Modeling
• Combine models from shared listening and capture idea on planning formats
Draft
• Demonstrate how to use models and plans from shared reading/listening to support drafting scripts and design choices
• Model using audio devices to record own radio show
• Demonstrate making changes to the text, adding or removing elements to clarify meaning
Children’s Independent Learning
• Explore design options to create possible script layouts (i.e. where sound effects and advertisements are placed)
• Decide on the importance of speech and/or sound effects
Teacher Modeling
• Explain how choices of sound/voice will communicate the overall meanings of the script
Revise
• Refer back to models of old radio show and scripts presented during shared listening and reading
• Ask peers to assess and review text using agreed criteria (during peer conferences)
• Demonstrate adding or removing elements of the script text/sound effects to clarify meaning
Children’s Independent Learning
• Apply decisions about which narration/sound effects/character lines best communicate the intended meaning of their old radio show
Teacher Modeling
• Model using success criteria to inform revisions and improve the draft script
• Talk through making decisions about re-organizing elements of the script to improve design , cohesion and meaning
Proof Read
• Demonstrate how to check written script for spelling, punctuation and appropriate script format
• Demonstrate how to check audio for voice impression, volume, and clarity
• Demonstrate how to check audio for sound effect impression and volume
Children’s Independent Learning
• Work with peers to make decisions about the effective use of narration/sound effects/character lines to communicate meaning
• Apple understanding of design and script/audio construction to clarify meaning
Teacher Modeling
• Demonstrate proof reading for appropriate inclusion of individual elements in the script and overall design
• Demonstrate proof listening for accuracy of individual elements in the audio
Present
• Model how to evaluate final copy
• Publish old radio shows by recording a final version to share with the class
Children’s Independent Learning
• Proof read and proof listen for accuracy and consistency
• Check cohesion/volume levels of sound effects and voice
Teacher Modeling
• Demonstrate offering constructive feedback about content, design and use of narration/sound effects/character lines to communicate successfully with the listener
Children’s Independent Learning
• Use available resources (audio material) to present texts
• Evaluate own final copy
• Identify areas to improve on if revising the script or audio version of their old radio show

*Based off “The Multimodal Planning and Teaching Sequence” found in Bearne and Wolstencroft’s text
(see reference list)

Description of Learning Experiences
Students will:
• listen to a variety of old radio shows to familiarize themselves with this entertainment genre.
• be shown a sample of an old radio show script and shown the various elements of this text type.
• see the transition from television to radio by listening to an old radio show of I Love Lucy and watching an episode of the I Love Lucy television show.
• complete a sound scavenger hunt to collect ideas for sound effects in their radio show.
• create their own old radio show script based on a comic book episode
• include an advertisement, sound effects, narration and character lines in their radio show.
• participate in peer conferences to receive feedback on their scripts.
• have on-the-spot conferences with the teacher to receive feedback on their scripts.
• make alterations to their scripts based on the above feedback.
• record their old radio shows and present them to the class.
• write reflections on their opinions of old radio shows, comparing old radio show to television programs, and self-assessing their group work and final product.

Annotated Resource List
Arnaz, D., Ball L. (Producers), Oppenheimer J. (Producer/Writer), Levy, R. (Director), & Carroll, B. & Davis, M. (Writers). (1951). I Love Lucy: The Very First Show [Motion Picture]. Beverly Hills, CA: Fox Video.
This is the pilot of the I Love Lucy Show – the television program based off the old radio show My Favorite Husband. This video, combined with the I Love Lucy: Breaking the Lease will clearly demonstrate the transition from radio shows to television shows.
Asimov, I. (Writer). (1955). X-Minus One: Nightfall (Cassette Recording). Schiller Park, IL: Radio Spirits, Inc.
This science-fiction radio show gives students an example of a type of suspense show. Students will enjoy the predictions this show makes about the year 2050.
Balzer, G., Josefsberg, M., Perrin, S., & Tackaberry, J. (Writers). (1952). The Jack Benny Program (Cassette Recording). Schiller Park, IL: Radio Spirits, Inc.
This program is a good example of old radio show variety programs. It can be used to connect old radio shows to modern talk shows like Ellen.
Bearne, E., & Wolstencroft H. (2007). Visual Approaches to Teaching Writing: Multimodal Literacy 5-11. London, UK: Paul Chapman Publishing.
Our class textbook provides the outline of The Multimodal Planning and Teaching Sequence (p. 32). This outline was used to create an outline for the Old Radio Show unit.
Freeman B. P. & Lowther, G. (Writers). (1945). The Adventures of Superman: The Meteor from Krypton (Cassette Recording). Schiller Park, IL: Radio Spirits, Inc.
This radio show will be a good tie in from the previous unit on comic books. It will also be useful for sparking the interest the boys in the class.
Oppenheimer, J. (Writer/Producer/Director). (1952). I Love Lucy: Breaking the Lease (Cassette Recording). Schiller Park, IL: Radio Spirits, Inc.
This radio show will help to demonstrate the transition from radio shows to television. After listening to this show students will also have the opportunity to view an I Love Lucy television episode.
Rapp, R. (Writer). (1947). The Bickersons (Cassette Recording). Schiller Park, IL: Radio Spirits, Inc.
This radio show will serve as an example of the family life comedies that were popular at the time. It will tie into a lesson on script writing using a script from another comedy series Our Miss Brooks.
Simply Scripts: Read Scripts Online (2006). Our Miss Brooks: Cure That Habit. Retrieved November 8, 2008, from http://www.vstreff.org/Scripts/Brooks_Cure_that_habit.pdf
This document will be used to demonstrate to students how old radio show scripts are written to include speech, sound effects, commercials, etc. The homepage http://www.simplyscripts.com/radio.html provides many old radio show scripts to choose from.
Tollin, A. (1999). The 60 Greatest Old-Time Radio Shows of the 20th Century: Selected by Walter Cronkite [Booklet]. Schiller Park, IL: Radio Spirits, Inc.
This booklet accompanies the cassette tape collection and provides valuable and interesting information about the old radio shows included in this set.