What is the Magazine Radio Show Project?

Download PDF

Introduction

The goal of the Team Project is to develop a 13-minute magazine format radio program to be presented to the class at the end of the module.

The Team Project is intended to allow students to develop all the crosscurricular competencies being practised through the learning activities and to apply and appropriate them in their own project.

The project should be worked on throughout the entire curriculum module. At the discretion of the teacher, the Project could be worked on during class time and as assigned homework.

The radio program will be performed live in front of the class at the end of the module. However, there are elements of the program that will need to be recorded in advance.

Process

1. Divide the class into teams of 4-5 students.

2. Each team will need to do research on one of the themes covered in this module (globalization, trade, multinational corporations, migration, develelopment & human rights).

3. In developing their radio programs, students will use a multidisciplinary approach by incorporating elements such as drama (e.g. role-plays, songs), math (e.g. statistics), new technologies (e.g. recorded interviews), language arts (e.g. poem), etc.

4. At the end of the module, students will give 13-minute presentations to the class.

5. The Radio Writing Checklist and scripts will be used to complete the Project. At least one team should keep copies of the scripts used as their rough drafts.

6. Final copies of the script (program transcript) will be given to the teacher.

Magazine Radio Program

A magazine radio program is made up of different program segments with distinct content. To complete each segment of the radio program, students will have to perform different tasks relying on selected tools.

The attached PDF is a grid with suggested program segments, times, associated tasks/tools and the roles and output for each segment.

Because of the different layers involved in this project, different elements could be easily integrated into other subjects such as Drama, Language Arts, Computer Science, and Art Class.

Project Roles

Everyone on the production team will have a role to play.

To produce the program, there should be:

• A Producer: coordinates show lineup, assigns stories, responsible for overall program

• Reporters: research and write scripts for stories

• A Technician: gathers, records and edits sound

• Host(s)/Announcer(s): presents show segment(s)

However, everyone should be part of the live role-play of the radio program: Reporters present their own pieces live; Technicians play all of the taped audio; and the Producer might become the live host or announcer.

Tools

A number of tools have been made available to help students complete the learning activities as well as the project.

Tools that are particularly useful for the project include:

• Radio Writing Checklist
• Technician Cue Sheet
• News Writing

Materials List

• Access to computer lab, portable computers in the classroom, and/or home computers with Internet access and Microsoft Word® installed.
• Access to digital recording/editing software, microphone and speakers (to record and edit audio on the computer)
• Pens
• Pencils
• Paper
• Roundtable - for guests
• Two tables - one for hosts, the other for technician
• Host microphone(s), guest microphone
• CD player
• CDs (audio clips may be transferred to CD)
• Cassettes (for recorded interviews or other recorded audio)

General Resources for Students

Students will find out about a number of resources through the learning activities. However, here are some general resources that will be especially useful for Team Projects.