Thanks to Ms. Baker from Mt. Vernon City Schools for sharing her very first class podcast with us. Below is a summary from Ms. Baker about how her 1st grade students created the podcast. Great work!!! 
 
"This is our second week studying whales. As a class we visited several websites and read lots of books about whales. We broke up into 4 groups. Each group focused on a whale topic (kinds, babies, behaviors, fun facts). They did the brainstorming and additional research, and writing, then broke the writing up so that everyone had a part. That’s what we recorded." 
 
Ohio Standards meet while producing the Podcast: 
 
Language Arts: Writing Processes 
1. Generate writing ideas through discussions with others. 
2. Develop a main idea for writing. 
4. Use organizational strategies (brainstorming, lists, webs, Venn diagrams) to plan writing. 
6. Construct complete sentences with subjects and verbs. 
 
Research 
1. Discuss ideas for investigation about a topic or areas of personal interest. 
2. Utilize appropriate searching techniques to gather information, with teacher assistance, from a variety of locations (classroom, library, community resources) 
3. Use books or observations to gather information to explain a topic or unit of study with teacher assistance. 
4. Recall important information about a topic with teacher assistance. 
5. Report information to others. 
 
Communication: Oral and Visual 
4. Speaks clearly and understandably. 
5. Deliver brief informational presentations that: demonstrate an understanding of the topic; include and sort relevant information and details to develop topic; organize information with a clear beginning and ending; and express opinions. 
7. Deliver simple dramatic presentations (poems, rhymes, songs, stories) 
 
Social Studies Skills and Methods 
1. Obtain information about a topic using variety of oral and visual sources. 
3. Determine categories for sorting information 
5. Communicate information orally or visually. 
 
Science: Life Sciences 
1. Explore that organisms, including people, have basic needs which include air, water, food, living space, and shelter. 
3. Explore that humans and other animals have body parts that help to seek, find, and take in food when they are hungry (sharp teeth, flat teeth, good nose, and sharp vision) 
5. Recognize that seasonal changes can influence the health, survival, or activities of organisms. 
 
Technology for Productivity Applications 
1. Use technology resources with teacher assistance (e.g., pre-selected Web sites, launching applications, educational software). 
 
Technology and Information Literacy 
1. Talk about the difference between factual information and fiction (.eg., what is real and what is pretend or make-believe). 
2. Use a graphic organizer to sort information. 
3. Ask questions about an identified topic and list facts already known about the topic (e.g, graphic organizers for brainstorming, charting, webbing). 
4. Find information in a technology-based resource (e.g., Web site, database, DVD, software program, video). 
***Use technology to tell what was learned from information gathered (e.g., use simple presentation tools to create a poster, book, slide show). 
 
Wow - now that is a lot of standards! Thanks for sharing your wonderful work!