Listen to a Radio Show

Lesson Tip
Enjoying a radio show provides new meaning to the art of listening.

Objectives

• Uses listening strategies effectively
• Listens and responds to a variety of oral presentations
• Understands that there are patterns and rules in the syntactic
  structure, symbols, sounds and meanings conveyed through
  the English language
• Understands the power of language

Materials
Tape of a classic old time radio show such as The Lone Ranger
or Abbot and Costello.

Procedure

1. Explain to students that in years past, people did not have televisions, DVDs, computers and CDs. They would gather around the radio as a family to listen to shows.
2. The class will listen to a radio show. This can be a tape of an
   old time show or anything with a storyline. Search for shows online- see list below.
3. Have students listen again and note the kind and number of effects used. Remind students that people could only listen to radio shows and effects were used to stimulate the imagination.
4. Students will graph kind and number of effects used.

Evaluation
Students will listen to the radio show a second time and make
note of when or if the following occurs in the program:

Hidden message, innuendo, sarcasm, double entendre, puns,
hyperbole, irony, colloquialisms, inflections, sound effects,
humor.
They will be graded on the number of effects they have found.

Homework
Look up the words in the list above, type their definitions and
learn their meanings.

Websites: Comedy Central
http://otr.com/comedy.html 

Radio Days
http://otr.com/index.shtml 

A Prairie Home Companion
http://prairiehome.org/ 

Extension Activities
Visit a radio station to hear a live broadcast.