Podcasts, another "new" tool for teaching

Podcasts may not be new to you, but they were totally unknown to me a short few weeks ago. Then, we started to explore them, and their potential for improving both listening and speaking skills.

Here is one idea:

Literature Lesson Plan for EFL 7th grade students

Original podcast site: http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Literature

Specific literature / poetry site: http://www.learnoutloud.com/Podcast-Directory/Literature/Poetry/Poem-of-the-Day-Podcast/20139#3

Class time: 50 mi

Objective: to help students acquire poetry reading skills, and to familiarize them with the concepts of rhyme and rhythm.

Strategies:
Listening comprehension, reading comprehension, inferring, and retelling.

Activities:

1. Students listen to podcast 2 times (5 mi)
2. Students discuss what the poem is about, and how it made them feel (15 mi)
3. Students listen to podcast a third time with the written words in front of them
4. Students are asked to listen for words that sound the same (rhyming words), and to highlight them on the sheet of paper with the words of the poem. (5 mi)
5. Teacher checks answers with students, and comments on rhyme (10 mi)
6. Students are asked to listen again to the poem, without any paper, and to clap their hands according to the rhythm they feel the poem has. The activity is repeated until all students are clapping at the same time. Teacher comments on the concept of rhythm in a poem. (10 mi)
7. Students are asked to write a short poem incorporating the concepts of rhythm and rhyme, to be corrected in the next class period.