1. Podcast

2. What is a podcast?
Audio or video file available on the Internet;
"Pod" is an acronym for "Portable and On-Demand"; a play on the word broadcast because many people use them on iPods, the most popular MP3 player

3. We are going to listen to a sample podcast
It is an example of persuasive speech and listen for any elements of persuasion
What are the benefits of using the podcast format?
Convenient, fun, something new, you can listen to a podcast as many times as you like, podcasts can reach a wide audience, some people process audio messages better than print messages, free to create, anyone can do it

4. Connection to The Great Gatsby
As a group, you are going to create a podcast for The Great Gatsby
Your podcast should be along the same lines as Serial
Your group is trying to answer the question, “Who is responsible for Gatsby's death?”
Persuade the audience of your podcast through evidence, anecdotes, quotes, etc
Your podcast should be 7 minutes in length

5. Memory Game
In this story, a high school boy named Adnan is accused of murder and is asked to provide a detailed account about one particular afternoon in his past. How difficult would this be for you?
Give a detailed account of your second class of the day, three days ago. Who was missing? Who left the classroom? What were you wearing? Name as many particular details of that class as you can.
Do the same thing, but in regards to the first two hours after school, exactly six weeks ago. If you can remember very much, explain why that day stood out for you.

6. Connotation
Some of our narrator’s word choice in the first episode gives us a great opportunity to read for connotative value.
Some of the individual words and phrases have relatively clear connotative meaning in themselves; furthermore, her habitual use of euphemisms can betray a certain perspective, if not outright bias.
This recognition is especially significant in the first chapter/episode of a narrative, and it allows us to discuss the degree of the narrator’s reliability before we proceed with the rest of the story.
Incidentally, many of the online discussions continue to debate whether we should trust the narrator as a completely objective reporter.

7. Connotation Questions
1. What does it mean when someone is “loosey-goosey” with details (8:09)? How is the denotation and connotation different from “lying” or “committing perjury”? 2. How is a “teeny weeny bag of marijuana” (6:58) different than “a small amount of drugs”? 3. What does the narrator mean when she says Adnan and his friends were “healthy American teenagers who were going to do what teenagers do, so long as they didn't get caught” (10:00)? 4. The state portrays Adnan as “duplicitous.” Sarah and Saad phrase it differently: “We all grew up with that dual personality” that comes with being a “normal kid with immigrant parents” (10:00). What’s the difference in denotation? What’s the difference in connotation? Does this difference show up in your own life?

8. Connotation Questions
5. The narrator notes that Adnan was asleep when the cops arrested him and took him to the interrogation room (12:32). Why does this detail matter in an artistic sense? (What would be lost if she just started the scene in the interrogation room?) 6. The narrator describes Adnan as having “big brown eyes, like a dairy cow” (19:45). What is the connotative meaning of this? 7. Look at your answers to the previous questions in this section. What is the cumulative impact of the narrator’s diction? In other words, can you detect a bias in her description, or a way that she wants the listener to react?

9. Human Lie Detector
Before Jay starts telling his version of the story to the police officers, Sarah Koenig tells us that “somebody is lying” (either Adnan or Jay), and then she specifically tells us that Jay changes his story several times. So we are going to try to be human lie detectors.
You might “evaluate his line of reasoning” (Reading Standard 8) or simply listen closely and evaluate the parts of his story based on his voice (Listening Standard 2 and 3).
You can do the same thing with Adnan, but there’s not the same assurance from our narrator that he’ll change his story.
In either case, this is the best time to teach how to recognize “where the text leaves matters uncertain” (Reading Standard 1).
In other words, what is Jay not saying? What parts of the story are missing?

10. Lie Detector Questions
1. Summarize, in your own words, at least one part of Jay’s story. 2. Cite evidence or quotes that show explicit meaning of what he’s saying. 3. Based on your answers above, what’s your conclusion? 4. What is Jay not saying? What is he leaving uncertain? 5. At what point do you think Jay is lying, or what parts do you predict he’ll change when he tells the story a second time? Why do you think this?

11. Lie Detector Questions
6. Summarize, in your own words, at least one part of Adnan’s story. 7. Cite evidence or quotes that show explicit meaning of what he’s saying. 8. Based on your answers above, what’s your conclusion? 9. What is Adnan not saying? What is he leaving uncertain? 10.At what point do you think Adnan is lying, or what parts do you predict he’ll change when he tells the story a second time? Why do you think this?

12. Purpose and Point of View
For each character, determine their point of view and what they’re trying to accomplish:
Jay
Adnan
Sarah (the narrator)
What would each person say differently if they had a different purpose? How would they change their details, tone, and form?

13. Timeline
Sarah Koenig totally intrigued her audience. This pilot episode hooked more listeners than any podcast before it, and there has been article after article trying to explain it. Koenig is obviously a master storyteller, and I think it’s the form and structure of her story that’s the key component of its success.
Draw a timeline of the first episode, and identify the parts of the story using both technical terms (the hook, the introduction, etc.) and your own terms (“where things get heavy”).
Explain the relationship of these parts, and make judgements on why Sarah made these structural decisions (why did she include certain parts and why did she put them where she did?)

14. Connection to The Great Gatsby
Get in a group of 3-4 students
As a group, you are going to create a podcast for The Great Gatsby
Your podcast should be along the same lines as Serial
Your group is trying to answer the question, “Who is responsible for Gatsby's death?”
Persuade the audience of your podcast through evidence, anecdotes, quotes, etc
Your podcast should be 7 minutes in length

15. In persuasive speaking you want to see these elements:
Goal or thesis clearly presents the speaker's position.
Speaker uses three or more relevant facts/reasons to support the thesis.
Information is presented in a logical, easy-to-follow sequence.
Speaker understands the intended audience and tailors the presentation (e.g., language, arguments) accordingly.
How well did the podcast we listened to in the last session incorporate these elements? Provide examples.

16. Create a persuasion map to help organize the information your group has gathered
After you create the map, your group should prepare the podcast content.
Start scripting your podcast

17. Podcasting in Plain English
Tonight look over the various online resources to help you create a podcast

18. Create your podcasts
Use the resources on the web-page to help you in this process
You may use my computer to record your podcast

19. Resources HowStuffWorks: How Podcasting Works
K12 Handhelds: Podcasting
Podcasting Tools
Podcasting in Plain English video