Talk Shows

Patrick Burbine’s 5th grade students created news talk-show videos, starring themselves. They started by exploring different non-fiction text features in their literature textbook, Edge B. These features included data charts and formatting of an interview.

The next step was deciding what questions were both answerable in a chart and interesting to their audience, other students at PEAI. Once students had their questions, they could go about their research, either using the internet or surveying other students at the academy.

Because the end product would be digital, the class also learned how to make digital charts. They learned to enter information into a spreadsheet (like Excel) and turn that information into a graphic. They evaluated different chart types – pie charts, horizontal or vertical bar graphs – and chose the option that displayed their data most effectively.

Once their charts were complete, students developed their interview. They wrote questions and answers, organized the interview for the right flow of ideas, and then began practicing. The result is the videos you see below.