How many fourth-graders does it take to make a podcast? Here’s what we learned

It’s before school on a crisp Friday morning in Carlsbad, Calif. Andrew Luria is rallying the kids in his newsroom.

“How many of you guys didn’t do your homework?” Luria asks the 10- and 11-year-old journalists. Nearly half the students in his broadcasting club, sitting on the floor of their multipurpose room, raise their hands. “Wow, my own daughter?” he responds with a laugh. “You’re in trouble!”

Their assignment, written on the whiteboard filled with this month’s production calendar, was to listen to an episode of a podcast.

The students of MagTV at Magnolia Elementary School know all about podcasts: Last year, they made their own. It told the story of their classmate who had a sudden and life-changing accident, and it was chosen as one of the fourth grade winners of NPR’s Student Podcast Challenge.

Bouncing Back

Their podcast starts with dramatic music, and then a student’s voice: “Imagine this: You’re at a birthday party. You’re playing with your little sister, bouncing on the trampoline, and then, in an instant, everything changes.”

Bouncing Back follows Leeland Corman, who experienced a severe brain injury that day. “Leeland was in the hospital for five months, but he wasn’t alone,” another student says in the podcast.

Leeland’s mom, Maggie Corman, and sister, Lily, kept him company. His classmates came to visit, and his teacher stopped by a couple of times a week. His friends and family even wrote to Leeland’s favorite hockey club, the Los Angeles Kings, who replied with a recorded message for Leeland, wishing him a healthy recovery.

In their podcast, the students followed Leeland’s journey, leading up to the dramatic moment when he returned to school. As they reported the story, they captured everything in audio, including interviews with Leeland’s mom, his friends and teachers, and natural sound that really made their entry shine.

“I worked on Leeland’s podcast,” says Itzel Mas, who is now a fifth grader. “It was a really heartfelt podcast.”

A highlight of their narrative is the moment, following cheers for Leeland’s return, when a MagTV journalist asks in an interview, “What was it like to leave the hospital finally?”

“It felt awesome,” Leeland says. “It felt like I was the star.”

How the fourth and fifth graders get the job done

Now, a year later, MagTV students are gathered to brainstorm ideas for their next podcast.

One that keeps coming up is the wildfires in Los Angeles, about two hours north of Carlsbad. If they choose that story, Luria reminds them, they should remember the note he posted in the bottom corner of the room’s whiteboard: “Ask emotional questions.”

Luria is not just a parent and the club leader – he’s also the evening news anchor of Fox 5 San Diego. “I think it’s an important thing when you tell a story [like this], is to put yourself in the victim’s shoes,” he tells the students.

“Imagine having none of your clothes, none of your toys and your books and your school stuff. In some cases, the schools burned down. … What do you do?”

Training from a professional journalist

Much of MagTV’s work is centered around community.

When they aren’t podcasting, the students practice their reporting and production skills by working on their news show. They put together a 30-minute episode each month, watch it with their class and upload it to their YouTube channel.

This morning, they’ll be reporting a segment called The Lions Share, where MagTV students interview their classmates.

Once Luria gives them the go, students dash to the front of the room to grab iPhones and microphones. The sun’s peeping out, and the budding journalists skedaddle outside, where their friends are just arriving.

“What’s your New Year’s resolution?” one of the reporters asks a classmate. That’s the topic of January’s episode. The response?

“To learn how to sit at my chair at the dinner table properly.”

On the sunny blacktop, the students pass around equipment and rotate through different newsroom roles – interviewing, filming and directing.

Luria observes and coaches from the sideline. He chimes in on craft, reminding them to ask follow-up questions, or adjusting their positions for a better camera angle.

Back in the multipurpose room, students are filling out their story-planning worksheets, which you can download here. They’re discussing and writing down the outline of the story, and what sounds or footage they’ll need.

“It’s really fun to learn how to be a reporter at such a young age, says fifth-grader Itzel, who’s in her second year in the club. “I love MagTV, and now I’m kind of like a pro.”

You can listen to MagTV’s award-winning podcast, Bouncing Back, here.