Roxanne Farwick Owens

Old-Time Broadcasts Eighth-grade students

strengthen their listening,

for New-Time Podcast writing, and creative skills

by exploring mid-20th-
century detective and
mystery radio shows
and then scripting,
directing, recording,
and broadcasting their
own podcasts.

A
Scenery, costumes, and special effects provided by your imagination.
Chuck Schaden, host of Those Were the Days radio show broadcast

creaking door, a sinister laugh, a
thud followed by a scream in the
nightthese were the sounds that
drew listeners into radio shows in
the mid-20th century. Writers of the 1930s, 1940s,
and 1950s knew how to create spine- tingling
scripts that kept the audience glued to the radio
each evening. The shows encompassed a broad
range of genres: mystery, drama, horror, suspense,
science fiction, comedy, and adaptations of classic
books. There was something for everyone.
In that seemingly ancient time BTV (before
TV) families gathered around the radio eagerly
awaiting that evenings installment of Private In-
vestigator Johnny Dollar and his action packed ex-
pense report, or anticipating the arrival of Lamont
Cranstons disembodied voice traveling across the
ether: What evil lurks in the hearts
of men? The Shadow knows! In-
vestigating cases with Detectives
Sam Spade or Miss Pinkerton kept
listeners on the edge of their seats
long after the sound effects and
music had faded.
Teachers understood the
power of this new aural medium
to engage students in English lan-
guage arts education. Between
1931 and 1958, more than 70 ar-
Bob Bailey, who voiced Johnny Dollar
ticles related specifically to using in Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar from
radio shows as a teaching tool ap- 195560.
peared in English Journal alone, and a search of other
education journals from the time period reveals
similar results.
Teachers wrote enthusiastically about the mo-
tivational power of allowing students to listen to
and create their own radio show broadcasts (Lum-
ley; Novotny; I. Tyler; T. Tyler). They reported
high levels of student engagement and multiple
applications of radio shows to teach lessons about
drama, writing, elocution, literary elements, char-
acter development, and a host of other language
arts skills (Anderson; Arndt and Husband; Carson;
De Lay; Mersand; Smith).
Understandably, as TV became more preva-
lent in American homes in the 1960s, the atten-
tion to radio as both an entertainment venue and
a teaching tool diminished. Periodically, an article
recommending use of old radio
broadcasts for writing (Hazard and
Hazard; Hollister) or other lan-
guage arts skills (Jackson et al.)
would appear in a journal. Recently,
thanks in part to MP3 and iPod
technology, there is renewed inter-
est in the aural medium (Rozema).
Why is this the time to bring back
old-time radio shows when the rest
of the world is focusing on screen
media and visual literacy? Heres
why. Teachers are always looking
for innovative teaching methods

66 Eng lish Journal 102.6 (2013): 6670

Copyright 2013 by the National Council of Teachers of English. All rights reserved.

EJ_July2013_B.indd 66 7/1/13 9:21 AM


that engage students in meaning-
ful collaborative learning experi-
ences. Coupled with the fact that
teachers are well aware of the mo-
tivational power of the commu-
nicative and performing arts, the
question instead should be, Why
have we waited so long to resur-
rect this stimulating art form?
Pairing the thrill of old-time
radio with the accessible broadcast
media technology available today
presents interesting and unique iStockphoto/Thinkstock
teaching possibilities, enhancing
students reading, writing, listening, speaking,
and imaginative/nonvisual literacy skills, while
engaging them through purposeful use of elec-
tronic media: creating, recording, and producing
broadcasts and sharing them with a wider audience
through podcasting is an authentic and purposeful
literacy experience for 21st-century learners. Old-
Time Broadcasts (OTB) for New-Time Podcast
(NTP) is readers theater for the next generation.
This article documents how a teacher and
middle school students at one school, in a project
developed and taught three times in as many school
years, returned to the magic of the non-visual me-
dium of radio and discovered how it may be applied
to strengthen the English language arts skills of to-
days student.
Private Eyes and Private Eyelashes
Two professors (one in the field of education and one
in the field of English literature) created an instruc- cluded tense music, keys jangling, a lock opening,
tional unit titled Private Eyes and Private Eyelashes,
focusing on the mystery/detective genre. They col-
laborated with a middle school language arts/social
studies teacher to implement the lessons with an
eighth-grade class. The three-week plan included the
students listening to old-time radio shows, reading
original scripts, analyzing elements of the mystery/
Figure 1. Students List Information about Radio Characters and Broadcasts
Character Physical and Personality Traits
Sherlock Holmes Smokes a pipe, wears a wool coat and a matching
hat that has front and back brim, taller than Watson;
Detail oriented and observant; smart; tried to help
others; brave
EJ_July2013_B.indd 67
Roxanne Farwick Owens
detective genre, writing scripts, and
recording shows for broadcasting.
Week One: Listening
and Reading
The opening lesson was designed
to introduce the students to com-
mon patterns of character traits and
plot elements associated with the
mystery/detective genre, to whet
the appetite for the aural medium
of old-time radio and to assist stu-
dents with the transition from
their familiar mode of using visuals
for information to the less-familiar mode of relying
on their ears and their imaginations to create images.
Students began with their prior knowledge
about detectives from TV shows, movies, and books.
They described the physical characteristics and per-
sonality traits of the detectives, as well as the themes
and motifs present in the stories associated with
these characters. See Figure 1 for an example.
To analyze the patterns associated with the
genre, students discussed how the characters are
developed, how the plot unfolds, how the tension
is built, and how the clues are presented and the
mystery resolved.
Next, to help students begin the transition
to aural mediawith particular emphasis on the
importance of their own imagination and careful
listeningthey were asked to listen to a one-minute
recording that included only music and sound ef-
fects, and to write the story they imagined they heard
through those sounds. The one-minute sequence in-
a door creaking open, footsteps across a wooden
floor, glass breaking, an alarm sounding, something
being dragged across a floor, a yell, a siren, and a few
more seconds of music. What kind of mood did the
music set? What did students imagine was happen-
ing as they listened to the sequence of sounds? What
story unfolded? What did they picture as they were
Themes and Motifs
Good vs. evil; Strong sense of Justice
English Journal 67
7/1/13 9:21 AM
 Old-Time Broadcasts for New-Time Podcast
listening? Not surprisingly, stu-
dents asked to listen to the re-
cording a few times, revealing the
difficulty they had focusing on
sounds without an accompanying
visual of text or images.
Students also listened to
opening sequences of several popu-
lar old-time radio mystery/detective
shows (available on various Internet
sources, see sidebar on page 70). At
this point in the unit, the names
Sam Spade, Sgt. Joe Friday, The Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade in the
Shadow, Candy Matson, Richard 1941 Warner Brothers film The Maltese
Falcon.
Diamond, Phyllis Coe, and Johnny
Dollar were completely unfamiliar to all but one stu-
dent whose grandfather had shared some information
with him; however, it was not difficult to pique stu-
dents interest in these new characters and stories.
In particular, the students found the hard-
boiled lingo used in the dialogue to be quite
amusing, and this served as an excellent hook. Ex-
ploring vernacular, such as gumshoe (detective), Chi-
cago typewriter (machine gun), California bible (deck
of cards), and coffin nail (cigarette), was intriguing
and fun for the students.
In an amusing moment of culture clash, the
teacher had acquired a collection of cassette tapes
of various radio show mystery/detective dramas,
which she shared with the students to listen to at
home. The students were clearly mystified by how
they would do that: They had never seen a cassette
tape and had no idea what kind of device would be
used to play it! Suggestions from the teachers to
check their car radio or clock radios for a cassette
deck met with blank stares. Fortunately, the school
had several old tape recorders in a storeroom.
Students were also asked to talk to older
relatives to ascertain if they had any memories of
listening to radio shows when they were young.
To say that grandparents were thrilled that their
grandchildren were exploring radio shows would be
an understatement. Students reported that grand
parents went on and on and on about their mem-
ories of the various shows from the Golden Age.
The students spent the first week listening to
shows such as Dragnet, The Shadow, and Ellery Queen,
comparing and contrasting characters, analyzing
plot twists, and discussing the impact of the music
68 July 2013
EJ_July2013_B.indd 68
and sound effects on the develop-
ment of the story. Because the stu-
dents had never been exposed to
an old time radio show broadcast,
it took some adjustment for them
to get used to the format. They
found that they needed to listen
carefully and consistently. Con-
centration was key. If their minds
wandered even for a minute or
two, they could miss important
plot points.
To familiarize them further
with the writing format, students
also read scripts from old radio
shows (available on the Internet; see sidebar on
page 70). Finally, they performed a readers theater
version of Margie Palatinis The Web Files that gave
them yet another example of script writing and de-
tective parlance accompanied by a humorous twist.
As students became familiar with common
character traits and plot elements of the mystery/
detective genre, they also became attuned to the
critical importance of language, music, and sound
effects in creating an engaging radio show drama.
By week two, the students were primed and ready
to write their own scripts.
Week Two: Writing Scripts
The teacher indicated that there were students who
struggled with writing, so it was anticipated that
some students would need more assistance than oth-
ers; however, all the students met the deadlines, and
one of the students the teacher was most concerned
about returned from the weekend with a 20-page
script! Motivation was not an issue. Editing was an
issue. The students needed assistance with creating a
tight story that used just enough words and, more
importantly, just the right words to create suspense
and drama without going on and on and on.
Each student served as the director of his or
her script and cast other students to perform roles
and determined what type of voice the charac-
ter would use. The director also determined what
type of music would be used to set the mood. Two
in-class sessions were dedicated to practicing oral
techniques such as phrasing, articulation, and pac-
ing. Hearing their scripts rehearsed aloud prior
to recording also helped the directors complete
7/1/13 9:21 AM

final edits as they discovered miss-
ing words, typing errors, and lack of
punctuation that led to confusion for
the actors.
Week Three: Recording and
Postproduction
This unit has been taught three times
in as many years. The first year, the
students took a field trip to the local Cover image from boxed set of
university radio station, and the direc- The Shadow CDs.
tor of the radio station assisted with
the recording sessions. He also imported the sound
effects post-recording based on the student scripts.
The finished recordings were posted on a website
for the listening pleasure of the school community.
The second year, the students also took a field
trip to the university radio station and recorded the
shows with the assistance of the radio station direc-
tor, but they did their own postproduction addition
of sound effects and music on computers at school
with assistance from the technology coordinator
and the teacher.
In the third year, the students recorded the
shows on Mac laptops at their school. Though they
were disappointed to skip the trip to the university
and to miss out on using the fancy multi-directional
microphones and other radio station equipment,
the students enjoyed more ownership and creative
control of the finished product.
Every year the seventh graders complete an
instructional unit on advertising and propaganda
techniques, for which they write and record com-
mercials. The teachers take advantage of this as
an opportunity for multilevel alignment by airing
the seventh-grade students commercials during
the breaks in the eighth graders radio shows. This
also creates anticipation among the seventh grad-
ers about their eventual participation in the larger
project during their eighth-grade year.
Rave Reviews!
Feedback from students and parents has been over-
whelmingly and consistently positive about the
old-time radio unit. It is a project looked upon with
great anticipation. The students expressed disap-
pointment if a schedule change to the school day
prevented working on the unit and often would
EJ_July2013_B.indd 69
Roxanne Farwick Owens
make up for the lost time by working
on scripts at home, even when not as-
signed to do so. Parents reported that
their children suggested listening to
radio show CDs in the car. They also
indicated that the children were able
to have interesting conversations with
elderly relatives about the pros and
cons of radio and television.
The teacher and professors have
considered alternating the mystery de-
tective genre with other types of shows
(comedy, science fiction/horror, historical drama),
but the detective stories are so popular with the stu-
dents, they continue to be the mainstay. There are
multiple potential opportunities for expanding the
unit. For instance, it would be interesting for stu-
dents to research the scientific innovations that fos-
tered the advancements in radio technology. Students
could listen to stories adapted from the works of fa-
mous authors they study in English class such as Ray
Bradbury, Raymond Chandler, and Edgar Allan Poe.
They could witness epic historic events such as the
Hindenburg disaster (1937), Winston Churchills
We Shall Fight on the Beaches speech (1940), and
the Orson Welles broadcast of H. G. Wellss War of
the Worlds (1938) that sent the public into panic.
The possibilities are exciting to imagine.
Using old-time radio broadcasts, students in-
tegrated the communicative arts into a new para-
digm (which is really an old paradigm, even though
its new to them) to express their creativity and
strengthen their literacy. Though initially most ex-
cited about the prospect of actually recording their
scripts, students quickly realized that attention to
detail in their writing was critical to the success of
the project. Without clear, descriptive writing in
the script, the listener would quickly lose interest
in the showjust as a reader loses interest in a
book that is not well written. The novelty of the
technology wears off, and what is left is the quality
of the writing behind the voice.
The teacher and students participated in
this lesson, Old-Time Broadcasts for New-Time
Podcast, predominantly as a literacy and language
arts tool. They used media technology of the past
and present as a vehicle to explore the content and
processes that make narrative radio productions ef-
fective, but this is not a radio show technology
English Journal 69
7/1/13 9:21 AM
 Old-Time Broadcasts for New-Time Podcast

F ree O ld- T ime R adio B roadcasts Sou rces for Free Old- Time
These sites provide free, downloadable radio shows Radio Scripts
across the genre: http://www.simplyscripts.com/category/
http://radiolovers.com old-time-radio/
http://archive.org/details/oldtimeradio Hundreds of free downloadable scripts; includes
links to other sites
http://www.otr.net
http://www.genericradio.com/library.php
http://www.oldradioworld.com
169 vintage radio scripts
http://www.otrfan.om
http://www.best-otr.com http://www.ruyasonic.com/wrt_template.htm
http://www.relicradio.com Free radio show script template

project. Rather, it is an integrated literacy project
that enhances all facets of the English language arts.
Radio has had a profound impact on the social
and cultural history of the nation. Its popularity
was based on several factors including immediacy,
entertainment value, and educational merit. There
was something for everyone. There still is some-
thing for everyone. Old-time radio for new-time
podcasting offers a way to rediscover an old me-
dium in a new century.
Works Cited
Anderson, Borghild F. Are Good Radio Listeners Made?
English Journal 38.7 (1949): 39194. Print.
Arndt, C. O., and John Husband. Listen! English Journal
29.5 (1940): 37178. Print.
Carson, Mildred K. Students Like Radio Writing. English
Journal 28.6 (1939): 47981. Print.
De Lay, Frank P. Radio Dramatics as a Teaching Device.
English Journal 31.10 (1942): 71319. Print.
Hazard, Patrick D., and Mary Hazard. The Public Arts:
Multi-Media Literacy. English Journal 50.2 (1961):
13233. Print.
Hollister, Bernard C. Tune in Yesterday. English Journal
63.7 (1974): 7780. Print.
Jackson, Travis E., Anthony Bencivenga, Lestra Litchfield,
Richard T. Kosier, Candace A. Morgan, Bill Oates,
and Tim McShane. Symposium: Writing on Air:
Television, Radio, and the Classroom. English Jour-
nal 83.1 (1994): 4756. Print.
Lumley, F. H. The English Teacher and Radio Broadcasts.
English Journal 23.6 (1934): 47885. Print.
Mersand, Joseph. Radio Makes Readers. English Journal
27.6 (1938): 46975. Print.
Novotny, Lillian. NCTE Radio Awards Project. English
Journal 35.3 (1946): 14952. Print.
Palatini, Marge. The Web Files. New York: Hyperion, 2001.
Print.
. The Web Files Readers Theatre. Web. 6 Apr.
2013. <http://www.margiepalatini.com/whats-l3-2/
readers-theater>.
Rozema, Robert. The Book Report, Version 2.0: Podcast-
ing on Young Adult Novels. English Journal 97.1
(2007): 3136. Print.
Smith, Herndon. This Afternoon We Present. English
Journal 31.1 (1942): 6163. Print.
Tyler, I. Keith. What Can We Do About the Radio?
English Journal 27.7 (1938): 55666. Print.
Tyler, Tracy F. English and Radio Today. English Journal
35.5 (1946): 272. Print.

Roxanne Farwick Owens is associate professor and chair of teacher education at DePaul University in Chicago. She teaches
Childrens Literature and Reading Methodology courses. Email her at rowens@depaul.edu.

R E AD W R IT E T H IN K CO N N E C T IO N Lisa Storm Fink, RWT

For this lesson, students explore background information about the Mercury Theatre production of The War of
the Worlds from 1938. They read the broadcast script from the show and compare its characteristics to those
listed in a checklist they create. They then listen to audio of the production and compare it to the script version.
Next, students create their own audio dramatization of a text they have read, following a process that takes
them from preproduction activities, such as outlining, through postproduction activities, such as editing and
publishing their work. During the process, they analyze how The War of the Worlds script conveys emotion and
feeling. Finally, students share their broadcasts with the class and use a checklist to assess each others work.
http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/audio-broadcasts-podcasts-oral-901.html

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