By Dr. David Childs, Ph.D.
Northern Kentucky University
Introduction
In our present day there is a wide variety of entertainment sources available. From television to feature length films twenty-first American citizens have come to greatly rely on using media for entertainment. Out of all of the choices for electronic media today the radio has been a consistent source of news, information and entertainment since its inception. Before television and movies became popular the radio was the primary source of electronic entertainment for many families in the US.
The Golden Age of Radio
A time in history when the radio was very popular was entitled the Golden Age of radio. The Golden Age of Radio was as an old-time radio era when radio programming in the United States was the primary electronic entertainment medium in nearly every home. The Golden Age began in the 1920’s and lasted through the 1940’s, when the appeal of television –offering both sound and imagery– began to become more affordable and took the place of radio.
Using Online Resources to Teach Effectively
People who experienced radio in the early to mid-twentieth century did not have easy access to archives of their favorite shows from childhood or young adulthood. But modern technology through the Internet, computers and online resources such as Youtube allow us to have access to countless media, in such a way that was not at all possible in the past. We now have access to thousands of classic radio broadcasts that offers an invaluable resource for middle school and high school teachers. Educators can use radio broadcasts to teach about certain time periods and ways of life during the early to mid-twentieth century. Teachers can help students have a more rich understanding of American history, civics and democracy via old radio archives.
Examples of Lessons and Units Using Classic Radio Broadcasts
- Using historical speeches to teach American history and historic political ideas.A big part of good social studies teaching is the use of effective and meaningful primary sources. Primary sources do not only consist of print resources. In fact, nearly all radio archives can be considered primary sources. Teachers can use speeches to understand certain historical events or key figures in history. For example, students can listen to audio of US presidents from the past such as Herbert Hoover, Franklin Delano Roosevelt or Harry Truman to help students understand the political climate of certain years or decades. The Internet offers many of the transcripts of these speeches that can allow students to do a text analysis of them for a closer read and understanding of the concepts.
- Using radio programs to teach students how people lived in certain time periods. Students can listen to radio shows of various genre’s such as westerns, mystery, suspense, thrillers, science fiction or comedy to create projects that give students a glimpse of what life was like in the early 1900’s. For example, students can listen to episodes of the western entitled Gunsmoke to supplement a unit on the American West and Native American culture. They can explore American perceptions of the west and how Native American’s were portrayed and how stereotypes persisted.
- Using radio programs to teach students how people viewed life in certain time periods. The 1950’s was often idealized and projected an American utopia and innocent way of life through radio and television. Wonderful discussions and lessons can be built from these radio sources. For example, teachers can use sitcom radio programs such as I Love Lucy, The Aldrich Family or The Ozzy and Harriet Show to supplement a unit about what everyday life might have been like during the 1940’s and 50’s, verses how it was portrayed on the radio. In this same way, science fiction radio programs such as Orson Welles’ The War of the Worlds can be used to explore American perceptions of science and outer space during the 1940’s.
- Using historic radio news programs as primary sources to teach American history. Radio news archives can offer a treasure trove to students studying the early to mid-twentieth century America. For example, when teaching a unit of World War II teachers can integrate the audio archives of the news report of the attack on Pearl Harbor to get a sense of how the attack affected the American public.
Below I have offered a number of links to various radio broadcasts that can be used in the classroom. I have also provided sites that offer lessons on incorporating some aspect of radio in one’s teaching.
Lesson Plans and Classic Radio Program Archives
Science Fiction/Horror/Thriller
Golden Age of Radio: Program #51 (Oct 1, 2017)
Old Time Radio Drama Playlist
Orson Welles – War Of The Worlds – Radio Broadcast 1938
CBS Radio Mystery Theater, 487, Ghost Town
Escape “Man from Tomorrow” – Old Time Radio Science Fiction!
Hall Of Fantasy AUTOMATON – Old Time Radio Science Fiction Horror!
Dimension X “Almost Human” – Old Time Radio Science Fiction!
“The Lodger” 1946 CBS Radio – Vincent Price
Dracula Starring Orson Welles- Mercury Theater
Westerns
Gunsmoke, Robin Hood
The Lone Ranger, Old Time Radio, 560509 In the Name of Justice
The Roy Rogers Show, Old Time Radio, OTR, 521023 Wrong Cowboy
Suspense/Mystery
Perry Mason: Case of the Deadly Double
Suspense: The Shelter – Classic Old Time Radio Horror Drama
Sherlock Holmes – The Camberwell Poisoning Case 1943 – Old Time Radio
Suspicion Alfred Hitchcock: One Hour Audio Drama / Classic Radio Theatre
Comedy
The Aldrich Family – “Moving Day” 10/14/43 (HQ) Old Time Radio Comedy
The Ozzie and Harriet Radio Show December 26 1948 HD
I Love Lucy (pilot for proposed radio series)
Amos ‘n’ Andy Show – Missing Persons Bureau (February 4, 1944)
Abbott & Costello, Old Time Radio 400320 Lion Hunting
News, Speeches, Sports.
Compilation of World War II Radio Broadcasts: Part 1
Joe Louis vs. Jack Sharkey over KHJ Radio, August 18, 1936
1949 World Series Game 1 Dodgers at Yankees Classic Radio Broadcast
Franklin Roosevelt – Fireside Chat #1, On the Banking Crisis (1933)
Franklin D Roosevelt – Four Freedoms Speech – January 6, 1941
1949 Inauguration Speech of Harry Truman (Full)
A Conversation with Herbert Hoover
JFK Secret Societies Speech (full version)
Pearl Harbor Attack Emergency Radio Broadcast
The Only Live News Report from the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Documentaries on History of Radio
Oldtime Radio Documentary “The First 50 Years” The History of Radio Part One
Amazing Short Film on Old Time Radio Sound Effects: “Back of the Mike” (1938)
Teaching Resources/Lesson Plans
Radio Curriculum
Radios in the Classroom: Curriculum Integration and Communication Skills
A Lesson Plan and Project on the Invention of the Radio
References
Golden Age of American radio American Radio Industry
Golden Age of Radio
The History of Radio
A Short History of Radio
radio used to be the #1 way to recieve news,sport results and weather so it is strange that it is hardly used today. Bringing the radio into your classroom somehow can do a lot of positive things to the classroom.
I think the radio is a very underused as a medium in the education system and this article demonstrates that it can still be useful in the classroom. As a future educator hoping to teach on social studies content, these are some great ideas to bring to the lesson plans. I listen to the radio and podcasts everyday, whether it is for entertainment, learning, or just to relax and I think bringing the radio in to the classroom will be a great attribute. Not only can you use it as a learning tool, but I have experienced classrooms that have a certain mood set by the background music playing. I had an art teacher that would turn on theatrical music when doing sculptures and slow orchestral music when sketching. It kid of always set the pace and mood in the room.
This article I believe will help me when I become future educator. I think because of the times we live in we often want to associate the news as either: leftist, central or rightist maybe worse we want to say its fake. I think it often becomes a struggle to understand that the news at its core represent a time period the issues faced, the triumphs, or maybe new medication that saved thousands of lives. While I still think you should take what’s going on in the news with a grain of salt, this article woke me to the realization that the news can be a way to introduce a topic or to gain empathy from a student. I think a good example of how powerful the news can be is if you watch the video from 9/11. It’s one thing, to say terrorist killed thousands, but to see it that’s devastating and becomes engraved in your mind. To be honest that is why I think students need to see and hear how people felt so they fully understand the event and its impact on others.
I had never thought of radio broadcasts being used in the classroom to teach the history of a social studies topic. I like the idea that the students can step back in time and listen to the way people talked and the situations during the time period. I also find it useful that this is another resources of getting the content to students. As a teacher, I could stand up and lecture on a specific topic but that form of relaying information might not be as affective as the students listening to a historical broadcasting. This is another useful tool that I would like to implement in my own classroom.
I think radio is a largely underused medium. Something I enjoy doing to listening to congressional, gubernatorial, and presidential debates some recent some older. It makes for interesting and engaging background noise when studying or working on art. Something that is really fun to do is put on headphones and listen to the old 1959 Rod Sterling Twilight Zones. I remember listening to them in the car with my grandpa when i was young and being blown aback and recommend it for everyone.
This article was really good. I have always seen people on old TV shows and movies how they sit around a giant radio and I think,”is that really what people did?” When I think about it though, I realize it is basically what we do with TVs in today’s age. We all sit around a TV using it for entertainment just like everyone did with radio back then. It’s an evolution of entertainment that is really fascinating.
I think that it is very interesting to use radio broadcasts to help teach history. It can give the students a better perspective of what they are learning and help them to connect to the history being taught. I hadn’t thought about it in the past, but in my future teaching I think that it would be very beneficial to include these broadcasts in my lessons. Usually when I would think about radio being used I would just think about the types of music and how that has changed, so reading about using speeches and reports that were used by people at the time also is very interesting.
As a kid, I would watch a soap opera with my grandmother called Guiding Light. It wasn’t until I was much older that I was told that the show actually started out as a radio series in 1937 and switched to television in 1952. The Golden Age of Radio was a pivotal part in American history as well as distribution of knowledge and information. This is an aspect that can easily be brought into the classroom. The use of radio broadcasts to instruct students provides a change in typical classroom lecture as well as first hand accounts of historical events. This is a concept that would make a great addition to my future classroom.
This article has an interesting view of the world today and back in the day of radios. After reading this article I am glad that I am going to be a teacher in this day and age. With our advance in technology, teachers are able to pull from the past easier than the radio days. I am also glad that this article comes with plenty of resources for teachers to better teach their history lessons. all together this article helped me look at the privileges I have not and make sure that I use all of them so that my students will learn the most about our history.
I thought this was an interesting article. As a future educator, I think it is a good idea to use broadcasts from the time period we are learning about in social studies to help students get a sense of what it could have felt like hearing that broadcast for the first time. By using broadcasts, we can take our students to that time period and they could experience some of the emotions that one might have felt during that time period when they first heard the broadcast being played. It is an interesting way to show our students how they would hear/get important information during that time period, because at one point in time there were no cellphones to look at for daily news. Some people only had broadcast, newspapers, etc. so it is cool to be able to tie how people got information back then and compare it to how we receive information now. It is also a nice way to keep students engaged during a lesson.