Who Said?

I listened, this week, to “Who Said” a literature game in podcast form. http://www.whosaid.org/index.htm . The host, Amy, reads a passage from any classical literature text and you must guess the character, novel and author.

What gives this podcast life and makes it so enjoyable, is the host’s personal takes on the passage she is reading from. When a listener writes that a character sounds like a mother calling her children in; Amy adds her own memories of being called in by her parents. Amy enjoys what she is reading.

Every podcast follows the same order: she tells them the answer from the last episode, reads off those that emailed with the correct answer and discusses the passage with her own insights or information from the author. Amy then reads the next passage for the listeners to guess. Another variation I heard was when a listener, from Australia, sent in her own mp3 of a passage. Amy was then one of the guessers.

I loved listening to these episodes. The host has the personality of your favorite literature teacher. She is kind, friendly and makes you feel part of the discussion. I do need to say that of the six passages I heard, I did not get a one right. Even with my losses, I made notes of the novels and looked forward to each new episode. Amy celebrated not only those that guessed correctly, but those that tried. Along with the podcast is a discussion board of hints from Amy and other listeners. This discussion board was updated after each episode to include what the correct answer was and anything that was discussed.

I find this idea for a podcast to be fantastic. I teach sixth grade literature. This game would be an asset to my students. They would love to be part of a game where they can guess and be rewarded for knowing their literature. Having a discussion board where students can receive hints or discuss it together would keep them engaged and provide support. As the teacher, I would enjoy picking passages from the class library. It would keep my students involved and talking about class. I plan to use this in some form in the near future.

“Who Said?” is a great podcast for those that think they know literature or like hearing literature read to them.
-Emily