ASU and second graders hit airwaves for pet adoption
If you want some fun in your house, adopt a pet. This idea is the premise of a children’s radio program created by over 40 second graders at C.T. Walker Traditional Magnet School with the help of Augusta State’s Department of Communications and Professional Writing.
According to ASU Communications Professor Sea Stachura, the eight-year-old students used ASU recording facilities to produce two five-minute shows to raise awareness of animal abuse and animal adoption.
For each episode, the students created advertisements on the pet adoption opportunities offered at Heartsong Animal Rescue, a local animal clinic where the students conducted their community service. The program also consisted of a news segment which included entertaining interviews with fictional pet characters and stories on how abandoned animals survived tragedies such as Hurricane Katrina, abandonment, and car accidents.
Although the radio programs were an academic project for the students, Stachura says she was pleased to see how the students were so invested in making their shows successful. She said this real-world experience allowed the students to work together in a different learning environment and proved to be a great opportunity for them to strengthen their communication and leadership skills.
“We were excited about working with these students and having the chance to teach them how to think about sound, write their own script, make their own sound effects, and learn the process of audio mixing,” Stachura said. “I was amazed at the work of the students and pleased to see how they transferred their knowledge from their service learning project to a creative endeavor of their own.”
To listen to the student’s radio shows, go to http://soundcloud.com/seastachura/sets/adopt-a-pet-an-asu-and-c-t.
This radio show project is a part of a new initiative developed between C.T. Walker and Augusta State University. According to Pam Hayward, chair of ASU’s Department of Communications and Professional Writing, and Renee Kelly, principal of C.T. Walker Magnet School, the purpose of this program is to enhance the communication and speech skills of C.T. Walker students and to expose them to careers in communications.
