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Lesson Plan Image

Radio Then and Now

The invention of the radio transformed communication and entertainment worldwide. Students will explore its history and create artwork showcasing its evolution.

Lesson Plan

Supplies Needed

Gather all the supplies needed to bring your craft ideas to life! From paints and markers to glue and scissors, our crafts section has everything to spark creativity and make every project truly special.

  • Craft Sticks
  • Paper

Steps

  • Step 1

    The invention of the radio revolutionized global communication. It connected people around the world and transformed the way news and entertainment were disseminated. Have students explore the history of radio, from 1896 when the Italian scientist Guglielmo Marconi was granted a patent for a radio wave-based communication system, to the first wirelessly transmitted signal across the Atlantic Ocean in 1901, to the Golden Age of Radio from the 1920s to the 1950s, to the digital audio broadcasting of today. How does radio transmission work? What is a transistor radio and how does it differ from more modern forms? What were and are some of its practical uses? What were some notable golden age radio shows?

  • Step 2

    Have students create art that depicts the progression of advancements in radio technology. They can begin by creating a background and then add a radio tower built using craft sticks. They can illustrate and cut out versions of different types of radios to add to the collage. They might also want to draw progressively larger circles to represent radio waves (using a compass or tracing round objects of different sizes).

  • Step 3

    Have students present their radio history art and discuss the evolution of the devices and their many uses.

Standards

SCI: Design pictorial or graphic representations/models that are useful in communicating ideas. 

SS: Science, Technology, and Society: Identify how technologies such as communication and transportation have evolved and how people have employed advances in technology to modify daily lives including health and economics. Explore historical examples and imagine future technologies. 

SS: Global Connections: Become aware of how things that happen in one part of the world impact other parts of the world and the global connections within basic issues and concerns. 

Adaptations

Have students learn about some notable moments in radio history. They might, for example, investigate the Halloween episode of "The War of the Worlds" radio series in 1938 when listeners were convinced that the Martian invasion that Orson Welles (the narrator of the program) was describing was real. Or they might read about the radio coverage of the Hindenburg disaster, or Winston Churchill's WWII radio speeches informing and rallying the listening public.

Have students create an audio ad for the radio. How would they "sell" a product without being able to show it visually? What music would they use? What descriptive words would best portray the item they are selling?