New
New
Year 4

Planning a podcast

I can recognise the features of a podcast and plan my own.

New
New
Year 4

Planning a podcast

I can recognise the features of a podcast and plan my own.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Tracks can be imported and used in audio software.
  2. Layering sound allows two or more tracks to be played at the same time.
  3. A podcast is spoken-word audio recorded and combined with other sound effects.

Keywords

  • Layering - playing tracks at the same time

  • Import - include data from an existing source

  • Podcast - a spoken-word series of audio episodes

Common misconception

Audio tracks need to play separately from one another so that the sound is clear.

Layering tracks can create new and interesting audio where the sound works well together to create something new and interesting.


To help you plan your year 4 computing lesson on: Planning a podcast, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

To make the podcast feel more relevant and authentic to your pupils, they should use a topic that has been covered or has been quite recently taught to form the basis of their podcast.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Pupils need access to audio editing software and hardware that can be used play and record audio. Examples in this lesson use Audacity https://oak.link/audacity

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

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5 Questions

Q1.
What is a track in audio editing?

the volume control
a music genre
a speaker
Correct answer: a single recording of sound

Q2.
What action removes unwanted parts from an audio recording?

Correct Answer: trim, trimming

Q3.
How does audio editing software usually display tracks?

as text lines
Correct answer: as separate waveforms
as images
as numbers

Q4.
Which keyword means changing when a track starts?

trim
waveform
Correct answer: align
track

Q5.
Put these steps in order for trimming a track:

1 - open the audio editing software
2 - select the part of the track you want to remove
3 - trim the selected part
4 - save your changes

Assessment exit quiz

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6 Questions

Q1.
What does it mean to import a track in audio software?

to delete a track
Correct answer: to include a track from another source
to make the track louder
to rename a track

Q2.
What do we call a series of spoken-word audio episodes, often shared online and sometimes including music or sound effects?

Correct Answer: podcast

Q3.
Match each action to what it achieves:

Correct Answer:importing,adds audio from outside the project

adds audio from outside the project

Correct Answer:layering,combines different sounds at once

combines different sounds at once

Correct Answer:podcasting,shares spoken-word content in episodes

shares spoken-word content in episodes

Q4.
Put these steps in order for layering sound in a podcast:

1 - import all the tracks you want to use
2 - place tracks so they overlap in the timeline
3 - play the project to check the sound
4 - adjust volumes if needed

Q5.
Why might you layer tracks in a podcast?

to make it shorter
to delete tracks
Correct answer: to create a richer sound
to record silence

Q6.
What does importing allow you to do?

remove tracks
Correct answer: bring in audio from another place
make a track shorter
change the volume