Most days, the only folks you’ll find at the radio station are, well, folks who work at the radio station. But today wasn’t most days, as a group of sixth-graders from The Sledge Institute took a field trip to WIZS to get a peek at just how this thing called “journalism” gets done.

Along with their teacher, Christian Salinas, the group of nine students filled the lobby where they got a chance to do a live-to-tape segment that aired on Tuesday’s TownTalk mere minutes after it was recorded.

Afterward, they watched as their teacher did a live interview with WIZS host John Charles Rose to round out segment two.

While the interview was taking place in Studio A, the students squeezed into Studio B and watched through the plate-glass window as their instructor talked about how this journalism project got started.

The Sledge Institute embraces the concept called Project Based Learning, which integrates the curriculum into the creation of some type of product while encouraging collaboration among students.

In the first quarter of the school year, Salinas said the kids expressed an interest in producing a morning news segment, which included making and editing videos and podcasts. When the second quarter rolled around, he decided to shepherd the students on a PBL journalism project.

“The kids got to choose what projects they wanted to take part in,” he said, adding that students create all the different parts of the student news podcast – there are hosts, editors, researchers and interviewers, along with others who focus on a weekly Student Spotlight and Teacher Spotlight.

“My hands were off the wheel and the kids just started over it for themselves, which was awesome,” he said, as the team of students took ownership of the overall project. “The stuff we talk about in it, all the different segments they had – the kids ran that.”

This is Year 1 for The Sledge Institute, a charter school located on Gun Club Road in Vance County. The sixth graders who visited the radio station had nothing but positive comments about their school and teachers.

Vonderion said the teachers are nice and “make us stay on topic,” and Olivia said “teachers help us when we need help and make sure we stay focused in class.”

For Te’ani, it’s all about teachers who “teach us new things every day.” And for Layla, it’s the welcoming feeling she gets, along with the collaboration. “And you learn so much,” she said. “I just love it.”

Nehemiah said, “It’s all about teamwork and working together and working on projects.”

Jorja said her project is coming along just fine. She’s working on a project about good health and well-being and learning about foster care in her ELA/Reading class.

“Right now, we’re doing facts about January,” said Natalie, offering up the fact that garnet is the January birthstone.

Laila reeled off a variety of general topics that are part of the PBL project, including health, waters, equality and good health and well-being.

Sinai said her project is going well, but – spoken like a natural-born editor – she said she can always find ways to improve.

The students seemed naturally curious about what the idea of “journalism” entailed, and they’ve been learning about editing videos and diving into the craft.

Layla said she’s learned that journalism suits her. “Once I figured out what it meant, it’s definitely for me because I love to talk and I love to host things and I love to learn more facts about things because it (will help) me in the future to teach, you know, other kids and help them out while I’m younger.”

Natalie agreed. She said she was excited to learn more about what journalism is and has enjoyed doing videos and interacting with others in the videos.

Olivia said she watches the news every day and likes that she’s learning more about editing.

Te’ani and Sinai also like the editing process, as well as creating stories and learning more about things that are in the news.

The project-based learning model is an integral part of the school’s philosophy and it’s important to incorporate the community when possible. Previous projects have included making a documentary about Kerr Lake, which included a field trip to the lake to explore this important local natural resource. Another project involved a canned food drive for Turning Point CDC. Not only did they collect 10,000 cans, but the students had the opportunity to organize and stock the shelves and get the food ready for distribution.

It’s this type of real-world experience – whether it’s stocking food on shelves, learning about the outdoors or seeing the inside of a real-live radio station – that helps students make connections to what they’re learning in school with how to apply that in the community, Salinas said.

“They’re figuring out or learning that what they’re doing in their classrooms is not just for the sake of ‘you need to know it for a test,’” he said, but “you can use this on a daily basis or for your career.”

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