It’s that time of year again—the stretch when you’re running on fumes, your students are mentally checked out, and yet, you’re still expected to keep them engaged while maintaining rigorous instruction. No pressure, right? If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
The struggle to balance meaningful learning with an activity that truly holds students’ attention is real. But don’t worry—I’ve got you covered with a foolproof activity that will have your students hooked from start to finish. It all centers around the podcast- Solve.
Why Podcasts Need to Be in Your ELA Toolbox
Podcasts offer a dynamic way to engage students with real-world issues and diverse perspectives, making learning more interactive and relatable. By listening to podcasts, students develop critical listening skills, sharpen their ability to analyze information, and strengthen their evidence-based reasoning—essential skills for both academic and professional success.
If you haven’t tried using podcasts in your classroom yet, now is the perfect time to start! In fact, I also created this guide to 18 podcasts that are perfect for the ELA classroom. You can download it for free HERE!
The Ultimate ELA Mystery Podcast Activity
The Solve podcast is an immersive and interactive podcast that puts the listener into the role of detective in a murder mystery. These crimes are based off of real-life stories, but simplified and dramatized for the immersive experience. Using these episodes, you can take your student’s inference and evidence gathering skills to a whole new level!
There are always 4 main suspects and you go through the clues each one gives to determine who the true murderer is. This challenges students to listen closely, analyze evidence, and make inferences—all essential ELA skills wrapped in an engaging format.
Here’s how to use it:
1. Put your students into small groups of about 3 or 4 to collaborate and debate on the evidence.
2. Gear up one of the Solve podcasts. Either use the episode Old Hollywood Hotel about the murder of a social media influencer at the Old Hollywood Hotel or Admissions about the murder of a high school student during a college admissions scandal.
3. Have your students use the active listening sheets I created specifically for these episodes while they listen.
4. Have them gather evidence on the 4 suspects being investigated for the murder. There are hints dropped while each suspect is investigated, so they need to pay attention to the details each one shares.
5. Stop the audio every so often for your groups to debate on who they think the killer is as the investigation unfolds. Using the evidence they have been collecting, they begin to make inferences to support their thoughts on who the killer is and why. I love to walk around and hear their thoughts and play devil’s advocate at this stage 🙂
6. Play the end with the BIG REVEAL! Play the final portion of the episode where the murderer is exposed—students will be on the edge of their seats!
There’s also a nice reflection prompt at the end to further practice those evidence-based reasoning skills.
Why This Activity Works
This activity checks all the boxes: critical thinking, listening comprehension, collaboration, and engagement. Plus, it feels more like detective work than traditional classroom exercises, which means students stay invested. My students absolutely love it, and I guarantee yours will too!
Get Everything You Need
To make this as easy as possible for you, I’ve created handouts tailored for both episodes. Grab The Old Hollywood Hotel HERE and Admissions HERE and get ready to see your students light up with excitement!
Trust me, this activity will have your students fired up in the best way! If you’re looking for something engaging, rigorous, and easy to implement, this is it. Don’t wait—this is one activity you’ll want in your back pocket now!
Would you love details on my other FAVORITE podcast to use in my classroom? Check out this blog post on Limetown!
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