If you’ve ever reached that point in the school year where students are mentally checked out (but you still want learning to feel meaningful), you know the struggle!
Maybe it’s Halloween week.
Maybe it’s after state testing.
Maybe it’s one of those short weeks where stamina is low and attention spans are even lower.
This is where podcasts can become one of your most powerful classroom tools.
They offer a lower cognitive load than dense text while still building essential skills. Your students can listen, visualize, discuss, and write without the fatigue that often comes with traditional reading assignments during high-energy or low-focus seasons.
And that’s exactly why I love using The Creeping Hour podcast in upper elementary and early middle school classrooms.
The Creeping Hour Podcast
The Creeping Hour is a kid-friendly spooky storytelling podcast designed for 8-12-year-old listeners. The series includes five short (15 minutes or less), standalone episodes that are each suspenseful enough to hook students, but brief enough to fit comfortably into a single class period.
Episodes Include:
- Meet the Creeps
- Out of the Wind
- Big Shoes
- Perfect Teeth
- The Beat
Interestingly, my students ranked them in that order from favorite to least favorite. Because of this, I recommend starting at episode 5 and working backwards to save the best and most suspenseful for last!
What I love most is that students genuinely want to listen (even when some claim it’s too cheesy…), yet the format still gives you plenty of opportunities to teach with purpose.
Each episode naturally supports skill-based work such as:
- listening comprehension
- visualization,
- vocabulary in context
- story elements
- inferencing
- narrative writing
In this post, I’ll walk you through how to use The Creeping Hour podcast in your classroom, share a simple listening routine, highlight the skills students can practice with each episode, and give you ideas for weaving it in during high-energy or low-stamina times of year, so it feels fun and meaningful.
How To Use It In The Classroom (A Simple Routine)
One of the things that I love most about using The Creeping Hour podcast is how easy it is to turn each episode into a meaningful lesson without overplanning. I like to follow a simple before-during-after routine that fits comfortably into a class period and can be stretched or shortened depending on your schedule.
Before listening, take just a few minutes to set a purpose. Preview the focus task for the day and give students time to consider what they may learn. Invite students to make a quick prediction based on the episode title or description. This small step will help your students actively listen to the episode.
While listening to the episode, keep your students engaged and listening using something that offers multiple entry points for learning. I recommend something primarily passive, like illustrating the scene or completing a word search. While listening, they can draw the details of what they are hearing or look for words related to the specific episode. These tasks give students something concrete to focus on while listening without pulling them away from the story itself.
After listening, have your students answer a few standards-based multiple-choice questions and/or complete a writing prompt to reflect on the episode. These activities keep the important ELA work you’ve been doing top of mind – even when listening to a fun podcast! Depending on your goals for the day, you can keep this quick and simple or allow more time for writing and discussion. You might even consider turning off the lights and letting students share their stories aloud for a fun, low-pressure wrap-up.
Altogether, these activities can take anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes, making them flexible enough for a full lesson, a shortened block, or a special end-of-day activity. It’s an easy way to blend listening comprehension, visualization, and writing, while keeping students engaged!
Ways To Use It Throughout The School Year
One of the biggest advantages of The Creeping Hour podcast is its flexibility. You don’t have to save it for October!
While the spooky element makes The Creeping Hour feel like a natural fit for Halloween, it actually works beautifully during many of those “in-between” moments of the school year. Those times when your students need something engaging, but you still want learning to feel purposeful.
After state testing, for example, students are often mentally exhausted. Attention spans are shorter, stamina is low, and jumping straight back into dense reading can feel overwhelming. A podcast episode offers a gentle re-entry into structured learning.
Halloween week is an obvious favorite. You can lean into the spooky vibe while still checking off ELA standards. Your students will feel like they’re doing something fun, and you know they’re working on listening comprehension, story elements, and narrative responses.
Toward the end of the year, when routines start to loosen and focus begins to fade, The Creeping Hour gives you a way to maintain structure without fighting student energy. Episodes fit neatly into a class period and provide a built-in hook that keeps students engaged when traditional lessons feel harder to sustain.
It also works well for Fun Fridays or reward days, as it offers meaningful learning that still feels special. Because the routine is simple and consistent, students know what to expect, but the story itself keeps things fresh.
Many teachers also use the podcast for sub plans or emergency lessons. The episodes are easy to prep, and the listening routine is straightforward enough that anyone can follow it. And on short weeks or low-stamina days, this format helps you keep routines intact while honoring both student energy and your own.
In other words, The Creeping Hour is a podcast you can return to again and again throughout the year. I only wish there were more episodes!
Podcasts don’t have to be filler activities. With the right structure, they become powerful tools for comprehension, discussion, and writing. The Creeping Hour podcast offers just the right balance of engagement and instructional value for your students. It gives students an exciting listening experience while still supporting core ELA skills.
If you’d rather not build everything from scratch, I’ve created a done-for-you podcast study for The Creeping Hour.
It includes:
- Listening guides
- Student activities
- Vocabulary support
- Writing prompts
- Comprehension questions
- And flexible lesson structures
Everything is organized so you can press play and teach! It’s designed to save you time while giving your students a memorable learning experience, whether it’s Halloween, after testing, or a random Friday in May.
Happy teaching!
