Thank you for introducing The Walking Classroom to my classroom! My class is one of the few in the building that is comprised of students of all abilities. From my research, I predicted the Walking Program would help my class dynamics, and it has!
For some of my students, I am their only regular education teacher. I want them to feel included and not overwhelmed. With The Walking Classroom, all of my students are finding success at the same time.
Students of all abilities start the podcast at the same time and walk the same path without needing modifications. This creates a better sense of community in our class environment, which is always a goal for my classroom climate.
I also love working on the skill of listening with my students. At first, I found some students were not paying close attention to the podcast because they were enjoying the walk. However, between discussing the goals and objectives of the lesson ahead of time (and plenty of practice!), the students now demonstrate a comprehension of the podcast in a variety of post walk follow-up tasks.
As a big advocate of verbal communication, I also enjoy having my students complete post-podcast walk and talks. Students lead a discussion with their partners about the lessons learned from each session. I find this engages students of all abilities!
I have asked for feedback from my students and they appreciate not being in their desk for the entire class period. This is especially important because my students are pulled from PE to attend health class, and unfortunately my middle school building doesn’t have recess. Even better, students have described feeling calmer after a walk, which is also true for me, the teacher!
Christine Murray
Health Teacher
Woodland Middle School
Leave a Reply