Third grade students at Cornell School’s Afterschool Program are enjoying The Walking Classroom. It has been so much fun to see them so active while they’re learning. We were grateful for the warmer weather in Wisconsin this spring and equally grateful for The Walking Classroom!
We spent some time one quarter focused on health and medical sciences. The students would learn about a medical innovator, then perform an experiment or project that went along with the lesson. Every activity listed on the lesson plan was a suggested pairing from The Walking Classroom Adopter Resources.
Von Frey Devices (pokey sticks) were a suggested activity to go along with one podcast, and these were a huge hit. we had four student volunteers who agreed to get poked with five different weights of fishing line to see if they could feel it in different locations. It was an experiment to show that everyone has different sensations and pain thresholds.
Another activity the students really enjoyed was creating a heart. They used a jar to represent the bulk of the heart, with two straws to represent the main artery and vein coming to and leaving the heart. They placed a balloon on top which caused an elastic seal. The water inside the jar could be pumped to represent the way a heart pumps. Then the water would come out of the artery leading out.
The second quarter, we focused on earth science, using Geology (5-#74, STEM-#15, Complete-#132), Water Cycle (4-#30, STEM-#12, Complete-#148), and other natural science podcasts. These linked up with a lot of what they were learning in fourth grade science at the time.
One After-School Program student was especially excited because he earned the highest grade on a test in class. He remembered what he learned from the podcast and project we did with it better than what most of the kids remembered from what they had just been reading about in class!
Jenny Blaisdell, Family Education Director
Kat Wescott, Site Coordinator
Cornell School
Leave a Reply