School is soon set to start! Whether it’s your first year with The Walking Classroom or you are about to hit the trail for another year, we are here to help. Since we know you have plenty of preparing to do in these last few weeks, we want to remind you of the resources and support we have available to you as you implement our program!
Tackle the Teacher Guide
The Teacher’s Guide is an invaluable resource. It provides complete lesson plans for each podcast, including a synopsis, objectives, procedure, discussion questions, and comprehension quiz! The guide itself begins with useful Program Management tips and incorporates a series of lessons to introduce your students to The Walking Classroom.
If you are new to The Walking Classroom or a veteran adopter, these introductory lessons are helpful to review. Take a few extra minutes of class time at the beginning of the year to establish routines and review expectations. This will ensure smooth sailing!
In addition, the Appendix provides some FAQ’s, background material on the program, podcast listings, and more. Not currently using the Teacher Guide? You are missing out!
Sharing a class set among several teachers and looking for an alternative to the print version of the binder? We now offer an (especially environmentally friendly!) electronic version of the guide!
Be Watching the Blog (and Looking for Quarterly Newsletters)!
We began this blog to provide folks with relevant resources, information, and ideas. In addition, we wanted to provide a forum for program adopters to share their own insights and experiences with The Walking Classroom. Your active participation is encouraged and very much appreciated. Feel free to contribute your comments on blog posts or share your story. We look forward to hearing from you!
Similarly, our newsletter provides us with a way to keep in touch with our many adopters, to share news, ideas, and (occasionally) special offers! We send newsletters on a quarterly basis. And, as our adopters’ needs vary depending on where they are using the program, separate targeted newsletters go to our school adopters and our out-of-school adopters.
. . . and Take Advantage of those Adopter Resources!
Over the past several years, we have enhanced the resources we provide. If you haven’t explored these yet, take some time to check them out!
Slide Decks
The slide decks contain supplemental information for each of the podcasts within all of our program offerings past and present (Program 4, Program 5, STEM, and the new Combined Program). Complete with a podcast summary, key terms, and discussion questions, the slide decks make it a breeze to introduce those podcast topics!
Looking for ways to support different learning styles or to differentiate instruction? Not only are the slide decks great resources to enhance the experience for your visual learners pre-walk and post-walk, they also help support your English language learners!
› See a sample slide deck for our Idioms podcast!
Electronic Quizzes
Trying to minimize potential paper piles? No problem! All of the podcasts’ comprehension quizzes are also available via Google Forms. Students can complete quizzes online and have their answers recorded. Then, teachers can view student responses live. Better yet, teachers can have students complete the quiz, and then grade it using Flubaroo, a free add-on!
Supplemental Videos
In addition to the slide decks and electronic quizzes, we have also compiled a list of suggested videos for each program to provide a brief, visual follow-up to your walk. Note: Having recently made some changes to this list, we are in the process of updating the information on the adopter resources page!
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