A screen-free learning experience that kids love!
“The program is great! Students REALLY took to it immediately, and engagement was way up. Thank you!”—Robert Amses, teacher, CA
The Walking Classroom is a teacher-created, nonprofit program that gets kids walking (and away from screens), while listening to fun, educational podcasts. With oxygenated brains, they learn more and retain it longer!
We know there are a lot of great podcasts freely available online, but these are truly different—and they’re supported by full lesson plans and a ton of free supplemental resources for each podcast!
The Walking Classroom offers almost 200 safe, appropriate, and curriculum-related topics for you and your child to choose from.
What makes The Walking Classroom podcasts so special?
Kid friendly!
- The podcasts are custom written for kids—with a bit of kid humor thrown in for fun!
- Kids are often the teachers. The typical format is two kids out walking with their teacher while they have a conversation about the topic.
“I like it because kids talk on there … I can relate and understand what I’m listening to better because of them.”—Karmen, 4th grader, NC
Consistent format and structure
- Each 15-minute podcast follows the same format: 1) a brief health message and safety reminder, 2) the core content, 3) a quick review
- The podcast narrative is fun, conversational, and straight-forward.
Builds health literacy, healthy habits, and character values
- Each podcast begins with a brief health message on things like “what is a calorie?”, “why is it important to increase your heart rate?”, “why should you make sure you stay hydrated?”, and many more.
- Character values are woven throughout the narrative and included in the discussion questions. These include values like honesty, integrity, perseverance, kindness, and many more.
Supported by lesson plans
- Each podcast has a full lesson plan with key points, vocabulary, discussion questions, and a comprehension quiz.
- Additional free resources are available for each podcast when you purchase the program. These include slide decks, video links, ideas for virtual field trips, hands-on activities and projects, and even downloadable worksheets — all free!
Tons of safe and appropriate topics to choose from
- Podcast topics are based on state standards and cover all kinds of subjects in: language arts, social studies, and science.
- Enables kids to easily and safely explore subjects they may be interested in—without giving them access to potentially inappropriate content.
“The Walking Classroom makes me want to learn more about the topics you talk about.”—Gabriel, 4th grader, KY
So how does The Walking Classroom work?
Kids use a “WalkKit” audio player preloaded with a school-year’s worth of custom-written, entertaining, and educational podcasts on science, language arts, and social studies. Or, they can use our new mobile app that has almost 200 podcasts! ›› Podcast topics on the Complete Program WalkKit (167)
›› Podcast topics on the STEM Program WalkKit (61)
›› Podcast topics on the Mobile App (191)
Kids go for a brisk 20-minute walk while listening to the podcasts.›› Listen to a sample podcast on The Boston Massacre
›› Listen to more sample podcasts
Afterwards, lesson plans and quizzes help you lead discussions to synthesize and solidify learning.›› Download the Boston Massacre Lesson Plan
›› See a sample of our free online supplemental resources, available for each podcast!
But does it work?
Yes! Follow the links below to learn more.
- Read the results of a research study by researchers at UNC-CH that confirms the impact of walking on learning
- Read about the science behind The Walking Classroom
- Read success stories from some of our Walking Classroom adopters
- Read student comments about The Walking Classroom
- Check out our most recent year-end survey results