“The Walking Classroom has been wonderful this year. We have used it in so many ways… in our reading groups, in an after school club for 4th graders to walk and talk after school once a week, and I have also used it as a bonding technique with a student at our school with behavior problems. I take the student individually during my planning and we walk and listen and then talk about the podcasts. He returns to his class more relaxed and ready to learn. His behavior definitely improves when we walk!”
— Kim Creer, Missouri
“We always circle up around the flagpole to discuss what we have listened to after each outdoor walk, and I think that is my favorite part of The Walking Classroom. The discussions and thinking I hear are amazing. I have a wide variety of reading levels in my classroom so we usually cannot all read the same text. The Walking Classroom makes it possible for my struggling readers to easily join in the conversation as they have received all the material in a format they can understand.”
— Mary Wolf, Michigan
“The curriculum is structured, which offers consistent routine and expectations for the kids. That was very helpful, especially when working with kids who might need consistency for transitioning success. The curriculum offers a hands-on approach when assessing comprehension (using the ball) and has a variety of engaging topics. A majority of the kids said they did not typically like school and had a very hard time sitting at their desks throughout the day. This program certainly gives a positive alternative and allows for healthy exercise at the same time. The kids are really responding to it, and on days that we do not have it, they are asking for it! In the initial survey, most kids stated that they had a hard time sitting in class and a hard time focusing… ALL have participated and have stayed engaged enough to provide answers to the comprehension questions. They are learning about topics they might not have encountered at school or on their own, and they are developing a desire to learn more!!! That is terrific!!!”
— Amy Murphy, Program Facilitator of Camp M.A.T.E.S.
(a summer camp run by Dr. Allison Randel, Clinical Director of Psychological Services
at the Autism Academy of South Carolina)
“We are so thankful to have [The Walking Classroom] during such cold weather! It’s great to be able to let the kids move around the school and get their exercise in even though we can’t go outside in the extreme temperatures.”
— Ashley McMath, Georgia
“School has not always been a place where they feel successful. The Walking Classroom has helped to change their attitude towards school. Attendance is always 100% on Walking Classroom days!”
— Debbie LittleJohn, Florida
” I just cannot express my gratitude for this program. It is the best thing I have ever done in my almost twenty years of teaching. My students absolutely love it. It incorporates seamlessly into my regular curriculum and has become the talk of the district. The principal is as pleased as punch with the results of The Walking Classroom and how it has curtailed some of the negative behaviors and enhanced our students’ studies.”
— Carrie Cluff, Oklahoma
“We are loving our Walking Classroom. The kids greet each day with, “When is The Walking Classroom?”
— Paula Venable, California
“The students were complaining that we will not be able to listen to all 90+ podcasts because there are not enough weeks in the year! Great complaint, I think.”
— Grit Walther, California
“The kids love walking and listening to the podcasts, we have had some fantastic conversations, and have integrated some of the details we have learned in to our writing assignments. My co-teacher (special education) and I love planning around the podcasts and feel that we are already farther ahead with literacy materials than we have ever been. Many of our weeks have been theme based around the Walking Classroom lessons. We never read this many poems by this point of the year and are on our 3rd poem! It is a win-win situation for all of the parties involved!”
— Laura Henderson, GA
“My students can’t get enough, and my whole grade level and school have been sharing in our excitement. Today we did our first walk with audio and it was amazing. They were extremely engaged and awake! In fact, I have noticed a huge improvement in behavior both today and yesterday. The lesson plans and materials have been very helpful, easy to follow, and informative.”
— Laurel Mattern, TX
“My 4th grade this year has a number of behavior and learning issues. Walking every morning has turned so many of them around in just a few days. They absolutely love the walking and listening. We have a vey specific routine about how we get ready and they are now able to get out the classroom in less than 5 minutes. We have a walking trail around our playground so that is perfect. I love walking and hearing them laugh at the funny parts. I can never thank you folks enough. This is just the coolest project.”
— Cathy Furlong, NH
“I am loving how the students are getting their exercise and talking about being healthy, all while learning! Thank you again for this great learning tool!”
— Stephanie Taira, HI
“My students (majority ELs from diverse countries) are all engaged and successful in in-depth discussions before, between (the two listenings), and after, as well as correcting each others’ listening comprehension quizzes and discussing the answers.”
— Sarah Laurens, MI
“The kids ask every single morning, “Are we walking today?” I personally love the chance to get outside and add a few more steps on my Fitbit! We walk right after lunch, and I do notice a change in my students’ motivation on the days we walk. I do not see that midafternoon slump that I sometimes see if we do not walk. They are more alert and energized for the afternoon. I also love the way I can multitask: getting activity, fitting in that state mandate about 150 minutes of physical activity per week while the kids and I get to learn something new; something we are responsible for knowing anyway. Win-win situation. The topics are interesting, varied, and engaging for kids. The students talk about the podcasts long after we have gone on to another topic. “That’s an idiom!” Austin shouted about a month after that lesson. I had to smile to myself when a colleague remarked to me, “I just can’t find much good about idioms for my kids.” We read Frindle, a book about a boy who invented a new word, at the beginning of the year. The podcast about the Oxford English Dictionary went along with it just perfectly. How many fifth-graders can talk about the OED knowledgeably? Now we are reading King of the Mound, My Life with Satchel Paige. The podcast on the Negro Baseball League again is a perfect fit, and a good way to talk about segregation and integration in a different way. Some of my students with attention issues seem to do better on the comprehension quizzes for TWC than they normally do; all because, I believe, of the connection between body and mind.
The program is well-organized and easy to manage. The folks at TWC are super responsive to my questions and needs. I asked if there perhaps was a correlation chart linking the podcasts to the Florida Standards. They said, “No, but that’s a great idea.” I had the chart the next day in an email.”
— Susan Maddox, FL
“I received my kits today!!!! And yes, I did a dance as they were delivered to my room.”
— Bailey Herring, NC
››› Visit our blog for more Walking Classroom testimonials in our Adopter Stories section.