As everyone knows, this past year has been extremely challenging for schools and, more particularly, teachers. Having to pivot and teach online and in-person at the same time was extremely hard for some teachers, so having resources that could be used in both “worlds” proved invaluable! We were able to send our WalkKits home to the virtual students, so they could participate with their in-person peers.
The other nice part of this program was the fact that the students could get up and walk with their teacher on our walking path (socially distanced, of course) and get some much needed exercise and fresh air. Too many of our students had been cooped up in their homes for way too long, and it was nice to see them out and walking.
I know the teachers who utilized the program were especially grateful for the standards-based lessons which made The Walking Classroom easy to incorporate into their curriculum. And anything easy was especially appreciated this year!
Once we did return to in-person learning, we were also able to utilize the devices in our after school programs. Since they were smaller due to COVID, it did make it easier to manage the students and the devices. Given the crazy school year and schedule, the students did not get enough social studies and science, so we focused on those lessons in our after school program.
The kids were extremely engaged! Specifically, our fifth grade students enjoyed The Underground Railroad (5-#48, Complete-#78) and Harriet Tubman (5-#50, Complete-#79). We turned what were simple podcasts into an entire month of discussion and projects. It was amazing!
Tami Taylor
Grant Manager
Paradise Valley Unified School District
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