I wanted to take a few minutes to send a huge THANK YOU for The Walking Classroom! I am so thrilled and overjoyed to be able to get to use this program with my students this year. Since we starting using The Walking Classroom this fall, my class has enjoyed at least one podcast a week, and the effects on our learning day have been tremendous!
My students’ faces always light up when I announce that it is time for a walk. They can’t wait to see what we will learn about next! One of the most common questions I get each morning is, “Are we going to do the Walking Classroom today?!”
Regardless of the topic, my students come back from our walks bubbling with conversation about what they learned. Once we settle down and conclude our TWC lesson, my class begins our next lesson with a content and focused energy that was sometimes lacking before we walked. Every single one of my students loves it (including my more resistant students)! The surge of dopamine and positive mood that our walk provides stays with us for the rest of the day.
I love how there is a podcast for everyone — conversations about ancient civilizations for my history buffs, lessons on skin for my science fans, and riddles and trickster stories for my avid readers. But even if we are learning about something that isn’t a favorite subject for some of my students, all of them end up being engaged due to the way the program is designed.
For me as a teacher, I really enjoy the variety of podcasts. So, so, so many of the podcasts align directly to the curriculum that I teach. This makes it easy to incorporate them when I plan out our week.
As part of our New Years’ Resolutions this year, my class generated a list of things that they wanted our class to do more of in the new year. Can you guess their number one request? More Walking Classroom! My students can’t truly get enough, and I am trying my best to be able to honor their request!
I hope that you can see how much of a blessing it has been to be able to use this program with my students this year. I am looking forward to being able to use The Walking Classroom for many years to come!
Laurel Mattern
Fifth Grade Teacher
Blazier Elementary School
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