The Walking Classroom played an important role in my classroom this year. Not only was TWC used for educational purposes, but also for some Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), mindfulness time, and a much needed outdoor mask break for my students.
The Walking Classroom was a favorite activity for my students. They begged daily for a podcast and were so excited when there was time in our schedule for one. It was always the reward they picked for good behavior.
Our school has a fruit and vegetable program, so every Tuesday the students requested to eat their fruit snack (usually an apple or orange) as they walked around the school’s nature trail listening to a Walking Classroom podcast. What a great way to teach eating healthy and staying physically active!
The podcasts that were picked this year tied in nicely to the social studies lessons being taught. They also helped with the listening comprehension skill that so many students at our school struggle with. The students knew that there would be a short quiz or a writing prompt to follow the podcast, so they needed to pay close attention to the story. They loved when I allowed them to draw a sketch of the story.
A favorite podcast this year was the one about Frederick Douglass. Our District’s reading anthology has a unit on slavery and a story just on him. Listening to this podcast and learning more about Frederick Douglass sparked some in-depth questions and opinions in class. The students were even excited to do a writing prompt with the knowledge they had gained.
One day a student had to check out right before we started our Walking Classroom lesson. She was devastated that she was going to miss it, so I allowed her to take her assigned WalkKit home with her that night to listen to the podcast!
Thanks to The Walking Classroom team for always being available when I have a question. Learning with this program has been fun, and it is a great resource to have in my classroom!
Erin Malmborg
Teacher
Wasatch Elementary
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