This post is part of our Walk This Way series, designed to share The Walking Classroom experiences of teachers and students across the United States. This post provides a glimpse into Kathie Yonemura’s class.
There are so many great podcasts in The Walking Classroom that it is hard to pick just one. I asked my students for their favorite and they almost unanimously chose Interjections (Combined-#16, 4-#8, 5-#20)! Since when do you hear kids cheering and begging for parts of speech practice?!
Give Me Some Grammar
I personally love the grammar-based and parts of speech podcasts because teaching specific skills can often be rather dry, whereas the podcasts are entertaining and sometimes have catchy songs too. This particular podcast on interjections has definition lyrics set to the tune of “Yankee Doodle”!
I loved watching and hearing my kids walk as they all burst into song, singing along with the podcast! And that song does get stuck in your head! When we got back to class, the kids begged to walk again, just to hear the song.
A Skype Sing-Along?!
We were fortunate to have a Skype interview with Laura Fenn, the creator of The Walking Classroom. My class was in awe; they felt like they were talking to a celebrity! She was so animated and delightful; the kids were tickled as she shared some trade secrets with us.
We learned that a friend of hers wrote the interjections song, along with a few others. They were so excited that they started singing again. My students passed along the request for her to write more songs because it helped them to remember concepts.
Engaging Struggling Students
One of my students, who struggles academically, LOVES The Walking Classroom. Although he often has difficulty connecting or remembering new concepts, he can tell you everything about parts of speech and figurative language (from the podcasts to which we’ve listened).
He’s even one to shout out when he recognizes these things in reading or during read aloud: “Hey! That’s an idiom!” or “You just used an interjection!” This just warms my teacher heart!
Kathie Yonemura
Fourth Grade Teacher
Hesby Oaks Leadership Charter School
My students loved the interjections podcast as well! They were interested to learn that it’s not only a part of speech, but a noun, as in an interruption of what someone is saying. The students we listened to on that podcast were very funny.
I have noticed any time the students have a mnemonic device, they are able to remember more vividly the lesson. For example, in the Combined podcast (22) Conducting Effective Interviews, the students were able to remember how to question using “the 5 Ws and H.” This helps them remember Who, what, when , where, why and how.
Thanks for sharing!
Natalie
I agree the Walking Classroom has been an asset for struggling students in ELA, history, math, and science. They were really intrested in the Money Podcast. They enjoy the podcast and seem to perform well on quizzes. Walking Classroom helps to differentiate instruction.