I can’t thank you enough for your donation of The Walking Classroom for my class of ESL students! We are a class of 5th and 6th graders from all over the world. Many of my students are new to the country, while others have been here a while. They are at all levels of English, as well as varying abilities in core subjects. Some of my students come from small villages in Asia where there were few opportunities for schooling, while others come more prepared, having learned some English along with their native language. This year, I have students from Mongolia, The Philippines, India, Pakistan, Somalia, Laos, Italy, Poland, and Brazil!
When I heard about The Walking Classroom, I knew it would be a great way for my students to listen to English and learn grade-level curriculum. We have a track on our school grounds, so it is a perfect place for us to walk. We have decided to walk three mornings a week from 8:15-9:00 while listening to our Walking Classroom MP3 players. We have only been using them a couple of weeks, but my students love it! We are studying ecosystems in science, so yesterday and today we listened to a podcast about deserts. My students were able to talk about so much information they learned and remembered from the podcast. It was amazing! This is truly a valuable resource for my second-language learners.
As a teacher, I have always felt it was unreasonable to expect 10- and 11-year-olds to sit still all day long. I have always tried to interject opportunities for movement during the day. That is another reason I am such a believer in the science behind The Walking Classroom.
Again, thank you so much for your generosity. I hope you enjoy my students’ letters. Writing is the hardest part of learning English, so while some letters are not perfect, know my students spent a long time on them and they are sincere, as am I.
Warmly,
Petrecia Shales
5/6 ESL
Liberty Elementary
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