At Lincoln Elementary, one of our favorite things about The Walking Classroom is how easy it has been to share the program with other teachers! Our fifth grade team is departmentalized, and so the social studies teacher and myself take turns using it.
We each use the program every other week for two days. This way, we are not spending TOO much time out of the classroom, but students are getting to use it twice a week, every week!
So that we can share what we’ve been learning with the rest of the school, we have created a bulletin board in our hallway! This bulletin board contains our learning objectives, key vocabulary that we’ve learned, an anchor chart that relates back to the standards that we’ve been learning about in class, as well as a “Walking Classroom Student of the Week” section!
Each week, we listen to one podcast two times. After each of our four blocks have completed the two-day lesson, we choose a “Walking Classroom Student of the Week.” The student’s name and picture then goes on our bulletin board. This student is one who followed the expectations the entire lesson, was actively engaged in our post-walk discussions, and showed a genuine interest in the podcast topic!
Since our school is in a low-income area, a lot of our students can’t afford their own headphones. As a reward, we provide the “Walking Classroom Student of the Week” with a pair of his or her own! This really gives our students a sense of pride and ownership about their learning that week. And, it keeps them engaged in the following lessons!
Elise Barrett
Fifth Grade Teacher
Lincoln Elementary
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