With summer starting and out-of-school time programs ramping up, the fun has just begun! These folks, active in camps and other summer programs, continue to walk on — listening and learning loads along the way. How can out-of-school time staff keep the excitement alive? Start summer off right — hit a homer and include some podcasts. You can group podcasts by theme, and get set to stroll your way through summer!
Watch the Weather
Summer brings its own array of interesting weather phenomena sure to intrigue your legions of listeners. The Walking Classroom presents a nice grouping of weather-related topics to investigate. Just take your pick!
- Meteorology (Complete-#147, 5-#11, STEM-#11)
- Hurricanes (Complete-#150, 4-#28, STEM-#13)
- Water Cycle (Complete-#148, 4-#30, STEM-#12)
- Tornadoes (Complete-#149, 4-#31, STEM-#14)
- Gabriel Fahrenheit (Complete-#164, 4-#25, STEM-#6)
And, if the actual weather is keeping you indoors, there are plenty of great weather-related activities you can do inside to engage your audience! You can even make your own thermometers!
Knock One out of the Park
What better focus for your listening than the podcasts celebrating America’s pastime? You too can hit a home run with your crew, entertaining (and educating!) them with several podcasts about the game of baseball!
- “Casey at the Bat” (Complete-#29, 5-#5)
- “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” (Complete-#30, 5-#6)
- Negro Baseball League (Complete-#121, 5-#4)
- “Who’s on First?” (Complete-#122, 5-#19)
Looking for a creative outlet on a rainy day? Give your kids the chance to turn pro and make their own baseball cards. Note: This is a great partner activity, as it provides an opportunity to get to know one another better. You can determine the “statistics” you want them to share and even create a template to guide them.
. . . or Wing it with Wordplay!
While science and sports podcasts are both sure ways to please kids, you can always head down a different path! Enjoy some verbal voyaging by exploring figurative expressions.
- Idioms (Complete-#3, 4-#7, 5-#3)
- Simile and Metaphor (Complete-#4, 4-#11, 5-#72)
These two podcasts, always among the most popular for students, regularly elicit laughter and prompt additional language experimentation, as kids try to one-up each other with funny phrases and creative constructions of their own!
Looking for a follow-up activity? Distribute a stack of index cards and have kids write an idiom on each card. Then use the deck to play your own game of Pictionary, charades, or pick your own similarly entertaining activity!
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