A new school year presents the opportunity for a fresh start and the chance to try something different. Whether you’ve been implementing The Walking Classroom for several years or have just gained a set of WalkKits for your class, here’s a way to integrate the curricular information the podcasts provide with those topically-themed months that seem to oh-so-conveniently populate the calendar during the school year. Beyond the basic educational and physical benefits afforded by the program—seamless alignment with the Common Core 
curriculum and the opportunity to take a lesson on the road as your students walk, listen, and learn—The Walking Classroom’s podcasts pair perfectly with a wide array of topics.
Would you have ever guessed that the months of September to June presented so many options? You likely already know that February is Black History month, but check out the assortment of other monthly possibilities—academic, health related, and more—and choose the perfect podcasts to partner with them. Here are two easy-to-incorporate ideas!
November
Thinking ahead? Program 5 users may want to recognize the Native American experience by using the following podcasts during American Indian Heritage Month in November.
• Lewis &Clark and Sacajawea (5-#35, Combined-#100)
• Tecumseh (5-#36, Combined-#101)
• Sequoyah (5-#37, Combined-#102)
• The Santa Fe Trail (5-#38, Combined-#103)
• Trail of Tears (5-#40, Combined-#105)
• Manifest Destiny (5-#41, Combined-#106)
It’s easy to incorporate supplemental materials too, as additional resources, from reading selections to activities, abound to support your students’ learning. For a cross-curricular connection with math, start to chart your students’ walking “journey” along a “trail” of your own as you begin the year. With walking sure to be well underway by November, it will be interesting to see how far they’ve gone (and will go as the year continues) and for them to choose their own name for the trail they’ve traveled!
April
For those who enjoy planning further into the future, what better way to enhance the build-up to Earth Day during April than with some lessons focusing on the Earth, the environment, or our role in it?
• Food Chains (4-#42, STEM-#33, Combined-#130)
• Hot Springs (4-#73, STEM-#18, Combined-#137)
• Layers of the Earth (4-#74, STEM-#16, Combined-#133)
• Rocks of the Earth’s Crust (4-#75, STEM-#17, Combined-#134)
• Volcanoes (4-#76, STEM-#19, Combined-#138)
• Mountains (4-#77, STEM-#21, Combined-#136)
• Conservation (5-#7, STEM-#36, Combined-#129)
• Rachel Carson (5-#8, STEM-#37, Combined-#157)
• Meteorology (5-#11, STEM-#11, Combined-#147)
• John Muir (5-#12, STEM-#23, Combined-#166)
• Geology (5-#74, STEM-#15, Combined-#132)
You will easily find plenty of peripheral materials to engage your students and enhance their understanding on this topic too.
These are just a sampling of the podcast partnering possibilities out there. Have fun exploring the many options available to you and your students, or let your creative juices flow as you come up with a themed pairing of your own.
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