As they always do, our year-end teacher and student surveys provided us with lots of useful data. A big thanks to the many teachers and students who took the time to respond! You are among our most valuable resources!
From the survey results, we find out how The Walking Classroom is working for all of our adopters and their students. We get fresh ideas for resources, and gain some practical tips from new and seasoned adopters. In addition, we find out which are the students’ top podcast picks! After a quick tally of those responses, here are this year’s most popular podcasts (among students, at least!).
But First, a Few Words . . .
This year, the Year-End Student Survey was administered only to students in those classrooms which received granted sets who were in their first year using the program. Thus, nearly all of these students spent the year walking, listening, and learning with the Complete Program (167 podcasts covering topics in language arts, social studies, and science).
The top twelve podcasts for the Complete Program and the top seven for the STEM Program are listed below in reverse order, so the most popular of the favorites in each program is listed last. Note: In some cases, the same podcast appears on both the Complete Program and the STEM Program, and thus, is on both lists.
From the Complete Program. . .
Interestingly, there were a number of changes from previous years’ favorites, with a number of the fan favorites making their first appearance on the list!
- Boston Tea Party (Complete-#62, 4-#53) – consistently in the top ten!
- “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (Complete-#30, 5-#6) – consistently in the top ten!
- Jack Prelutsky (Complete-#38, 4-#39) – first time in the top podcast picks!
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (Complete-#123, 4-#64) – consistently in the top ten!
- Statue of Liberty (Complete-#75, 5-#65) – first time in the top podcast picks!
- Gold Rush (Complete-#108, 5-#43)- first time in the top podcast picks!
- Food Chains (Complete-#130, 4-#42, STEM-#33) – consistently in the top ten!
- Heroic Dogs and Horses (Complete-#44, 4-#37) – consistently in the top ten!
- “Who’s on First?” (Complete-#122, 5-#19)
- Trickster Stories (Complete-#23, 5-#45) – first time in the top podcast picks!
- Idioms (Complete-#3, 4-#7, 5-#3) – consistently in the top ten!
Finally, the top podcast pick:
- Volcanoes (Complete-#138, 4-#76, STEM-#19) – first time at the top of this list!
From the STEM Program . . .
- Meteorology (Complete-#147, 5-#11, STEM-#11) – first time in the top podcast picks!
- Marine Life (Complete-#142, 5-#76, STEM-#34) – first time in the top podcast picks!
- Water Cycle (Complete-#148, 4-#30, STEM-#12) – first time in the top podcast picks!
- Sun, Stars and Galaxies (Complete-#144, 4-#78, STEM-#26)
- Tornadoes (Complete-#149, 4-#31, STEM-#14) – consistently in the top five!
- Food Chains (Complete-#130, 4-#42, STEM-#33) – consistently in the top five!
and, the top vote-getter
- Volcanoes (Complete-#138, 4-#76, STEM-#19) – in the top two the past three times!
Other Nuggets of Note
While not making the top podcast picks above, those early podcasts in both programs, Welcome to TWC (Complete-#1, 4-#1, 5-#1, STEM-#1) and Introduction to TWC (Complete-#2, 4-#3, 5-#2, STEM-#3), were still very popular among the students.
These two podcasts are clearly memorable and absolutely worth a listen. They provide lots of valuable information to help get you started!
A Final Point
NOTE: If you are changing positions or schools and did not let us know by responding to the Year-End Teacher Update sent out in April, be sure to let us know as soon as possible. We want to be sure our records are current, so that we can continue to provide you (or whoever is using the program!) with the resources and support to have a positive experience!
Happy Trails!
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