My students ask to do The Walking Classroom no matter if it is rain or shine. The other fifth graders consistently ask why our class is always walking, and my students share that they are “walking and learning”!
I am able to connect The Walking Classroom to our curriculum, and it has made a huge difference in retention for my students. Students will miss very few of the questions from the podcasts they listen to. When they are given opportunities to share what they’ve learned with one another, my students will quote, almost verbatim, what they heard.
It has been fun for me to hear them talk about, and sometimes argue about, what they have heard and are learning. While I am giving instruction on some of the same topics covered in The Walking Classroom podcasts, my students will refer back to the podcast, and discussion begins!
The Walking Classroom has enhanced my students’ learning and gives us a chance to get outside or out of the classroom at least twice a week, if not more! While at the beginning of the year, there were some grumbles about having to walk “so far” (many had not been very active over the summer months), by October, they were asking if we could walk farther and listen to another selection!
I have had one parent wonder what I was teaching because her son came home talking about “The Star Spangled Banner”. The parent did not know some of the details related to the history behind it. Not only are my students learning, but their parents are too! Thank you so very much for providing this valuable educational program!
Susan Armstrong
Teacher
Hayward Elementary
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