They learn by walking away from school.
Then walking back.
They give new meaning to the term “step-by-step instruction.”
Fifth-graders at H. Allen Hight Elementary School are getting exercise while learning, through a novel program in which they walk about a half mile, three days a week, while listening on earphones to lessons that can range from the Gold Rush to Shakespeare or Ocean Life.
Afterward, the Hight fifth-graders take a quiz that counts toward their class grade, said teacher Andrea Mitchell, who applied for and won a grant this year to purchase “The Walking Classroom,” complete with podcasts, audio players, earphones, and lesson plans.
“They love getting out of the classroom – and they’re still learning,” Mitchell said of her fifth-graders, who were warned on their very first walk, months ago, that they would be excluded from joining future hikes if they abused their privilege by talking.
Recently, Mitchell’s class trekked to nearby Kokomo Park and back while listening to a podcast about conservation and the need to retain environmental resources. The kids then answered 10 multiple-choice questions that included:
- What are some of the ways that our natural resources are being damaged?
- Why is it important to conserve our environmental resources?
- What would be the best way to describe the current ecological footprint of humans on our Earth?
Mitchell can pick from a long list of lesson plans, including The Great Depression, John Muir, Civil War, Harriet Tubman, Negro Baseball League, Meteorology, Idioms, Prepositions, Money, Turning a Hobby Into A Career, and dozens of others. Content is aligned with new state standards, she said.
Fifth-graders gave the project thumbs up.
Olivia, 10, said the “Walking Classroom” is a good way for kids who don’t join athletic teams to get exercise. “It helps me a lot I’m normally not the sporty type of person,” she said.
Her classmate, William, said that breathing fresh air while studying not only is “cool,” it helps him collect his thoughts.
Noble, 10, simply enjoys it.
“It’s a lot of fun to walk,” she said.
