Walkabouts Are a Great Resource for Transition Time and Team Building (North Carolina)
Profile
Washington Elementary School is a K-5th grade public school in Greensboro, North Carolina (Guilford County Schools). Recently, the school was named an Active School by the Active School Alliance for its commitment to empower learners through movement and well-being while also fostering an atmosphere that embraces critical thinking and community values.
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Florannette Frenia teaches kindergarten at Washington Elementary School in Greensboro, NC. She has been teaching for six years, three of which have been spent in kindergarten and three in prekindergarten. |
“I really like using Walkabouts after small group time because it is a great way to bring the whole class back together.”
– Florannette Frenia
Goals
As an Active Learning School, Washington Elementary is committed to ensuring movement and wellness activities are woven into the school day. Florannette Frenia first learned about the Walkabouts platform from her multi-classroom coach who researched the platform and recommended it to the school. Frenia explained that the web-based lessons are user-friendly and easy for her students to follow. To meet the school’s movement and academic goals, Frenia integrates the state-aligned lessons from the Walkabouts platform throughout the school day, particularly during transition times after English Language Arts and math lessons. Using Walkabouts throughout the day has helped her increase student engagement with academic content.
Outcomes
Using Walkabouts during transition times has led to a decrease in behavioral challenges, which can often occur during this pivotal time in the school day. Not only is the platform intuitive for Frenia to use, but also for her students who enjoy modeling the movements of the characters in the lessons. Frenia shares that when “the kids understand the main topic, especially in math, they will even request certain types of lessons [on the platform],” that support what they are learning in core subject areas.
She also likes using Walkabouts as a whole class activity after small group time, explaining, “It is a great way to bring the whole class back together.” During this time, she says that her students hone their team building skills as they work with each other to complete the lessons, often helping classmates if someone is struggling with the correct movement or answer.
Recommendations
While she knows other teachers in her school are using Walkabouts, Frenia says that a great reason to use the platform is that the lessons help her students during transition time, which minimizes behavioral issues. She also says that the platform is very beneficial on days when students do not have physical education — the movement component not only gets the wiggles out but also incorporates important academic content.
