Grant in Action: The Walking Classroom

At Williams Elementary, learning isn’t confined to four walls—it’s on the move! Thanks to a generous grant from the Lamar Educational Awards Foundation, Ms. Giarratano introduced The Walking Classroom, an innovative program that combines physical activity with academic learning.

Students use portable “WalkKits,” each preloaded with more than 160 curriculum-aligned audio lessons. As students walk outdoors, they listen to engaging podcast-style episodes covering a range of topics from science and history to language arts.

Purpose & Impacts grant was designed with a clear intention:

To provide an engaging, healthy, and interactive learning experience that promotes movement and deeper learning.

By pairing education with exercise, The Walking Classroom helps students stay active, focused, and motivated. The built-in pre- and post-discussion prompts also support critical thinking and classroom dialogue.

A Teacher’s Perspective

“It is a fun way to get students outside more. They loved that they just got to walk around while listening to a lesson and not just be in the classroom. If a campus is looking for an engaging way to learn and get outside, this is a great way to do that.”

—Angela Giarratano, Williams Elementary

Walking Toward a Brighter Future

Thanks to this hands-on, feet-moving grant experience, Williams Elementary students are walking, learning, and thriving. The Lamar Educational Awards Foundation is proud to support creative, student-centered projects like this that make a lasting impact both inside and outside the classroom.

Interested in supporting innovative education in Lamar CISD?

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