Student Contributor: A. Sandoval
The Syllable Walk is a tool to use when you are releasing students back to their seats. This tool will be a fun and interactive way for students to head back to their seats without causing a major disruption. And it’s also a great learning tool for students in remembering vocabulary words.
When students are at carpet time and they need to go back to their tables, this can often be a very hectic transition. Are the tool I have chosen is a transition tool that is very helpful in getting students back to their seats efficiently, effectively, and its is also fun. You will want to use vocabulary words that are in relation to what the students just learned. This will help students learn the new vocabulary in a new in exciting way too! For example, let’s say you were just teaching students about identifying emotions. Students would all stand up and wait for you to call out a word. You you would say, “excited” and the students would walk and clap the number syllables for the word, while also saying the word out loud. The teacher would continue to say different vocabulary words until all of the students have reached their tables.
I think that this tool fits best in the supportive phase. Movement is an extremely important aspect to consider for students of all ages. Allowing students to shout out the syllables while they are clapping and walking towards our desks is a great way for them to practice new words while also moving and having fun. I this is supporting the students needs to wiggle and refresh their brain during a transitional period. One could also argue that this could fit in the preventative phase, to prevent noisy and disruptive transitions.
I chose to put this tool in the Collaborative Theory of Influence because the students and the teacher are working together with this tool to get the students back to their tables. One way you could make it more student directed is by choosing a different student each day to say the vocabulary words while the rest of their peers are Syllable Walking back to their tables.
More Information –
Tool Source: I got this idea from observing Mr. A use this strategy with his students after a literacy/social studies lesson. Skip to 12:50 in the video.
