A Fun Way To Walk Your Class Across Campus Smart Classroom Management

Typically, when I walk a class across campus I let them do so without my input.

With as much independence as possible.

It’s something I begin teaching on the first day of school and then slowly release to them as the days and weeks go by. It’s intentional and reflects the independence I push for inside the classroom.

The way I expect them to walk is taught in detail—uniform spacing, fast pace, head up and proud.

The first week or so I stay close. I move up and down the line as they head to their destination ensuring the routine is performed as taught. I may stop and reteach.

But as they get better, I move further away and rarely say a word. Eventually, I send them on their way as I watch from a distance. Students love this. It makes them feel special and part of something bigger than themselves.

It gives them purpose, agency, empowerment, independence, pride.

They also get loads of compliments from parents and teachers they pass by, which they acknowledge with a polite head nod or clipped “thank you” (also taught). Students from other classrooms watch in awe. It all feels great, which encourages even better performance.

You have to trust and hand over responsibility for students to grow and mature.

The reason I put effort into a mundane routine is because it transfers to everything they do, including most importantly their work and study habits.

But I don’t just stop there.

As the year goes on, I like to push the maturity envelop by challenging them even more. Once they have the standard routine down, and I have full trust in them, it’s fun to mix it up. For example, I’ll send them off to the library and then watch without them knowing where I am.

I’ll hide behind trees or sneak looks between buildings as they make their way. I’ll also draw a map on the Smart board and have them take a roundabout way to the lunch room or out to recess.

Once this is commonplace, we’ll walk in a herd instead of a line. I’ll lead but we’ll walk in one giant mass, again with speed and confidence. I’ll turn and zigzag without warning and they’ll have to stay as tight and reactive as a school of fish.

My favorite, however, is to sneak across campus like highly trained ninjas. Tiptoeing, hiding, crouching, laying behind bushes, stuck to walls around corners. Very, very serious, as if rescuing a castle-held hostage.

The other teachers think I’m bonkers. But the kids love it beyond imagination. And so do I.

It something that not only transfers to academics and improves attentiveness, maturity, and focus, but it raises the bar of excellence.

It builds comradery. It’s great fun. It creates a classroom culture students love being part of and are thus intrinsically motivated to push their own limits and look out for one another.

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