Walk-in Activities FAQ

Spark runs a special type of class called a walk-in activity. Students can drop by whenever they have extra time and drift in and out of the activities. They can be anything from Science Bowl to playing Set — something fun (and hopefully educational) that can have a shifting group of participants. Other past activities include calligraphy, board games, just chatting… teach anything!

Why should we teach a walk-in activity?

Walk-in activities are different from normal classes because there are no set start and end times, and no set list of students planning to attend. You can still teach whatever you want, but the students you are teaching will be coming and going and changing the whole time, so activities need to be able to incorporate a rotating group of participants. You probably will see a lot more students in an activity than a typical Spark class, except not all at once.

How does content differ from typical Spark classes?

Walk-in activities are designed to be a little bit more interactive than traditional classes, and depending on what you're teaching, your role might be more like the leader or director of the activity than the lecturer or teacher of a class. This class format lends itself to less complex material, especially because there will be no age or experience requirements for activities, but also to more fun things which would not work well in the confines of a classroom, where students can't leave or enter as they like.

Is our class idea better as a walk-in or a regular class?

If your class can accommodate students arriving and leaving throughout the class period, then it can be a walk-in activity! Lectures or discussions usually are better as regular classes; things that are less formal can make good walk-in activities. Some examples of walk-in activities from past Sparks and Splashes: rock paper scissors tournaments, card games, board games, linguistics problem and crossword puzzle and math problem solving ... anything you can think of!

How long do walk-in activities run?

You can teach a walk-in activity for 1 to 3 hours, just like a regular class.

Note: when specifying the length of a walk-in, please put the length as the size of the contiguous hours in which you would like to teach the class, and the number of sections as the number of distinct blocks you’d like to teach.

What's the budget for walk-ins?

You have $30 per hour of walk-in to spend on class supplies if you need materials.

What age are walk-in activity students?

The only age limits are the Spark age limits, so students must be in 7th, 8th, 9th, or 10th grade.