"One cannot be prepared for something while secretly believing it will not happen." Nelson Mandela
Preparation. Preparation is one of the key elements that will help to determine the success of a field trip adventure. If teachers are not prepared, if and when a situation arises, it could end up being chaotic and a sheer disaster. There are so many things that can derail a field trip from the intended educational outcome. As teachers we are responsible for all of our students, and thinking "What could really go wrong?" will not be beneficial to either student or teacher. Preparation.....
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After we went on the field trip to Bailly-Chellberg Homesead, we came back and had a discussion about field trips. We discussed how to prepare our students for field trips, what procedures must be in place to ensure the safety of our students, how to get students familiar with the content of the field trip, how to engage them when on the field trip, and extension activities after returning to the classroom.
As a class, we brainstormed and thought of the many different things that teachers have to do to have a successful field trip. We compiled lists of things to think about. We started by discussing how we can get students ready for what the field trip is for or about, and what it is we really want them to "get out of it?"
~Get Kids Ready~
Ask questions
(Has anyone ever been there before?
What do you know about it?)
Create charts
(KWL)
Cover the content
Make inferences
(If about pioneers...how life was, what was different, etc.)
Teach specific vocabulary
Watch videos
Read books
Give students specific or key things to look for
We decided that part of being prepared is
~Knowing your students~
Specific medications
Allergies
Asthma
Fears
Behavioral issues (disorders, etc.)
Disabilities
Diabetic
Emergency contacts
Appropriate grouping strategies
Who is likely to "try to run"
Who will be helpful
Who's parents can and would be chaperons
~Field Trip Necessities~
Permission Slips
First Aid Kit/Back Pack
CPR Certified
Chaperons (trained)
Map
Sunblock
Bug Spray
Food
Water
Cell Phone
Camera
Appropriate Clothing
Emergency Contact/bags
Something Sweet
Student Medications
Nurse (if possible)
~Things to Think About~
Chaperons (Who)
Method of keeping track of everyone
Go to meeting place if separated
Discussing behavioral expectations
Built in restroom breaks
Things beyond our control (mosquitoes, bees, weather, etc.)
Students without requirements
(sack lunches, weather appropriate clothing, field trip fees, etc.)
~Discussion/Extension Activities~
What did we learn?
What did we see?
What did you like, dislike?
How was it different?
What questions do you have?
Research questions
Found Art Projects
We discussed how to engage students during the field trip by giving them specific things to look for. There are many activities that teachers can do to get students involved and engaged during the field trip. They can participate in scavenger hunts and observations. They could be looking for an answer to a predetermined question that is given before the field trip.
Click on the links below for Field Trip Resources
Field trips are meant to be fun and educational. They are a fabulous way to reinforce a classroom concept, as well as tie into other subjects. It is a way to give students a concrete experience for sometimes abstract ideas.
An example of how one field trip can be used to integrate all subjects is....maybe taking students to a pumpkin patch in the fall. This field trip could be tied into Science and the life cycle of a pumpkin, or Home Economics, cooking pumpkin pie and other such goodies. It could be tied into Social Studies with wants and needs, goods and services, producers and consumers, etc. It could be tied into Math with the price of pumpkins, the weight, the amount of pumpkins there are. Reading is another subject that could be integrated into this field trip, stories can be pre-read, poems can be written, student writing pieces can be written and published; Art activities, pumpkin painting, drawing, etc. There are sooooooo many ways this particular field trip could be integrated.
There are so many ways field trips can be beneficial to students to help reinforce what they are learning, or be a prelude to what they will be learning. Careful planning and consideration are key elements in the success of any field trip. The quote below couldn't be more true.....
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