During the year, I try to plan at least 3 or 4 field trips. I know they can be stressful, but I feel the payoff is worth it. I have taken students on numerous outings and each time I am amazed at how much learning is going on.
Students are excited to go on a field trip because it is different than their everyday in the classroom. Usually, students are highly engaged (especially if you find a good program). For me, I welcome the expertise of the docents and the artifacts that I can’t necessarily provide in the classroom.
I am going to share a few of my favorites from the last few years.
Our big field trip for the 5th graders at my school is the Star of India. Students experience life as a mate on a ship. The learn what life was like and how much work it takes to man a ship. Students spend the night on the floors of the lower deck and work in crews. There are five crews that do night watch in shifts. Although I don’t get a good night sleep, it is a great experience for my kiddos.
Another trip I really like is the Rancho Buena Vista Adobe. This preserved property shows students how Californians lived making candles, raising cattle, and surviving on a rancho. Again, there are many artifacts and stories about the past. My students really like this trip because they come home with items they make at different stations at the rancho.
The latest trip I went on was a week ago to San Diego State University to the Show Me Geology Lab. Students got hands on experience learning about rocks, erosion, earthquakes, and fossils. This trip was amazing! We experiences tracking earthquakes in real time, seeing a variety of fossils, and collecting and identifying different rocks.
Probably the biggest obstacle is funds for field trips. I hear ya! But I believe, where there is a will, there is a way. When I taught in middle school, I took my students on the East Coast Trip which was 6 days in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Amish country, and New York City. That trip 12 years ago cost each student about $1700. I taught in a low income area and in the eight years I did the trip, I had only 2 families write a check for the full amount. All the other students (30 a year) would fundraise the majority of their cost. It was a lot of work, but totally worth it!
So don’t let money be the reason you don’t plan field trips. They are a great way to enhance your students learning.
Have a great week and hope you stop by again.
Karen
