Field+Trip+of+Distinction+Strategy

GRADE LEVELS V' K-2 V' 3-5 V' 6-8 II Time, Continuity, and Change III People, Places, and Environments IV Individual Development and Identity V Individuals, Groups, and Institutions VI Power, Authority, and Governance X Civic Ideals and Practices ents enjoy field trips; they learn from both the sites d1ey visit and the knowledgeable people who ~:a.d-t-he sites. All of the learning that students accrue in their field experiences becomes useful when = y remrn to d1eir classroom and complete projects based on those experiences (Field, 2001). By -;-::_aring questions before taking a field u-ip, younger students are better able to use the experience
 * obtain yaluable research data. In order to help them demonstrate their knowledge, older students

~-: gather data from the field and combine it with the research they did in preparation for the trip;
 * -: mdents return from their field trip, d1ey need to document their experience. Younger travelers

- ~-:2-e class stories for their teacher to record, while older students record their peripatetic .:.::-~:::ures in journals. Students can focus on how the site is interpreted, note if they see any .::-:-:~. ancies with the interpretation of the site, and then evaluate the site to determine what changes -~.:: :0 be made before they return. • ::':"-..'1 the field trip a year in advance, basing your site selection on a particular purpose, theme, -::::1 tructional objective. • ~ ~2· ers can provide leadership in helping smdents and parents raise money to defray the costs
 * - 2.--: expensive field trip. However, they should not allow fund raising to consume much of
 * ...-:::::-:ime.A strong sense of curricular responsibilities should guide your time management.

• Determine how all the sites visited will relate to one another. Plan activities to meet the instructional objectives. Arrange for students to do something besides just listening to presentations at the site. One might have them simply take notes or draw a quick sketch to take back to the classroom. • Obtain administrative approval for the trip, and make arrangements for transportation. • Make a reservation for the group at each site. Make sure the agents in charge of the site Imow why the students are coming and what they need to accomplish. Plan well in advance to ensure that the students do nothing on site that they could have done just as well at school and that the tour is both meaningful and challenging. Ask the docent to introduce specific controversial issues and ideas during the tour or program. • Send information to parents about when the trip will occur; what the students need to bring; and the costs, hours, food arrangements, overnight accommodations, and itinerary. • Make sure all field trip procedures set forth by the administration are known and followed. Make arrangements to call an administrator if there is a delay in the return trip. Carry a first aid kit and establish procedures for emergency room visits. • On the trip, enforce school-sanctioned disciplinary measures. Tell students how to thank docents either orally or by applause. Establish cleanup procedures for the bus, dining rooms, cabins or dormitories, and community areas such as hotel lobbies. • Note the names of outstanding docents for special thanks, and request them for subsequent field u·ips. • After the trip, have students write thank-you notes to all adults who helped widl the experience. Evaluate the sites visited. Ask if the trip was a wordnvhile investment of time, effort, and finances. In reinforcing the curricular connections of a field trip to Washington, DC students may -be asked to recall some of their experiences, apply and evaluate that knowledge. The suggested ideas that follow work with most elementary-aged students. • First-grade students should be able to name five people who made a contribution to the development of dle nation and two of those contributions. • First-grade students need to pick one person as the most important and tell why they think he or she made the most important contribution. • At the end of the trip, first-grade students should make a chart of dleir nominees for V.I.A.- very important American-to hang in their room and tell why their nominee deserves this recognition. • Third-grade students should be able to name three sites they visited and how dlose sites contribute to dle process of democracy. • Third -grade students should evaluate what would happen if dlis process did not occur. • At the end of the trip, third-grade students can create a cartoon with five frames showing what dleir community would be like if government did not work. • Fifth-grade students need to tell how each branch of government affects life in their community. • Fifth-grade students need to evaluate if government jobs could be done by other persons or groups in their community. • At the end of the trip, fifth-grade students could design a chart showing the job the other person or group could do for government: Who is the person or group? What job could this person or group do? What advantages would there be if this person or group did the job for government? What disadvantages would there be if this other person or group did the job for government? On a family field trip, each first-grade student took one parent to Washington, DC for three days. Each parent was responsible for his or her child and stayed in a room with the child at night. During the day, the parents traveled with the children as a group, participated in tours and activities that were developmentally appropriate, built on the strengths of the site, and helped the children work with their peers. Together they visited monuments, spent time in the Smithsonian Institution, and saw famous buildings. This cross-generational experience helped to broaden the world for the students, gave them positive experiences with their parents, and provided them with the safety and security they needed to travel. It helped the teacher meet social studies goals and promoted positive social interactions between peers. Many students have an opportwuty to go to Washington, DC as an extension of their eighdl-grade U.S. lustory curriculum. The members of one group prepare for their field experience by trait1.ingto become tour guides at the individual sites dley will visit. They select dleir site by lottery and then obtain information about it fi'om at least three books, the Internet, teacher-created files, and flyers. Each student develops an 8-minute presentation that addresses two questions: Why is dle structure important? and What happens here? Next, students select a controversy related to the site; in their presentation of the controversy, dley summarize the arguments for both sides but remain impartial. They use color pictures to highlight their presentations and generate an outline of their script. They rehearse dleir presentations, keeping track of the time each one consumes. On the day of their presentations, dley distribute a descriptive tri-fold travel brochure they created using Microsoft® Publisher. The group's teacher is aware dlat many times congressional representatives meet their constituents on the Capitol steps for a "meet-and-greet" session and a photo opportuluty. He also knows that students need strong preparation for this session: They need to know about the personal background of their senator or representative as well as Ius or her legislative experience, committee memberships, political affiliation, and political background. The teacher assists students in discovering what bills are coming out of or going into committee and in finding out about the bills to be voted on by the full Congress. He or she helps students prepare specific questions to ask their senator or representative about these bills, what he or she does during a typical day, how he or she raises funds, what issues will come up in the next election, or how he or she stands on various issues. A field trip to Washington, DC also includes visits to many important historic sites. During these visits, students share their travel brochures and other information about the particular site they researched, adding to the store of information presented by tour guides and site authorities. Students also collect flyers, leaflets, handouts, ticket stubs, postcards, and photos during the trip. All of these items give the students data and artifacts they can use when they return to the classroom. After the field trip, students use all the material they gathered as well as additional resources on the Internet to create a class scrapbook about Washington, DC They write an introduction for the scrapbook in which they discuss dle purpose of the field trip. They describe the cost of this opportmut:y: What did dley give up to go on this trip? They also discuss dle rights and responsibilities of group membership: How were they entrusted widl responsibilities on dus excursion? Next, they evaluate d1eir role in group planning before departure: How were they involved in decision making? In the next section of the scrapbook, students use one page to describe each site they visited; each page must have a picture with an accompanying caption. In addition, students evaluate dle importance of the sites, give reasons for their opinions, and describe their responses to the sites. The final section of the scrapbook is the conclusion. In this section, students evaluate the trip. They identifY dle sites dley consider most "aluable or interesting and tell how the trip might be improved. Next, students report on what they learned from participating in the trip. Finally, they explain how they have changed because ofdle trip. De"ine, J., &Willand, R. (2000). Cultural computing: Exploiting interactive digital media. Museum International, 52(1), 32-35.