If you have read my post over at Conversation from the Classroom, or you are new to this idea of Field Trip Friday, I can't wait to share more about Friday Field Trip tips and treasures for you to use in your classroom! Let's dive in!
What is Field Trip Friday ?
Field Trip Friday was an idea that my teacher bestie and I developed right away when we were planning our first week of Distance Learning. We had quickly recognized, even before students logged in for their very first lesson, that they were going to need a break by Friday. But, we couldn't just leave it empty and say "catch-up today". We had to have something there, to be sure students were "engaged". The birth of Friday Field Trip happened, so here are some tips and TREASURES!
Tips and Treasures #1
Planning your field trip is the first Friday Field Trip Tips and Treasures I would like to offer you! The very first one is PLANNING! We started with an overview of the quarter. We knew we needed at least 6 field trips, because of the way our District structure for on-line learning was happening. We planned those out based on habitats and animal adaptations, since that was the core area of study in both 2nd and 3rd grade Science for this quarter.
Next, we split the assigned work. That's a TOTAL TREASURE! Grab a friend and work on these together. There is a good chance, if you are like me, you have a large team. Imagine assigning one to each person once you get the format down. Speaking of format, you can grab the format right here!
Once you get the work split up, you can use this easy Friday Field Trip Planning Guide to help you map out your very first Friday Field Trip
Tips and Treasures #2
Location, location, location! If you want to make your Friday Field Trip successful, the best Tip and Treasure I have is to make the location be a primary focus. If you have an AMAZING location, students will be drawn in naturally. I'm not talking the zoo or something like that. I'm talking someplace that is high interest and they don't even have an idea that it is. Our locations included the tundra (this is the sample that is in the Friday Field Trip Planning Guide), the mountains (Mt. Kilimanjaro), Mars, and more! Get creative! Think about how these places can impact a child's learning instead of just being fun. It can easily be both.
Tips and Treasures #3
Notebooks are a must for Friday Field Trip Tips and Treasures! The very first thing we had students do was to create a notebook for taking notes on their trip. The main purpose of this was to allow students the opportunity to gather as much information as they could on the location of the trip and the focus of learning about the places that they visited. The treasure in the notebook is that this counts as writing for Friday! That's one of the hidden treasures in this whole process. You are getting in Reading, Writing, Science, and Social Studies with Field Trip Friday! Here is how:
Science - All of our Field Trips stemmed out of our Science curriculum. Luckily, 2nd and 3rd grade Science focus was the same - Life Sciences with a focus on animal adaptation!
Reading - Anything they read would be nonfiction. So, you could pull in nonfiction standards to support Field Trip Friday.
Writing - NOTEBOOKS! Here is how these can be tied into your plans for Friday! CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.7 Participate in shared research and writing projects CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.2.8 Recall information from experiences or gather information from provided sources to answer a question.
Social Studies - Remember location?! Students are looking at maps and exploring location! Can't get much better than that!
Tips and Treasures #4
Student discussions!
The biggest treasure out of Field Trip Friday was the student discussion! Right away students interacted with each other by commenting on another student's comment. It was required to comment on two other student's comments, but we quickly saw that they usually commented on more. Their thoughts and ideas quickly being confirmed or added to by other students. It was an amazing thing to watch! Even in a classroom, with our current state of Social Distancing, this would and could be a way for them to enjoy a conversation with each other! Win-Win!
Tips and Treasures #5
The last Friday Field Trip Tips and Treasures is rolling out Field Trip Friday ideas for the new school year! We all are sitting wondering what will happen in our Social Distancing future. Well, I'm planning on Field Trip Friday either way! Here are some ways that you can implement Field Trip Friday in your classroom
Plan your first Friday Field Trip as a whole group experience. I'm looking at starting with a Primary and Secondary Sources Field Trip. This will tie into my Social Studies standards but also give them guidance and experience with how the platforms will work.
Use your platform! Again, we do not know what our future holds. It will be key to keep students up to date within our platforms, whatever one you use. In my district, we use Schoology, which can be hard to navigate. I want to get my students connected to my "way" as soon as possible, even if we stay in a classroom setting all year!
Use a notebook, either printed or one of their own, to record notes - either together or on their own. The idea is that you want them to develop this skill early on, so they know what the expectations are! Need a rubric? You can find it in this product!
If you are involved with Distance Learning, don't be afraid to try this as a class, together. Use the same tips and techniques mentioned above! You still need to teach your students how, even at a distance.
Bonus Field Trip Friday Tips and Treasures
Survey your Students! After your students have tried out Field Trip Friday a few times, they may want to offer suggestions! Create a form to survey them or grab it here! They will totally surprise you with their ideas and suggestions!
So, that's my Field Trip Friday Tips and Treasures! I'm just as excited as you to start the new school year off with this fun Friday event! I'm thinking about starting with a Primary Source Field Trip! Watch for the blog post that will be coming OR follow me on Social Media to find out when it is posted!
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