For schoolchildren, field trips are amongst the most exciting dates on the school calendar. Firstly, the break from normal school routine is exhilarating for them, then of course there’s the fresh air and the fact that the children get to wear their own clothes for a day. Even the half an hour’s freedom to browse the gift shop at the end of the day is enough to spur the class into talking about the field trip for weeks afterwards.
But as a teacher, how can you channel all of this excitement into a productive day of learning alfresco? This post will outline some teacher planning tips for organising fantastic field trips.
Choosing the Right Destination
It’s important to balance the intended learning outcomes of your excursion with activities that will inspire your pupils to pay attention. Many children will get bored simply wandering around dreary museum exhibits for hours on end.
Luckily, there are many exhibits and destinations that have interactive ‘hands-on’ activities that the pupils can get involved with. When planning, think of ways the trip can involve all five senses, as educational studies have found that our ability to learn new concepts is greatly boosted by engaging multiple senses within learning activities.
You may wish to visit your chosen location beforehand so you get an idea of the layout and where the toilets are etc. You also probably want to avoid getting roped into booking somewhere that turns out to be more like a Blunderland than a Wonderland.
Permissions
Each school has its own guidelines for planning trips, so get all the necessary permissions signed off in good time. You will also need to organise transportation, lunch for everyone (if required), volunteer chaperones, admission fees, first aid kit and any equipment you might need whilst you’re there. You will also want to gather all of the important contact information for your pupils and get these bits organised into a folder, should the worst happen.
Preparing the Children for the Trip
Start a class discussion, maybe the day before you go, to talk about what you will be doing on the trip. You could bring up the website and show them promotional photos and information about the location and briefly talk them through some of the activities you have planned.
If you are planning on utilising their investigative skills, then you may want to get the pupils to write down any questions they have regarding the venue and the subject they’re studying, so that they can ask the tour guide and find out for themselves.
Now would also be a good time to remind pupils that they are representing the school when they are visiting and must behave themselves accordingly. For pupils who tend to forget things like their PE kit on more than a few occasions, running them through the things and clothing they will need will also mean that you have done your best to get them organised for the day ahead (but you may still need to pack a few spare pack-a-macs, just in case).
Getting the Pupils Learning
Once the minibus has pulled up to your destination, it’s time to run through the day’s events. You may want to prepare a worksheet with questions for them to fill in, and you may also want to split them into pairs, or small groups, so they can help each other with the activities and you can ensure that no one wanders off by themselves.
Some ideas for some great learning activities for field trips include:
· Observational drawings (if they have to rush to finish, get them to include notes in the margins of their books so that they can complete the drawing from memory later)
· Brainstorms of descriptors for the day to use in fictional writing assignments (ideal for historical visits because it helps the pupils put the artefacts into a real-life context)
· Scavenger hunt – to get the pupils searching for clues and looking carefully at the location
· Best in show – get the pupils to each vote for their favourite exhibit or part of the field trip and get them to explain why
After the Trip
When the minibus arrives back at school and the kids go home, it’s important that you then spend some time crafting related activities to help solidify the lessons of the day in your students’ minds.
Slotting the field trip activities and lessons to fit in with the rest of the curriculum should ideally be considered at the initial planning stage of the excursion. But that doesn’t mean you can’t, for example, convert a nature-themed field trip into your maths lessons. In this example, the teacher planned to measure the circumferences of pumpkins, after taking the students on a trip to a pumpkin farm. This will ensure that the pupils are still thinking about their big day out for weeks to come.
For more tips on lesson planning, take a look at these good to outstanding lesson planning resources for KS2.
If you have any thoughts on planning field trips, please leave a comment below.
