A field trip is something every student is looking for. It creates great excitement among the students, and even greater anxiety for you as well! When it comes to organizing field trips in a hurry, many of the things don’t go as planned.
Also, to make the field trip both educational and fun for the students, you have to focus on many things. Here, we are listing some of the tips that can help to make your educational trip successful-
Get Clear On Why Do You Want To Organize A Field Trip
Before you start to plan the logistics of the trip, think about how it will support the educational curriculum. Which places are you planning to take your students and how they are good choices? How will the trip give your kids a chance to understand things better? Asking yourself these types of questions will help you to narrow down the choices of trip locations and choose the best one.
Further, it will help you to explain the school authorities about how the trip will provide the students with hands-on experience. This way, it becomes easy for you to get consent from the school administration.
Align The Location With Teaching Curriculum
An important thing to remember while picking the trip location is that it should align with your teaching curriculum. You don’t want your students to roll their eyes in boredom waiting for the moment to get back. At the same time, you can’t let them just having fun and ignoring the fact that it is a school day. So, pick a place which is the right balance of fun and knowledge.
Contact with the places you are considering and inquire about what they offer for the educational field trips. Whatever location you choose, present it as an essential part of the curriculum for teachers.
Ask Your Administrator For Approval And Plan Logistics
Have a conversation with your school administration to get approval for the trip. Many of the schools have a pre-approved list of trip destinations, whereas others limit you to choose from the selected list. After getting approval from superiors, the next step is to plan logistics that involves:
- Meal arrangements
- Preparation of name tags for the students and chaperones
- Parent permission letter
- Money collection
- Transportation arrangements
- Field trip rules
Prepare Students For The Trip
Students will gain more from the field trip if they can relate it with the classroom lessons. A few weeks before the trip, tie all the subject matter into two or more lessons. You can plan specific trip-related activities that can be conducted at the site. To make the students excited and curious, you can show a brief video related to the destination.
Make sure that every student knows the field trip rules. Teach younger students the appropriate field trip behavior at least a week before the event. Also, it is essential to ensure that every student eats a good breakfast, especially if there will be no break time until lunch.
Post-Trip Discussions Are A Great Way To Evaluate Students
It is crucial to find if the students learned what you wanted them to teach through the field trips. By doing so, you will get an idea of whether the trip is worth repeating or not. You can ask your students to write about how much they learned and enjoyed themselves. Besides, you can also organize a group discussion the following to have a better insight about their experience.
Conclusion
We hope these tips will help to plan your next educational field trip better and make it an enjoyable experience for the students.