What points should be considered while going for a field visit
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Planning the Field Trip
Avoid snags and disappointments through careful planning. Much of the necessary field trip planning and related communication takes place with persons outside the classroom environment. The following steps present a thoughtful guide for successful field trip planning:
ï Make contact with key persons at the field trip site as early as possible.
ï Follow up any arrangement made by phone with a written letter summarizing your request, preferred date(s) for the field trip, number of students and chaperons involved (include yourself and the bus driver in the final count), and special needs such as handicapped access or deviations from the expected tour. Ask for a response in writing to finalize arrangements and avoid misunderstandings on the day of the field trip.
ï Delegate responsibilities. Find out whether any other teachers at your school or nearby schools are planning a field trip to the same site. If so, negotiate which jobs can be split up.
ï Arrange transportation. Make any arrangements needed to reserve transportation and drivers as early as possible. Finalize transportation arrangements in writing, with copies to both the transportation department and to the designated driver.
ï Send home parental permission slips early; follow up on these if necessary. Itís best to make extra permission slip copies the first time, since students often lose their form on the way home or forget to bring the signed form back to school.
ï Make arrangements for box lunches or stopping for lunch at a restaurant near the field trip site. Collect necessary fees, and ask the Parent/Teacher group to provide scholarships for those students who canít afford the fees (requests for assistance from the Parent/Teacher Association should be made at least two months in advance of the field trip). Experienced teachers suggest bringing along an ice chest on wheels for chilling and storing beverages for an outdoor field trip on a hot day.
ï Seek parent volunteers to serve as chaperons. Some districts have rules about adult-to-child ratios; if yours does not, one adult to every three children is a good formula for the primary grades.
ï Prepare a ìPlan Bî in case things do not happen as planned. Schedule a rain date (if necessary), and inform drivers, chaperons, and contact persons at the field trip site of your rain date plans. Also, plan a full day of instruction as a back-up plan in case your class canít go on the field trip for any reason.
ï Contact drivers, chaperons, and contact person at the field site one week prior to the date scheduled to verify all details.
• Establish rules for proper field trip behavior prior to the day of the trip. Instruct students in these rules, print out a copy and mail to all parent volunteers well before the big day, and have extra copies on hand the day of the trip to distribute to chaperons and drivers. Ask everyone involved to cooperate by enforcing these rules consistently.
ï Keep track of students. Count heads before leaving the school, at the restroom stop (if needed), at the field trip site, and before departing the field trip site. Students can help keep track of each other if you use the buddy system.
ï Donít forget to bring along camera and film to create memories of the trip. Students themselves may benefit from planning and taking photographs of important sites or processes during the trip itself; disposable cameras are ideal for this purpose. Depending on age and ability levels of your students, you may want to add disposable cameras and film developing costs to your request for funds from the Parent/Teacher Association (one disposable camera per group of four students should be sufficient). Find out whether your school district or local community offers small grants for instructional purposes and, if so, apply for one of these several months in advance of the trip ó one teacher I know was rewarded a grant large enough to pay for disposal cameras and film development for cooperative learning groups to photograph local landmarks and sites of historical interest while developing a guide to share with students at other schools.
Avoid snags and disappointments through careful planning. Much of the necessary field trip planning and related communication takes place with persons outside the classroom environment. The following steps present a thoughtful guide for successful field trip planning:
ï Make contact with key persons at the field trip site as early as possible.
ï Follow up any arrangement made by phone with a written letter summarizing your request, preferred date(s) for the field trip, number of students and chaperons involved (include yourself and the bus driver in the final count), and special needs such as handicapped access or deviations from the expected tour. Ask for a response in writing to finalize arrangements and avoid misunderstandings on the day of the field trip.
ï Delegate responsibilities. Find out whether any other teachers at your school or nearby schools are planning a field trip to the same site. If so, negotiate which jobs can be split up.
ï Arrange transportation. Make any arrangements needed to reserve transportation and drivers as early as possible. Finalize transportation arrangements in writing, with copies to both the transportation department and to the designated driver.
ï Send home parental permission slips early; follow up on these if necessary. Itís best to make extra permission slip copies the first time, since students often lose their form on the way home or forget to bring the signed form back to school.
ï Make arrangements for box lunches or stopping for lunch at a restaurant near the field trip site. Collect necessary fees, and ask the Parent/Teacher group to provide scholarships for those students who canít afford the fees (requests for assistance from the Parent/Teacher Association should be made at least two months in advance of the field trip). Experienced teachers suggest bringing along an ice chest on wheels for chilling and storing beverages for an outdoor field trip on a hot day.
ï Seek parent volunteers to serve as chaperons. Some districts have rules about adult-to-child ratios; if yours does not, one adult to every three children is a good formula for the primary grades.
ï Prepare a ìPlan Bî in case things do not happen as planned. Schedule a rain date (if necessary), and inform drivers, chaperons, and contact persons at the field trip site of your rain date plans. Also, plan a full day of instruction as a back-up plan in case your class canít go on the field trip for any reason.
ï Contact drivers, chaperons, and contact person at the field site one week prior to the date scheduled to verify all details.
• Establish rules for proper field trip behavior prior to the day of the trip. Instruct students in these rules, print out a copy and mail to all parent volunteers well before the big day, and have extra copies on hand the day of the trip to distribute to chaperons and drivers. Ask everyone involved to cooperate by enforcing these rules consistently.
ï Keep track of students. Count heads before leaving the school, at the restroom stop (if needed), at the field trip site, and before departing the field trip site. Students can help keep track of each other if you use the buddy system.
ï Donít forget to bring along camera and film to create memories of the trip. Students themselves may benefit from planning and taking photographs of important sites or processes during the trip itself; disposable cameras are ideal for this purpose. Depending on age and ability levels of your students, you may want to add disposable cameras and film developing costs to your request for funds from the Parent/Teacher Association (one disposable camera per group of four students should be sufficient). Find out whether your school district or local community offers small grants for instructional purposes and, if so, apply for one of these several months in advance of the trip ó one teacher I know was rewarded a grant large enough to pay for disposal cameras and film development for cooperative learning groups to photograph local landmarks and sites of historical interest while developing a guide to share with students at other schools.
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