5 Fun Field Trip Ideas for Teachers
Reviewed by Jon Konen, District Superintendent
Everyone loves to venture outside of their office from time-to-time during the work day. When you spend almost every day in the same environment, it’s refreshing to get out into the world and try new experiences. For teachers, field trips offer the perfect break from the norm for you and your students. Since we primarily study the world around us while sitting in a classroom, it can be beneficial for learners to take a trip that includes experiential learning.
Field Trip Ideas for Elementary and Higher Grade Levels
- Scavenger hunts in many environments. This is more of a technique that can make any field trip fun. Whether you go to an art museum, farm, or spend time in nature, giving the kids a list of goals gives them incentive to hit all the touch points of the experience. You can even include questions for them to answer, and create discussions before you head back to school. Dividing the kids into teams can also help manage large groups of students better. With a teacher leading each group, you can have more control over the quality of the learning experience.
- Visit a local artist’s studio. Who says you have to go to an art museum every time you want to teach your students about art? You can give kids a more interactive experience by setting up a visit to an artist’s studio. This can be any kind, including pottery, glass blowing, musician, painter, etc. You can set it up where your kids get to partake in the kind of art that is made in the studio, while hearing the real life words of a working artist.
- Theater performances. With so many screens surrounding us, why not give the kids a break to remind them of the original form of narrative entertainment – before radio and TV. Puppet theaters, musical performances and dramatic plays can all be good choices for students of all kinds. Since many live performances have been adapted to film and television, you can even pair this with trip with an in class reading or viewing of the alternate version, and have a discussion afterwards of the differences.
- A day focused on life skills. If it’s time to teach your students about the value of money, and how currency works in our world, you can find ways to show them how. These life skills activities can include a trip to the bank, the grocery store, and end with a couple of hours working community service. While performing each activity, students can learn how work, money, and community service are important aspects of adult daily lives.
- Earth Day trip. Take Earth Day to show your kids what a recycling center looks like, or to perform work that has a positive impact on the environment. You can have a picnic lunch in a park and talk about how the trees affect our air, and other ways nature connects to our well being. Exercise can be integrated into this trip as a way to show how living a healthy life and treating the Earth with respect can go hand in hand.
We know, there are a million ways you can get creative and take your students on an awesome field trip. Share your cool field trip ideas with us in the comments below, or on our social media channels!
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