At the root of student travel is the desire to expose them to new things and different perspectives—all while being educated along the way. A student group trip always has an educational element, and how you bring their unforgettable experience back to the classroom can help make all the difference. Consider these educator-contributed tips for tying your curriculum to your travel.
ASK STUDENTS TO SHARE
Whether during your trip or once you return, ask students to ponder their experience and then write about it.
“Our U.S. history teacher covers Washington, D.C. throughout the year,” said Dawn C Flatt, an educator at Trinity Lutheran. “The students are each required to pick one of the sites we visited and write a report on that site. They are also required to give a speech on the site both at school and also at the location.”
GET CREATIVE
Ask students to use their imagination while visiting their destination. Whether it’s asking them to draw what they think a historic site used to look like years ago or using photography to document their favorite parts of their adventure, getting their creative juices flowing will allow for even more reflection once back in the classroom.
PREPARE STUDENTS BEFOREHAND
From interactive lessons to in depth stories, get students excited about their trip by offering background information on what they’ll see once in their destination.
“Because I’m a literature teacher, I use stories dealing with Washington, D.C. and historical issues,” said Michelle Brittain, and educator at Fort Scott Middle School.
ACT IT OUT!
Sometimes students learn best while actually doing the thing you’re teaching them about!
“I have a focus of creating engaged citizens through my curriculum and we have that same focus in Washington, D.C.,” said Janna Radarian, an educator at Imagine East Mesa. “One project we do is ‘mock congress’ where students write bills and go through the legislative process with the bills they wrote.”
What are some of your favorite ways to weave your curriculum into your student trip?
Written by Hemisphere Educational Travel