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Real Tips for Virtual Field Trips

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

No money, no time, limited opportunities for class field trips these days? No worries—go virtual! You don’t need permission slips, chaperones, or transportation. You don’t even need to buckle up. But don’t kick back and relax just yet—you DO need to plan, preview, prepare, and present and review any trip, virtual or real.

Virtual field trips can be as simple as a photo display of the monuments in Washington D.C., or more involved with interactive videos and additional links. A virtual field trip can take you and your students to a museum, zoo, battlefield, historic home, or outer space. You can stimulate student interest and enhance studies of a wide variety of topics. Use trips to introduce a lesson, highlight an era in time, or clarify a scientific concept.

Once you get the hang of it you can start creating a library of audio/visual experiences to enjoy in the comfort of your classroom. You might even be motivated to start creating your own field trips. These trips can be taken when the topic presents itself or the mood suits.

Plan
First you need to see if a trip is available for a topic you are interested in.
Where do you want to go?

A good place to start might be history.com/topics if you are not certain what subject matter is available. If you are studying early U.S. history/American Revolution, www.history.org might be just the ticket. Check the Multimedia section for video, podcasts, etc.
Studying space or the solar system, and want to upgrade the old Styrofoam planet display? Try www.space.com/solarsystem/ and take the virtual space tour. No, it isn’t an IMAX experience or a thrill ride, but with the narration, music, and graphics you could be sitting in a spaceship or a fancy lab. Click and learn about a variety of things, planet by planet.
The Smithsonian Museum offers a plethora of opportunities for extended study depending on the museum chosen. www.smithsonianeducation.org
The National Geographic site has much to offer, including videos on a wide variety of topics and a kids’ section filled with interactive activities.www.nationalgeographic.com
Another site with a wide variety of virtual field trips is www.tramline.com. If you are still unsure, take a quick trip and see if you like this mode of travel.

It may take a while to find sights of interest, but it is an effort worth making to add a little something extra to your class presentations.

Preview
Take the trip yourself and make certain it is appropriate for your students. Check the links, too. Note ones that will enhance your study and a make sure none would be problematic. This is a must before each trip. Sites sometimes change or disappear. You don’t want to cancel a promised event at the last minute, and you certainly don’t want to see something inappropriate that wasn’t there last time!
Once you have familiarized yourself with the trip, you may rethink your whole lesson.
You might find that the tour itself will not engage your students but a short video from the site will. The San Diego Zoo, for instance, offers a number of short videos and web cam experiences that could be great discussion starters for any number of animal-related topics. www.sandiegozoo.org/videos/

Prepare and Present
Decide what type of preparation you and your students should do before your excursion. Will the virtual tour serve as the opener for a new area of study or will the class need to do some research beforehand? Might some vocabulary development prior to the experience help? Double-check your standards, too. You might be able to address a number of them with one trip.

Take cues from students’ responses during the presentation. Note what is catching their interest. Is the response what you expected? Jot down key phrases or remarks made and address them after the viewing. Incorporate as much time as possible to discuss the tour.

Review
Most of the educational sites you will go to for virtual tours, podcasts, and videos have sections for educators. Many offer ideas for follow-up activities and materials to help with review. You might wish to combine them with your own to further enhance studies.

Reflect
Reflect along with your students. What was the most interesting part of the presentation? What did you learn? Was there a least favorite part? Would you view it again?
How can you extend the experience now, and next time?

Have you taken any great virtual field trips? Let us know!

Posted in Teacher Resources, Teaching Tips | No Comments »

Music: The Soundtrack to Your Classroom

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Think back to the last time you saw a movie. About halfway through, you realize the climax has come. How do you know? You hear the music change. Maybe you hear the gradual progression of piercing violins. Or perhaps you notice the piano, as it begins to punch through the silence. And all of a sudden, without even realizing it, you’re at the edge of your seat, nibbling on your nails, wondering what will happen next.

Music makes such a difference in a movie. It serves as a backdrop and reinforces the drama, humor, or romance of a particular moment. Without it, some scenes wouldn’t be as powerful, and some exchanges might be lost. When it comes to teaching and classrooms, music can function the same way. While your lesson will ring clear no matter what, with music, it will have more of an impact and lasting effect.

Music can liven up your classroom in so many ways. Researchers have proven that music does the following for students:

enhances concentration
increases attention
releases tension
improves memory

activates imagination
cultivates motivation
fosters collaboration
makes activities fun

One way that you can incorporate music in your classroom is at the beginning of class and/or after lunch and recess. One of my favorite teachers, Mr. Kutzner, used to welcome in our class, which was after lunch, with various Neil Young songs. We couldn’t stand them! And what was worse is that he would sing along with them—and his voice was truly terrible, even screechy! But it made us laugh, woke us up, and helped us focus after lunch. Adding music in this way allows you to have some fun with your students. You’re inviting them to see a playful side of yourself. So go ahead and play some of your favorite tunes. (Just be sure to listen to them ahead of time to make sure they’re classroom appropriate.)

One of my favorite artists is Jack Johnson. A few years ago he did the soundtrack for the movie, Curious George. The songs are lighthearted, and some of them are even educational and contain great lessons. If you’re interested in teaching your students about sharing or recycling, be sure to check out “The Sharing Song” and “The 3 R’s.” Although this particular album is intended for younger children, he has other albums that could be played for an older audience.

When teaching math or grammar, try playing music that will help your students focus. The melodies of Mozart, DeBussy, and Handel will enhance the skills being taught. Of course, if you feel like “throwing a curveball” during a money (math) lesson one day, try turning on Barenaked Ladies’ “If I Had $1,000,000.” This is sure to get all of your students smiling! And what teacher doesn’t want to do that?

History can be a tough subject for students to absorb because, let’s face it, from their perspective, it can be dense. However, you can jazz it up by including songs from different historical periods. I was lucky enough to have a professor in college who brought his guitar in each week and played a song or two from the time period we were studying. (Did you ever have a teacher like this?) I can still remember some of the facts he covered, and that was years ago! A terrific resource for songs from different centuries (17th – early 20th) is www.contemplator.com/america. Here, you’ll find the history, lyrics, and midi files for over two hundred songs, from “Greensleeves” (17th century) to “The Drinking Gourd” (19th century).

For all you science teachers, you’re in luck! I have a couple suggestions for you, as well. Have you ever heard of “The Rainbow Connection”? Try using this song when you’re teaching your students about light or the light spectrum. Also, when teaching nutrition, put on Oliver!’s “Food, Glorious Food” in the background. Your students are sure to enjoy it!

As a side note, if you have an mp3 player (i.e., iPod®), you can set up playlists for each lesson or theme, making it easier for you to teach year after year. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel!

Ultimately, when you teach your students, you hope that a) they learn something, and b) they enjoy the experience. Music can help you achieve both of these goals. In the words of Neil Young, minus the terrible, screeching voice, “The lights turned on and the curtain fell down and when it was over it felt like a dream.” Offer up a dream to your students. Stimulate their minds with a little bit of drama, humor, or calming melody. Whether you’re welcoming in students after a break or teaching them a grammar lesson, students will be energized by music, and there’s a good chance they’ll enjoy the material being covered. There’s an equally good chance that you’ll enjoy it, too.

Posted in Classroom Management, Teaching Tips | 2 Comments »

Kid Tested, Teacher and Parent Approved

Tuesday, June 29th, 2010

As a former teacher and as a mother of an energetic preschooler, I am always looking for new learning products that will excite and entertain my son. Some of my favorites are the workbooks from the Ready-Set-Learn series. I really think that these books are must-haves for parents of young children. There are so many titles to choose from that cover several different skills. So far for my 4-year-old, I have bought Preschool Activities, Preschool Fun, Alphabet, and Beginning Math. We skip around and work on pages out of each of them in random order. Jack likes choosing the pages. Each workbook comes with 180 stickers and a reward chart to track progress.

After completing each page, Jack loves to put one sticker on the finished page and one on the racetrack reward chart, and then he can’t wait to start on his next page. He is getting so much practice with academic skills all while loving every minute of it. It makes mommy so happy, too! I always keep one book in the car and one at Grandma’s house. I love taking them with us to restaurants because they keep him seated, quiet, and engaged—and it always impresses those waiting on our table! I also buy them for other kids as birthday presents. They’re only $2.99 each, so I can’t pass up the great deal.

Here are some sample pages from Ready-Set-Learn: Preschool Activities and Ready-Set-Learn: Beginning Math PreK-K

Tags: early childhood, teaching tips
Posted in Teacher Resources, Teaching Tips | 4 Comments »

Summer Smackdown! How to Kick Summer Gap to the Curb

Monday, May 10th, 2010

If you were to ask your children what their favorite part of the school year is, I bet they’d say summer. And why wouldn’t they? To them, it’s a time to sleep in, catch up on TV and movies, hang out with friends, and send even more text messages. It’s two months of freedom from homework, written reports, and classroom speeches.

Unarguably, my summer breaks used to be my favorite part of the school year, too. In fact, I still remember my middle school summer routine as if I had just practiced it. Each day, my head was consumed by one “major” thought: at which friend’s house was I going to sleepover that night. (Sibling torture was a definite consideration.) And the only studying I did was of reading about Kristy in The Babysitter’s Club, scanning the pages of Tiger Beat, or watching Dylan McKay on 90210.

My middle school summers, as well as many modern summer routines, don’t sound too terrible. On the contrary, they sound fun and even stimulating. But are they educational? Not quite. And, unfortunately, a couple months of this behavior is like a minor car accident to your children’s education—they’ll recover, but it may take a while.

Think about it this way: Students solve math equations, write paragraphs, and learn about historical events for ten months; then they get two months off. In this time, they seldom solve, write, or learn anything of an academic nature. When they return to school, their brains, much like unpracticed athletes’ bodies, are out of shape and require retraining. In some cases, they have to relearn what they have already been taught.

Researchers call this the Summer Gap because, simply put, during the summer, a gap in learning is formed. Fortunately, there are ways to combat this gap. Aside from going to the public library and checking out its recommended (and age-appropriate) reading selections, you can also buy materials that will support your children’s education. We’ve just finished a new Summertime Learning series, which centers on summertime activities and resources that will engage your children. Each book contains eight weeks of language arts and math activities. You’ll also find a recommended summer reading list, journal topics, educational and free Web sites, and stickers.

So let your children sleep in for a while. They can even catch up on some TV and movies. But be sure to give Summer Gap the smackdown and prove to your children that summertime learning can be entertaining, easy-going, and, much like Dylan’s McKay’s Porsche, a fun ride.