Introduction
One of the last lesson plans done this semester focused on the social science topic of population diversity. In brief, the planned lesson was designed to provide the child with a holistic picture of a cross-section of society that recognizes the sociocultural and ethnic diversity of the American population. To reinforce the academic results, an excellent strategy is to continue the topic of this lesson, but in a field trip setting. This presentation consistently describes the strategic planning for the field trip, which aims to continue to introduce young students to the concept of diversity and complexity in society.
Class settings
The superstructure of the learning scenario involves a collective field trip of students, together with the teacher and assistants (if necessary), to a local public park for a joint thirty-minute activity. In fact, the proposed scenario repeats the basics of the methodological study, the way of implementation of which is observation. Thus, the lesson is not only an entertaining pastime that strengthens the bond between student and teacher but also an initial demonstration of excellent academic skills. So, this field trip aims to build a child’s learning skills of observation as a form of social experiment and the creation of primary conclusions. More specifically, each child receives a piece of paper with prescribed categories of people: elderly, disabled, healthy adult, White, Black, Asian, Hispanic, and others. The student’s task is to mark on their report card the number of people who have passed them in the park in a given amount of time. For example, if only three older people, one of whom was dark-skinned, passed by the student during the half-hour, then the child would end up with “3” in the older category and “1” in the Black category.
Standards used
- CA.K.4. — Learning and Working Now and Long Ago: Students compare and contrast the locations of people, places, and environments and describe their characteristics.
- CA.4.a. — Observe common objects by using the five senses.
- CA.NS.1.0. — Students understand the relationship between numbers and quantities
- CA.NS.1.2. — Count, recognize, represent, name, and order a number of objects (up to 30).
The essential standards that formed the basis for this lesson are displayed above. A few words about each standard are necessary to justify their selection. The first standard states that the early learner is able to discriminate and identify people’s cultural backgrounds (CSS for Social Studies, n.d.). This means that by a given age, the student will be able to tell which sociocultural group the person passing by belongs to. The second California state standard describes the need for an early school-age student to use their own five senses, including sight, to distinguish familiar objects. In the context of the proposed lesson, those objects are people walking in the park. Finally, the last two standards focus on the child’s mathematical knowledge (CSS for Mathematics, n.d.). Previous lessons (as planned) have used these standards to develop skills in counting and relating quantities and numbers. In this trip, such competencies will prove necessary not only to form a report but also to draw conclusions.
Approximate scenario
So, the proposed scenario for the field trip should be as follows. A group of students, along with a teacher and assistants (if needed), travels to a public park, either on foot if the park is close to the school or by school bus. The organized group takes up space in the park so as to cover the area of the maximum flow of walking citizens. Each child receives an individual worksheet with painted categories and a field for counting. The teacher describes the instructions to the students and tells them that they have precisely half an hour to observe. After this time, the central part of the field trip ends, and the organized group leaves for school.
Functional duties of a teacher’s assistant
It is interesting to note that the role of assistants for this activity can be performed by both proactive parents of students and school employees: for example, free teachers of other classes. The assistant not only assists in supervising children’s behavior and encouraging discipline but also provides individual assistance to students in need if needed (Doyle, 2020). Thus, the presence of an assistant reduces the burden on the teacher in a stressful environment.
Advance preparation
So, in order for this field trip to go as smoothly as possible, the teacher-organizer should develop a foundation and prepare the children for it in advance. In particular, it is necessary to inform not so much the children as their parents in advance about the plans for the educational field trip. In fact, an educator cannot force a child to participate, so each parent or guardian must sign a voluntary agreement (4J, 2018). It is also essential to take care that by the time the field trip takes place, the children have already developed the necessary competencies. A situation should not be created in which a student is rendered incapable of counting, even though this is a critical skill for a social experiment.
Consequently, current knowledge should include not only mathematical competencies but also a social science understanding of social difference. In previous lessons, the teacher should explain to students the nature of differences between people not only on an ethnic level but also on a sociocultural level. Thus, each student should be prepared during observation to differentiate between people passing by and confidently categorize them. To summarize the above, by the time of the field trip, the child should already be able to observe, take notes, count, and form simple conclusions.
Homework
At the end of the event, the organized group of students and teachers returns to the school, from where children can be picked up by parents to go home. It is strictly forbidden to let young children go home independently, even if they live near the park. Hence, when the child finds themselves at home with parents, they can begin to carry out the second phase of the field trip, namely the formation of the resulting report. The quantitative data from the experiment in the child’s hands should be transformed into conclusions, and here the parent can help the child. The observation results can be visualized using software, including PowerPoint (Brauner, 2017). An additional benefit of learning then is learning the functionality of computer technology. The expectation is that the result of an independent activity will be a technology-generated picture, slides, or even a video in which the child recounts their findings
Expected results
The child will have approximately one week to complete the report after the field trip. At the end of this time frame, each student should present their material in a collaborative class and talk about their observations. Children are expected to have similar results on average but different creative implementation. Students are expected to listen carefully and evaluate their peer’s presentations and to ask questions at the conclusion.
Rules
A list of the critical rules and tools needed to conduct a competent field trip is provided on the website. In addition to what has been written, it is worth emphasizing that compliance with all teacher instructions is a strict necessity since children outside the school premises tend to have fun and not listen to adults. A possible sanction in case of repeated misbehavior of a student is either an invitation of parents to the school or suspension of the child for a short period.
References
4J. (2018). Parent/guardian field trip permission and consent form [PDF document]. Web.
Brauner, D. (2017). PowerPoint lesson plan for elementary students. Perkins. Web.
CSS for Mathematics: Kindergarten. (n.d.). Prema Bound. Web.
CSS for Social Studies: Kindergarten. (n.d.). Prema Bound. Web.
Doyle, A. (2020). What does a teacher assistant do? The Balance Careers. Web.
Vaughan, T. (2018). The effective use of teaching assistants. Teacher. Web.