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Science Blog Overview

This blog is an example of one way that teachers may use blogs to record field trip experiences in science classes. This blog will focus on a fieldtrip location to a community site. The blog will be written in the point of view of an elementary teacher.

Each of the posts in this blog will focus on a particular area and address specific questions about the fieldtrip:
post (a): What special benefits could my students gain from visiting this site?
post (b) What would I need to do to adequately prepare my students before the visit (consider adaptations for English learners and students with special needs)?
post (c) What resource materials (including online materials- provide links when possible) are available to assist my preparation, teaching?
post (d) What will you do to debrief students after you have attended the field trip?
post (e) Post photos of your fieldtrip to your blog.

post (a): What special benefits could my students gain from visiting this site?

Well there are so many benefits I just don't know where to begin. Being outdoors and breathing in the fresh ocean breeze is also an added bonus for my students. We went to Long Beach and participated in a beach clean up effort. The students understand the signs that read "no dumping this drain leads to the ocean". They now understand why we need to keep our ocean clean and free from waste. The experience of cleaning and spending time caring about the environment is an important one that they needed to experience first hand. Just talking about how we can improve the world that we live in is not enough. However, this fieldtrip gave my students the chance to make a positive change in their community.

Another added benefit is that my students were proud of their accomplishments. I brought along a camera and we took before and after photos of the area that we cleaned up. The results were astounding! In just a few short hours my students with their busy hands were able to clear the beach and create an environment that they took pride in.

post (b) What would I need to do to adequately prepare my students before the visit (consider adaptations for English learners and students with speci

There are several things that I need to do to prepare my students for their beach clean up adventure.

1. Talk about safety. They need to know what is safe and how to dispose of items that they find on the beach. They need to look at what they are about to pick up and make sure that they are not going to injure themselves with broken glass or bottles, sharp objects, or dangerous bacteria.

2. Sunscreen. The students will be spending several hours out in the sun. They need to bring hats, sunglasses and wear sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun.

3. They need to understand why the beach is polluted and how to prevent it from happening again. This would be an ideal time to teach about prevention, environmental issues and how they can make a positive difference in their community.

4.Students need to understand how the drains lead to the ocean. This means that they need to learn about our water system and the system that is in place.

5. Pollution is another issue that students need to learn about. They need to understand that humans should take care of the animals in the sea and protect the habitats.

post (c) What resource materials (including online materials- provide links when possible) are available to assist my preparation, teaching?

I can think of many items that are available that will help me to teach about environmental awareness, clean up efforts, oil spills, and caring about the environment.

I completed a google search and here are a few websites that I would recommend to other teachers:
http://www.wylandfoundation.org/

http://planetgreen.discovery.com/about.html

http://www.greenplanet.org/

Post (d) What will you do to debrief students after you have attended the field trip?

(e) Post photos of your fieldtrip to your blog. It is suggested that you plan the fieldtrip with one of your classmates. Note that each student needs to create an individual blog. (Course Objectives 3 & 5; TPE 4, 7, 11)

These are not my students. But I found this photo and the kids all look so happy...so when you are taking photos to post on your blog- first make sure that you have permission to post student photos- then make sure the photos are HAPPY ones!

Post (d) What will you do to debrief students after you have attended the field trip?

After we return from the fieldtrip I will debrief by asking the students to:

• draw a photo of the before and after scene on the beach


• write a poem about how they feel about their accomplishment


• write a letter to the city council and to share their efforts about environmental cleanup


• develop/print out the photos that were taken at the fieldtrip and ask the students to write captions under the photos to explain what took place; all of the photos and the captions will be displayed on a bulletin board


• create a PowerPoint slideshow and include all of the photos- then narrate the slides to explain the goals that were accomplished during the fieldtrip


• create a video montage of the video clips that were taken during the fieldtrip

(e) Post photos of your fieldtrip to your blog.

These are photos that I found online showing a beach clean up effort. You can read about the efforts at http://sealbeachdaily.com/2009/04/25/azusa-mayor-joins-seal-beach-clean-up/