How to Plan a Field Trip for American History Students

You can plan a field trip for American history students to help reinforce what you teach in the classroom and help your pupils get a real feel for events and venues. Organizing a trip is fairly easy, although there are some administrative details you need to keep an eye on.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Permission forms
• Medical kit and supplies

1. Speak with the director of the history department to find out about your budget for potential field trips. Realize that monetary constraints may prevent you from taking all of your classes on a field trip, but be sure you can involve all of your students from one grade level.
2. Start researching historical sites that fit in with your lesson plans. Tours and accommodations can often give you a discount if you book them early, so try to begin the process before the school year kicks off. For a quick start on your search, try the National Register of Historical Places (see Resources below).
3. Speak with the school principal and nurse to find out what permission slips and waivers are required if you take a class on a field trip. Pay special attention to any particular medical needs of your students and be sure that you have all of the supplies needed to deal with an emergency.
4. Send home a copy of the trip itinerary with the permission slip. Be sure that parents know when and where they will need to pick up their students at the end of the day. Provide a telephone number where parents can reach you during the duration of the American history field trip.
5. Plan a worksheet or activity list to get your students involved during the American history trip. This preparation may require you to visit the historical location on your own. Scavenger hunt ideas might work well with older students who can go off in small groups.
6. Find out whether any parents are interested in helping chaperon the trip. If the field trip material overlaps with other subjects, such as American literature, ask other teachers to come with you.
7. Speak with the cafeteria at your school and ask them to prepare sandwiches for the trip. you could also plan to stop at an inexpensive fast food store, but this will require your students to bring their own money. Asking students to bring their own lunches to eat on the bus is another option.

Tips & Warnings

• Your school's bus company will often offer the best rates for field trip transportation.