The First Morning After the Field Trip

The morning after our Hidden Villa field trip I post a sign on my door with the instructions, "Welcome back. Come in SILENTLY. Get out your writer's notebook. Read the directions on the board." On the board at the front of the classroom I write the directions to work on expanding their Hidden Villa notes. I remind them that they can continue working on any of the following: informational notes, diagrams, questions, stories or poems.

To help set a quiet, reflective mood I put on soothing instrumental music. Then I sit down at the front of the classroom below the whiteboard directions with my own notebook and start writing. This modeling usually helps students follow the directions quietly and get write to work.

Once all of my students are working, I start meandering around the room to coach reluctant writers or confer with students who want a little help. This is when having fully participated in the field trip becomes helpful because now I can easily prompt students to remember experiences, information or feelings.

Students have a lot to say. It may seem like a long time, but I have found that 40-50 minute writing blocks in the upper grades are very productive. Given the freedom to choose the type of writing they want to do, students should be able to find at least something they can add to their notes.

After our first writing block I ask my students to re-read their notes and find 3-5 parts that they think are particularly interesting, important, or that they enjoyed writing. In pairs I then have students share their note highlights. Finally, we gather together as a class to share field trip stories, information or reflections. Because this conversation can offer a powerful opportunity for the class to bond (particularly if your field trip takes place early in the school year), I usually let it continue as long as students maintain their interest.

Hearing about their classmates' field trip highlights remindes students of other things they can include in their writing. After our sharing I generally allow for another 30 minutes or so of free writing, a focused time for reflecting on what they learned during the field trip.

After a recess break, I often plunge right into the beginning of whatever integrated project I have planned, capitalizing on my students' fresh enthusiasm to get us started. The following day we return to our regular schedule, already deeply involved in our Hidden Villa standards-based project(s).