Links to the other grade level Virtual Field Trips! Kindergarten - How It's Made Virtual Field Trip 1st Grade - Little House on the Prairie Virtual Field Trip 3rd Grade - New York City Virtual Field Trip 4th Grade - American History Virtual Field Trip 5th Grade - National Parks Virtual Field Trip Last year, 2nd Grade did the Scholastic Plymouth Plantation Virtual Field Trip which is excellent. This year, I moved the Virtual Field Trip unit to the Spring Semester so that we would have more time to explore. Plymouth and Thanksgiving didn't really fit into February very well so I changed 2nd Grade's trip to Washington D.C. Week 1: IntroductionWe started our introduction to Washington DC by watching this video from PBS Kids: Wilson and Ditch Digging America: Washington DC. I read at least one of the following books with each class: Weeks 2 and 3: Smithsonian MuseumsIn Weeks 2 and 3 we explored the Smithsonian Museums. We spent the most looking at: The National Air and Space Museum The National Museum of American History * They also have a great kids site that the kids are going to explore more in later week and in the computer lab. The National Museum of Natural History *They also have this great virtual tour! Weeks 4 and 5: The White HouseWe started this week by watching "Macey Goes to the White House" from the Ellen Show. The kids loved watching this little girl tour the White House and hearing all that she knows about Presidents! White House Virtual Tour Google Art White House Tour - This was definitely a crowd favorite! The kids loved being able to pretend to "walk" through the White House. We also used the Google Cardboard with this virtual tour (using the Google Street View app)! Weeks 6 and 7: The MonumentsDuring these two weeks, we explored various monuments and memorials around Washington DC. Animal Planet has a video introducing the Washington Monument and the Jefferson Memorial. National Mall Webcam - We did all webcams whole group. I wanted to be able to monitor what they were seeing so I didn't give them the link to this site. Lincoln Memorial Interactive Tour Jefferson Memorial Tour
Weeks 8 and 9: Other Washington DC SightsWe ended our Washington DC Virtual Field Trip with other important sites around DC that didn't really fit into any other category.
National Archives Library of Congress National Zoo National Mall
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Links to the other grade level Virtual Field Trips! Kindergarten - How It's Made Virtual Field Trip 1st Grade - Little House on the Prairie Virtual Field Trip 2nd Grade - Washington D.C. Virtual Field Trip 3rd Grade - New York City Virtual Field Trip 5th Grade - National Parks Virtual Field Trip The 4th and 5th Graders LOVED this Virtual Field Trip last year! It was the most engaged and on task those particular classes had been all year! This year just the 4th Graders participated in this virtual field trip. I didn't make many changes to this trip. I extended the unit to 9 weeks and added a couple of resources along the way. Here is the link to the 1st American History Virtual Field Trip post. Week 1: IntroductionThis week I introduced our 4th Grade Virtual Field Trip. We discussed what a "virtual field trip" is, how it was going to work, and the rules and procedures for the next 9 weeks. I showed each class their "itinerary" and introduced them to the folder that would hold all of their important "travel documents". I explained that I got the idea from how I travel each summer. A friend and I take a trip each summer to a place we have never been. Each summer, everything I need for that trip (hotel and flight reservations, museum tickets, baseball tickets, maps, ect.)goes into the folder so that I have everything I need in one place. Their folder will contain the student handouts with all of the resources for each stop along our trip! Week 2: Monticello This week we worked mostly in a whole group setting. We explored Monticello together to give them experience in how to locate information and navigate a virtual tour. 4th and 5th Grades will get to keep all of the handouts from the weeks prior to explore more if they choose so they will have the opportunity to explore Monticello more over the next 7 weeks. We watched the Monticello Introduction video on YouTube. We then explored two sections of the Monticello website: The House Builder and The Monticello Explorer. The Explorer requires Flash so the students were only able to access it via desktop computers. Weeks 3 and 4: Mount VernonThe Mount Vernon website has so many great resources for the kids to explore. The Mount Vernon Virtual Tour was a crowd favorite. The kids enjoyed being able to navigate through the house, clicking on photos, videos, and information about items in the house. The Mansion Room by Room Tour gives an overview of each floor of the house with information about each room on that floor. The Digital Encyclopedia was a resource that was continually revisited throughout the rest of the virtual field trip unit. Students were learning new information not only about George Washington, but also about the time period in which he lived. There were great discussions on slavery, farming, and the presidency. And just like last year, the most popular article was about George Washington's false teeth! :) Weeks 5,6, and 7: Presidential Libraries and MuseumsFor this stop on our virtual field trip, we focused on 3 Presidential Libraries and Museums. We began by talking about the purpose of presidential libraries and museums. We then explored the museums of Presidents Ronald Reagan, John F. Kennedy, and George W. Bush. Ronald Reagan: We watched this video tour whole group because YouTube is blocked on the wifi for students. The Virtual Museum Tour was a big hit among the students. They enjoyed being able to navigate around the inside of the museum and look at the various exhibits. The Air Force One Pavilion was a huge hit. Weeks 8 and 9: Presidential LandmarksThese last 2 weeks were we visited places I thought were important but didn't really fit into any other category on the itinerary.
Ford's Theater - Virtual Tour White House - Google Tour White House - Interactive Tour NPS Mount Rushmore App Lincoln Memorial - Interactive Tour Links to the other grade level Virtual Field Trips! Kindergarten - How It's Made Virtual Field Trip 1st Grade - Little House on the Prairie Virtual Field Trip 2nd Grade - Washington D.C. Virtual Field Trip 4th Grade - American History Virtual Field Trip 5th Grade - National Parks Virtual Field Trip The 3rd Graders LOVED the New York City Virtual Field Trip last year and so did I! I made just a few changes this year. I extended the unit to 9 weeks this year. This gave us a little more time to explore the places we visited last year and add a couple of new places in this year. Here is the link to the original post: We Love New York Virtual Field Trip: Part 1 Week 1: Introduction Weeks 2 and 3: Welcome to New York!Week 2: This week I introduced the kids to New York City! NYC is one of my favorite places to visit so I was excited to share this with my students! We took a virtual tour of Times Square and looked at the live EarthCam views. I briefly introduced them to the audio tour of the Empire State Building. They can explore that more independently in Week 3. I also introduced them to the New York Philharmonic Kids Zone website. This was a crowd favorite last year! I also introduced them to one of favorite parts of NYC: Broadway! During book checkout, I let them watch a couple of YouTube videos of Disney Broadway shows. Week 3: The kids worked in pairs and groups of 3 to explore the sites introduced in Week 2. Weeks 4 and 5: Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty Week 4: I introduced the students to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I knew they had some prior knowledge of the Statue of Liberty from their unit on American Symbols in their classrooms but knew they didn't have any knowledge of Ellis Island and its rich history. Scholastic has an excellent virtual tour of Ellis Island. It takes the students through the entire process an immigrant would have gone through to come to America. It has pictures and audio of first hand accounts of what it was like to entire the United States through Ellis Island. The National Parks Service - Statue of Liberty information and virtual tour Week 5: They worked in pairs to explore the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. *I removed the handout from Weeks 2 and 3 because I wanted them to focus on the new material. Week 6 and 7: New York City MuseumsWeek 6: This stop on our tour was probably the most popular! They loved exploring the museums of New York. There are so many great museums to choose from but in Week 6 I introduced: The Metropolitan Museum of Art: METKids and Virtual Tour The Museum of Modern Art: Art Safari and Destination Modern Art The MOMA app is also great! The Museum of Natural History Week 7: Explore museums with a partner! Weeks 8 and 9: Central Park and The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Week 10I ended up extending this unit by one week. The kids were so interested and engaged, and I wanted to give them a little more time to explore what interested them. So I put all of the handouts back in the folder and they could explore with their partner anything we had talked about since Week 1.
Our Virtual Field Trips have become my favorite unit each year! This year I moved them to the Spring semester and extended them to 9 weeks...which meant I was planned from February all they way into May...HALLELUJAH! Here are links to the other grade level Virtual Field Trips! 1st Grade - Little House on the Prairie Virtual Field Trip 2nd Grade - Washington D.C. Virtual Field Trip 3rd Grade - New York City Virtual Field Trip 4th Grade - American History Virtual Field Trip 5th Grade - National Parks Virtual Field Trip In kindergarten, we visited 9 different factories and learned about how things are made. We "visited" each factory whole group by watching a video tour and followed the tour with an activity using the product we learned about during our tour. Week 1: How It's Made: ChocolateThis week we learned about how chocolate is made! We first watched this National Geographic "Making Stuff" video. Then, we took the Tootsie Roll Factory Tour on their website. We ended with watching a short video from Mars about how M&Ms are made! Of course after we learned about how M&Ms are made....we had to taste them! That was our favorite part!! One sweet kindergarten stopped on her way out and said, "Ms. B....this was so much fun! Next week, can we learn about how our bodies are made?!?" Not a chance, darlin, NOT. A. CHANCE! Week 2: How It's Made: CrayonsThis week we learned about how crayons are made! We watched the Mr. Rogers video available on PBS Kids. We also explored the Crayola website. Week 2 happened to fall on the week leading up to Valentine's Day. The kids used crayons to draw 4 things that they love. Week 3: How It's Made: Ice Cream
Week 4: How It's Made: Bouncy BallsThis week we learned about how playground balls are made. We watched the Mr. Roger's video on PBSkids.org. Then, we tried a little experiment. I found a "recipe" for making bouncy balls on Pinterest. I had never tried it before my first kindergarten class of the week...probably not my best move but it ended up being a success! It was messy but FUN! How To Make A Bouncy Ball Ingredients: 1/2 cup of warm water 1 tbsp Borax 1 tbsp Cornstarch 2 tbsp White Liquid Glue Food Coloring 2 plastic cups Instructions: 1. In Cup #1, mix warm water and Borax 2. In Cup #2, mix the glue, cornstarch, and food coloring 3. Pour the glue mixture in Cup #2 into Cup #1 4. Count to 20 5. Remove hardened glue mixture from the cup with a spoon ( if glue mixture is still sticky dip it back in the water) 6. Roll the mixture in your hands to make a ball. (It can take a few minutes to firm up.) 7. Have fun! Week 5: How It's Made: PuzzlesThis week we learned about how puzzles are made! We watched the "National Geographic Making Stuff:Puzzles" video. Then, we spent time working puzzles featuring books we've read this year! Week 6: How It's Made: MacaroniThis week we learned about how Macaroni is made! We watched the Mr. Roger's video and then made macaroni necklaces. Once again, there were disappointed friends that we weren't eating Mac and Cheese in the library but they loved making their "springtime necklaces"! Week 7: How It's Made: Teddy BearThis week we learned about how Teddy Bears are made. We watched the "National Geographic Making Stuff" video. We then made these super cute teddy bear ears headbands! While they were working I read the book, Corduroy by Don Freeman. Week 8: How It's Made: Construction PaperThis week we watched the Mr. Roger's video about how construction paper is made! And what do you after you learn how its made? You color on it! :) Our school doesn't have an art teacher so I try to incorporate opportunities for our kids to be creative as often as I can. Most of the time, there is a specific art project I have planned. This time, I let them color/draw/scribble whatever they wanted....and they loved it! Week 9: How It's Made: Toy TrucksI can't believe we have finished our "How It's Made Virtual Field Trip"! This has been such a fun unit with my sweet kindergartners! We finished the unit with how toy trucks are made. We watched the "National Geographic: Making Stuff" video. Then we made a "Build A Truck" craft...thanks again Pinterest!
Links to the other grade level Virtual Field Trips! Kindergarten - How It's Made Virtual Field Trip 1st Grade - Little House on the Prairie Virtual Field Trip 2nd Grade - Washington D.C. Virtual Field Trip 3rd Grade - New York City Virtual Field Trip 4th Grade - American History Virtual Field Trip Last year, 4th and 5th Grade both did the American History Virtual Field Trip. So, this year's 5th graders needed something new. Week 1: Introduction This week I introduced our 5th Grade Virtual Field Trip. We discussed what a "virtual field trip" is, how it was going to work, and the rules and procedures for the next 9 weeks. I showed each class their "itinerary" and introduced them to the folder that would hold all of their important "travel documents". I explained that I got the idea from how I travel each summer. A friend and I take a trip each summer to a place we have never been. Each summer, everything I need for that trip (hotel and flight reservations, museum tickets, baseball tickets, maps, ect.)goes into the folder so that I have everything I need in one place. Their folder will contain the student handouts with all of the resources for each stop along our trip! National Parks Virtual Field Trip Folder Weeks 2 and 3: National Parks of the NortheastWe began things a little different with 5th Grade. They had participated in the American History Virtual Field Trip last year and understood how it all worked. We jumped right in on Week 2 with independent exploration. They picked a partner, picked up their folder and IPad, and got to work. These 2 weeks they learned about the national parks in the Northeast Region of the United States. They could explore: Cape Cod National Seashore Acadia National Park National Parks of New York Harbor Statue of Liberty Niagara Falls National Mall and Memorial Parks President's Park (The White House) I also let them experiment along with me using the app Seesaw. In the past, I have used KidBlog as another way for students to share their learning with me/their teacher and their classmates. During Week 2 I had a teacher ask me to help her students with creating a blog for their research projects. When I went to set up their class blog on KidBlog, we realized it is no longer free. A paid subscription is not an option for us, so I began looking for alternative options. I came across Seesaw and so far we love it! The kids are able to post interesting facts about what they are learning, screenshots of what they found, and comment back and forth to each other. The kids picked it up very quickly and have enjoyed having a social aspect of this Virtual Field Trip. There are so many possibilities for using this app in the classroom. I'm hoping some of our teachers will give it a try as well. Weeks 4 and 5: National Parks of the SoutheastIn week 4, I added National Parks of the Southeast to their folders. In 3rd and 4th Grade, I removed the previous handouts so that the could focus on the new destinations. I let the 5th graders add to their previous handouts because some groups were really interested in certain parks or had not explored all that they had wanted to in the previous region. In the Southeast we focused on: Little River Canyon Great Smokey Mountains National Park Gulf Islands National Seashore Mammoth Cave National Park Shenandoah National Park Everglades National Park Congaree National Park Cape Hatteras Weeks 6 and 7: National Parks of the WestWeek 6 we added handouts for National Parks of the West. We focused on: Glacier National Park Hawaii Volcanoes Mesa Verde National Park North Cascades National Park Olympic National Park Redwood National Park Rocky Mountain National Park Seqouia and King's Canyon Yellowstone National Park Yosemite National Park City of Rocks National Reserve * For the first half of the virtual field trips unit, I asked them to stick to the resources I provided for them in their folders. Beginning in week 6, I allowed them to do a little deeper searching on their own using Kiddle (Google's kid safe search engine). I am visiting Yosemite National Park this summer so the kids helped plan my trip! They loved being my travel agents, and I can't wait to check out some of the places they found! :) Weeks 8 and 9: National Parks of the Southwest and MidwestFor the final 2 weeks of the virtual field trip we added National Parks of the Midwest and Southwest.
Midwest: Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Badlands National Park Mount Rushmore (Mount Rushmore Ipad App) Theodore Roosevelt National Park Southwest: Petrified Forest National Park Carlsbad Caverns Big Bend National Park Aztec Ruins National Monument White Sands Grand Canyon National Park Saguaro National Park * We used Google Cardboard throughout the Virtual Field Trip. I purchased one for $6 on Amazon and assembled it myself...which was quite an experience since it came with ZERO instructions. It made me a little (ok a lot) nervous to hand them my phone protected only by a piece of cardboard. I ended up buying the View-Master VR by Mattel. It has definitely been worth the money! |
AuthorI am an elementary educator in Birmingham, AL. I have previously taught preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. I now have the BEST job as an elementary school librarian or "The Library Lady" as I'm called by the kindergartners! Archives
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