Describes field trips to urban locations for geological instruction. The program was developed by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Authors claim these field trips have been an effective and enjoyable way of conveying a wide variety of geological information to participants at all levels and backgrounds and have created favorable publicity.…

Teachers are being asked to provide students with activities that are relevant, interrelated, and challenging. This article describes an activity, Zoo Investigation Cards, that place students in an investigative problem-solving situation and allows them to observe living organisms in the complex system of their natural habitat. (ZWH)

Examines environmental education history. Discusses environmental change agents. Promotes value of field trips, role models, and persuasive speech as emotive tools for environmental educators. Describes "teachable" moments, unusual experiences of empathy with nature. Recommends poetry as tool for creating experiences. Includes several…

Suggestions are offered to speech-language pathologists on how to use field trips to enhance vocabulary skills and provide a setting for meaningful communicative interaction for students with language handicaps. (Author/DB)

Workshop examines school-age summer programs. Papers are (1) "No More Homework" (Linda Sisson), presenting National School-Age Child Care Alliance standards relevant to planning and evaluating summer programs; (2) "Staffing for Summer Programs" (Richard T. Scofield); (3) "Opportunities and Challenges" (Karen…

Discusses the use of portable keyboards that can download their information into a computer and describes how they can be used effectively in elementary school classrooms. Highlights include uses in various subject areas, including writing improvement; student motivation; taking keyboards home; and uses outside the classroom, including field…

Reports on the use of simulators to provide students with field trips of the future. This technology offers convincing, real-world, first-hand experiences in a small space within a few minutes. Simulators have found their way into museums and science centers around the nation, although they are still too expensive for most school districts. (SM)

Describes using domesticated, wild, or feral animals to teach students about nature and animal behavior. Connections can be made with psychology, economics, genetics, history, art, and other disciplines. The study of animal behavior provides opportunities for harmless student experimentation. (SAH)

A Chicago elementary school has been integrating health and nutrition concepts into its curriculum for several years. Teachers in early childhood classes have developed creative, hands-on units (such as preparing and devouring apple concoctions) and field trips to the grocery store. Lessons are often reinforced with free information resources,…

Describes summer institutes for urban teachers in Milwaukee that centered on several Lake Michigan beaches within the bounds of their school district. Compares the sand from four different beaches for grain size, magnetite content, as well as fossil and modern Zebra Mussel Shells. Encourages good field trip teaching practices. Includes 19…

Presents a brief quiz for parents to see if their child's school building is taking basic steps to ensure a safe learning environment (e.g., Is the building locked? Are strict guidelines in place when students participate in field trips? Is adult supervision always maintained on playgrounds?). Suggested action plans are included. A sidebar offers…

This article focuses on the geology of a single area of the Moon, the Imbrium Basin, and shows how geologists have combined basic geologic principles with evidence collected by the Apollo missions to learn more about the history of the Moon as a whole. In this article, the author discusses lunar geology teaching tips and mapping the Imbrium Basin…

Teachers often invite guests from the community into their classrooms and organize field trips out into the community; however, this does not constitute community-based education (CBE). In CBE, students are engaged in the public domain and form partnerships to meet a community need. Premised on the notion that students are members of the…

Going on an expedition enables teachers to become better scientists and researchers and, thus, better classroom instructors. Teachers have the opportunities to go on exotic field trips around the world as amateur research assistants, do hands on research in their own backyards, or vicariously experience another scientist?s work via the Internet. A…

Abstract visual art is not for everybody. Some people find it threatening, uncomfortable, and often, inaccessible. Understandably, this can result in a lack of attention paid to nonrepresentational works of art in the visual arts curriculum. This article describes an experiential, hands-on, field trip that sought to demystify abstract sculpture,…