1. Introduction

In order to enhance the curriculum for primary school students, field trips are organized by teachers to sites of educational interest. These may include old temples, local factories, waterfalls, or local museums especially for older students (Grades 4, 5, and 6). For younger children (Grades 1-3), these may be simpler trips within the community to the well, an elder's house, the river, a brick factory, a vegetable garden or any other aspects of community life. It is intended that rather than be a one-off trip, this experience will also be drawn upon in follow up and preparation of activities, which can cut across all areas of the curriculum. For example, the field trip can entail making a map of where children will be going, having a community member come into the class and share what they know about the field trip site, writing a plan for the day before they go, writing about the trip after they return, creating a book including illustrations, math activities that involve measuring distances traveled by vehicle or foot, or sharing their experiences with other classes. A field trip is an excellent way to help children expand their knowledge and understanding of their own geographical and cultural context and consequently help make their education more relevant.

2. Primary Objectives

• To help make children's education more relevant to the local needs
• To enhance children's learning in a hands-on, experiential way.

3. Target group

Primary aged children (usually Grades 4, 5 and 6) for longer field trips and for younger grades (1-3) for field trips within the community.

4. Information on Implementation

Implementation will vary depending on the destination, the grade level and the objective of the field trip. However, some things to remember are:

• Children should be prepared in advance and parents notified.
• Transport should be organized well in advance.
• Students should be reminded beforehand is they need to bring food and a drink.
• It is good to have some parent helpers if possible so that the adult student ratio is not too high.
• Preparation lessons are important so students know what they will be doing when they get there and also have some background knowledge to draw upon.
• If possible it is a good idea to take a first aid kit.
• Students should be informed about what the expected behavior is before they go on the trip.
• It is a good idea for students to have tasks and activities to do when they arrive at their destination rather than just exploring (although time should be set aside for that too).
• Preparation and follow up lessons are a very important element of the field trip activity (see above for some ideas).

5. Resources Needed

• Responsible teachers
• Travel costs for students
• Lunch for students