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Grant proposal
- 1. Title of Grant: Target Field Trip Grant Think Outside the Classroom Learning opportunities extend far beyond the classroom. But schools are finding it more and more difficult to bring students to museums, historical sites and cultural organizations. Field Trip Grants help give children these unique, firsthand learning experiences. Since launching the program in 2007, Target has awarded more than $16 million in grants providing 2 million students in all 50 states with the opportunity to enhance their studies in the arts, math, science and social studies. As part of the program, each Target store will award three Target Field Trip Grants to K12 schools nationwideenabling one in 25 schools throughout the U.S. to send a classroom on a field trip. http://sites.target.com/site/en/company/page.jsp?contentId=WCMP04-031880 Research Evidence There is research that indicates that field trips are a valuable part of the science education of elementary school children. Field trips have clear cognitive and affective benefits. The major benefits of field trips are the development of more positive attitudes toward science, the learning of certain science facts, concepts, and related skills, and the improvement of the social climate in class. Teachers should strive to take students on field trips which provide moderate
- 2. amounts of novelty. As students gain experience, more elaborate and longer trips are needed. These are far more important than the short trip behind the school (Falk and Balling, 1979). Other investigations found the importance of hands-on activities during field trips. Field trips that required hands-on activities seem to have a positive' impact on student ability to recall information learned on the educational excursion, and students tend to enjoy this type of experience when compared to field trips that didn't encompass hands-on activities. Most participants revealed that they experienced enhanced camaraderie with fellow students, teachers, and chaperones via their participation. According to the study participants, science and history concepts and knowledge was reinforced through experiences at museums, zoos, and historical sites. This study found that field trips, which bring students outside of the classroom and into the real world, are both educationally and socially beneficial for the participants (Pace and Tesi, 2004). When discussing suggestions for field trips that K-12 students could potentially participate in, several of the participants recommended taking students to hands-on science museums, outdoor trips working with nature, and having students bake or create artwork in connection to a multicultural lesson at a cultural site. This indicates that hands-on activities may be a beneficial asset in reinforcing subject matter from the classroom according to the findings of Strauss (2001), and Knapp (2000). It appears that field trips can be both educational and social experiences for students. Therefore, it may be beneficial to have more than one field trip per
- 3. year in order to expose pupils to a variety of activities pertaining to the curriculum and to allow them to socialize outside of the classroom (Pace and Tesi, 2004). Rationale As a media specialist, I would like to be able to bring students to the author/writer instead of having the author/writer come to them. I think the experience of getting out of school to go hear an actual historian would be more memorable for our students who rarely get that kind of opportunity. According to research evidence listed above, it appears that class field trips to museums, historical sites, and zoos are effective in reinforcing the subjects of science and history. With this thought in mind, an outdoor fieldtrip to Stone Mountain Park is the perfect spot for our fifth grade students. There is so much history to be seen and discussed at Stone Mountain Park. Not to mention, the science and geology with the actual granite stone rising out of the ground is amazing and needs to be experienced. It is marvelous landform found in Georgia and most of our students have never left our small town of Homer. Two subjects can be seen first hand at an outdoor field trip at Stone Mountain, earth science and Civil War History. Below are the proposed activities our students will experience; Hands on History with Peter Bonner Atlanta Campaign Students discover not only the good and bad of
- 4. the Civil War but the wacky, weird and funny, too! Peter Bonner is a local historian, actor and author with a long history of writing and performing many engaging programs for schools, television and historic sites throughout metro Atlanta. Peter will lead students through an interactive program about the Atlanta Campaign, featuring authentic items from the period that the students can touch, as well as a self-guided tour through the artifacts and exhibits in the Discovering Stone Mountain Museum. At Stone Mountain Park students will discover not only the good and bad of the Civil War but the wacky, weird and funny too! Peter Bonner, a well known historian and storyteller, will lead students through an interactive program about the Atlanta Campaign featuring authentic items from the time period that your students can handle (Stone Mountain Park, 2010) In addition to hands-on history, we also would like to incorporate science and go to the top of Stone Mountain to explore earth science and geology concepts in our curriculum. Landforms of Georgia are important in fifth grade and weathering and erosion is part of our curriculum standards. Stone Mountain is a wonderful example of weathering and erosion in action. Students would love to see it in person! Curriculum Objectives- Social Studies-Historical Understandings-Civil War
- 5. SS5H1 The student will explain the causes, major events, and consequences of the Civil War. a. Identify Uncle Toms Cabin and John Browns raid on Harpers Ferry, and explain how each of these events was related to the Civil War. b. Discuss how the issues of states rights and slavery increased tensions between the North and South. c. Identify major battles and campaigns: Fort Sumter, Gettysburg, the Atlanta Campaign, Shermans March to the Sea, and Appomattox Court House. d. Describe the roles of Abraham Lincoln, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, and Thomas Stonewall Jackson. e. Describe the effects of war on the North and South. Earth Science-Includes Landforms of Georgia S5E1. Students will identify surface features of the Earth caused by constructive and destructive processes. b. Identify and find examples of surface features caused by destructive processes. Erosion (waterrivers, oceans, wind), Weathering, Impact of organisms, Earthquake, Evaluation Students will return to school and write in their journals what they learned from the outdoor fieldtrip. These summaries will be used by the teacher to
- 6. informally evaluate knowledge, thoughts, and feelings about the field trip. They will also visit the library to conclude their experience with some research questions that they establish for themselves. This research will be titled Things I still want to know about the Civil War. The classroom teacher will then allow students to conduct their own research projects for the classroom. Follow up activities and discussions in the classroom will be used to check for understanding. Students will finally participate in a performance assessment in which they will be put into groups and plan a dramatized skit of the things they learned in both social studies and science. Budget Hands on History Program with Peter Bonner- Atlanta Campaign plus the cost of Summit Skyride to the top of Stone Mountain. Cost of tickets per child $15.00 x 50 # Tickets= $750($12.00 + Summit Skyride) Cost of school bus $1.00 x 136miles =$136(This includes there and back) (Map quest, 2010) Cost of bus driver 1 driver = $40 a day Total cost of field trip = $926 The field trip that I am requesting funds for is a hands-on history program about the Atlanta Campaign and a skyride to the top of Stone Mountain. The total cost for tickets, school bus, and bus driver will be $926. A bonus for all
- 7. students will be that all Field trip attendees will receive one free child Adventure Pass to return to the Park with a paid accompanying adult at a later date. References Falk, John H. and Balling John D (1979). Setting a Neglected Variable in Science Education: Investigations Into Outdoor Field Trips. Smithsonian Institution pp 105. Knapp, D. (2000). Memorable experiences of as cience field trip. School Science & Teaching. 100, 65-73. Map quest (2010). http://www.mapquest.com/. Retrieved February 12, 2010 Pace, Stefanie and Roger, Tesi (2004). Adult's Perception of Field Trips Taken within Grades K-12: Eight Case Studies in the New York Metropolitan Area. Education 125(1) pp. 11. Strauss, V. (2001). Going places with class: schools take students to learn farther afield and more frequently. The Washington Post, p.BOl. Stone Mountain Park. (2010). http://www.stonemountainpark.com/school-programs/field-trip-options/. Retrieved February 12, 2010