Book Study: Worksheets Don’t Grow Dendrites: Chapter 3
- By Deedee Wills
- Updated on February 5
- 16 Comments
Table of Contents
I am enjoying revisiting this great book! I read it originally a few years ago, but like all good reads, it was worth another turn!
This chapter is about field trips. If I am going to honest with you, we don’t get out much… like ever. Shoot! We did have a field trip at the beginning of the year. It rained… and rained…and rained… Let’s just say that the animals at Grant’s Farm were lining up 2 by 2! As we sat in the bus eating our lunch, soaked to the skin, I was thinking I must have done something terribly, terribly wrong.
I’m not going to lie… I cried! Our ONE field trip for the year was a NIGHT! MARE!
Field trips, including those that are virtual, enable teachers to create as many authentic, experiential experiences as possible. These spatial memories are embedded in the brain and need no rehearsal. (Fogarty, 2001). Making sense of the research on the brain and learning. Victoria, Australia: Hawker Brownlow Education.
Ok… maybe it is not a complete loss. We did do this!
Every October, we celebrate Missouri Day! Our high school’s 4H students educate our students about all things agricultural.
The tractors are pretty much a big deal!
and we have volunteers present on Missouri’s history.
Like many of my friends in the mid-west… we are stuck inside. The weather has us packed together tight. We have not been outside for a REALLY! LONG! TIME!
So how about a field trip in the building.
I thought we could do a write the school activity. We can get out… stretch our legs… and visit parts of the building that we do not usually go.
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| click on the image to download the recording page. |
I am looking forward to making use of this outside classroom that was completed. This is right behind our building. How cool is this?
Are you ready to follow along on this book study?
Chapters 1 & 2 have already been discuss. Hop over to Kickin it in Kindergarten to see what you missed.
And here is what the future brings!
Queen of the First Grade Jungle Chapter 4 (March 10th)
Fabulous in First Chapter 5 (March 14th)
One Extra Degree Chapter 6 (March 17th)
Mrs. Jump’s Class Chapter 7 (March 28th)
The First Grade Parade Chapter 8 (March 31st)
In April, you will be visiting these girls for the remainder of the study:
Mrs. Ehle’s Kindergarten Chapter 9 &10 (April 4th)
What The Teacher Wants Chapter 11 (April 7th)
First Grader At Last Chapter 12 (April 11th)
Erica’s Ed Ventures Chapter 13 (April 14th)
KinderGals Chapter 14 &15 (April 18th)
A Rocky Top Teacher Chapter 16 (April 21st)
Mrs. Wills Kindergarten Chapter 17 (April 25th)
Little Warriors Chapter 18 (April 28th)
Falling Into First Chapter 19 (May 2nd)
Kickin’ it in Kindergarten Chapter 20 (May 5th)
You can join in for whatever part you like! If you are not a blogger, that is OK! We will want you to join in on the fun. You can participate in the conversation in the comments. We want this to be a positive collaboration between teachers! The whole point is to encourage each other with inspiring ideas while still using research based best practice.
We hope you will join! Here is a YouTube video where you can hear a little more about what the book is about.
Deedee Wills
After 25+ years teaching kindergarten, first, and second grade, I know how much the early years matter.
I'm an Orton-Gillingham and LETRS-trained educator who develops curriculum, presents internationally and writes about literacy and early math. Let's make your job easier!
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16 Responses
Your new outdoor classroom is going to make for some amazing field trips. It reminds me of the benches where the park rangers give their talks at the Grand Canyon. Just think, weather won't be a factor this time – if it rains today, you'll go tomorrow! 🙂 One year we had a field trip to the zoo that had to be rescheduled three times because of the weather. By the fourth time, it was the last week of school and we were just about the only ones there, which made it amazing!
In-house field trips are super … chasing the trail of the gingerbread man, doing a stop-and-go tour to write and read the numbers on classroom doors, interviewing school helpers (nurse, custodian, etc.), visiting the school library to show kids how encyclopedias work (yes, they still have those antiques),… – kids love these mini-trips and learn so much along the way – plus, they're free! 🙂
Thanks so much for hosting this chapter study!
Linda
Primary Inspiration
You're so lucky to have the outdoor classroom… so many possibilities! I'm sure the kids will love to learn outside. I love the idea of writing the school. There are so many parts of a school the kids don't visit often and this could be a wonderful opportunity to explore and learn about the school.
Thanks so much for hosting! Your outdoor classroom looks wonderful! My school does not have anything like that, but my students and I definitely take advantage of outdoor classroom time! Now that MN is turning to spring, and hopefully not teasing us, we'll be headed outside sooner than I think! We observe the change from winter to spring. This provides many scientific observations, but also provides such a wonderful discussion topic and writing opportunity! We write from different perspectives; from that of the scientist, the snow, the little creatures, budding trees, etc. We also are within walking distance of many of our community connections such as the public library, police station, Cheese Shoppe (creamery and production facility), and many others. We enjoy learning about our community to. Real, experiential learning and the fabulous ideas I know I'll see in this discussion are what is motivating me for this last trimester of the year! I'm excited!
That outdoor classroom is going to be amazing! You will be able to do so many great lessons out there. I laughed (just for a tiny second) about your farm field trip when you said the animals lined up 2 by 2. Not at the other parts though :-p #badfriend I love your activity! What an engaging and authentic activity to get kids up and moving. Can't wait to use it! Love ya!
Always looking for a cute class shirt idea! Curious what's on front of Team Wills shirt? I think the write the school activity will be perfect for indoor recess!! Thanks!
Our boy scouts built an outdoor classroom a couple of years ago in the woods behind our school! It's lovely and I just don't use it enough. After reading this chapter, and seeing your blog post I am BOUND and DETERMINED to make this common practice {once the darn weather breaks!}.
Holly
Crisscross Applesauce in First Grade
We had a trip to the farm a few years ago and the weather was calling for rain the whole day! We were so lucky because it didn't rain the whole time we were there and then as soon as we all got on the bus, it started POURING!!! We completely lucked out!!! Love your outdoor learning area! We have an area that we like to take our kids outside to read and do math games when the weather is nice – right now I'm pretty sure all we could do is go out there and sing "Do you want to build a snowman?" while doing just that!!! Love your "Write the School" activity! Thanks so much for sharing!
recipeforteaching
Deedee, does your school participate in the Missouri Department of Conservation's school partnerships? We participate in their Discover Nature program. The program enables you to take field trips to get students outside and interacting with nature–I think it's $7 per student per year. We love it. It pays for gas and drivers, not admission fees, but still…it gets our students out of the classroom for some cool learning. It also gives you some grant money.
Still, I could and should do more to get my students outside. I love your idea of writing the school. I'm going to try that. I wish our school was large enough to have the ag program. Our kids would love that.
The Outdoor classroom is such a wonderful enhancer of the curriculum. When I taught in Georgia, We had one in Savanna. The kids loved going out and exploring it. We planted potatoes, had a fish pond, tracked animals and watched the butterflies. Loved your post!
Love the outdoor classroom!
That outdoor classroom looks like it will be pretty amazing! I am sure you are going to put it to great use. Enjoy your "on-site" field trip! I included a freebie in my post for some ideas for on-site field trips I have done in the past that other people might like to try. It probably includes more ideas for upper elementary kids, but it would be adaptable for primary kids, too! 😀
Beth
Adventures of a Schoolmarm
Have you ever tried a virtual field trip?
Well….I missed out on the link up, but if anyone is interested, here is my post on the field trips. http://www.lindaslearningloot.com/2015/03/15/book-study-worksheets-dont-grow-dendrites-strategy-3-field-trips/ Thanks again Deedee for a wonderful post! I got some great ideas and the link ups were wonderful!! Thanks again!! Linda Groce 🙂
Marcia Tate came to our district this year for a 2 day professional development. Great information and an amazing lady. Love all of your work btw!!
Marcia Tate came to our district this year for a 2 day professional development. Great information and an amazing lady. Love all of your work btw!!
Great Post