SEA

Application Section lll

What experiences inspired the planning of this field trip?

Working in collaboration with the fifth grade teachers, we discussed ideas to build background
knowledge and provide real life experiences in relation to science standards (5511) in order for students

to be able to write an informative text on an animal (fish, amphibian, reptile, bird, and mammal). We
felt like we have good print resources in our media center as well as digital resources; however, we
knew that many of our students have not had real life experiences with animals such as visiting a zoo,
farm, or aquarium. We know that these experiences can have an impact on students' knowledge and
understanding of the standards. Lack of real life experiences can have a negative impact on students'
understanding and performance of standards. Only 23 out of 79 students have visited an aquarium.
Fewer than 20 students have visited a zoo.

How will this experience be implemented and proven beneficial to the students/individuals in your
class, school, and community?

This experience will be one part of many that students will use to draw upon in order to build

background knowledge and understanding of science standards so that students will be able to recall
relevant information from various sources (experiences, print, and digital resources) in order to write an
informative text to examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly. Students will also read
variety and of fiction and nonfiction print texts about animals. They will explore various digital

resources such as GALILEO Kids, World Book Online, and a curated resource list of websites about

animals. Students will participate in the aquarium experience by listening, discussing, and taking notes

to use later in class.

How will this experience tie in to cross curricular goals with the exception of Science?
Students will use this experience as a means of information to write an informative text in order to
examine a topic and convey ideas and information clearly (ELACC5W2). This experience will be part of

research project that uses several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects

of a topic (ELACC5W7). This experience along with the readings and digital resources will allow students
to recall relevant information from experiences as well as gather information from print and digital
resources (media center activities) in order to summarize information to use to write an informative text
(ELACCSW8).

How will this experience be applied using existing education resources?

Students will use this experience in addition to print resources located in the media center along with

digital resources (GALILEO Kids, World Book Online, and a curated resource list of websites created by

the media specialist)provided bythe media centerto build background knowledge and an
understanding of animals (S511). Students will then use word processing tools in the computer lab to
write an informative text about an animal. Students will also use Web 2.0 tools in the computer lab to
create a audio/visual presentation of their animal.