-1 st GRADE- Secrets to a Successful Field Trip: A Guide for Teachers and Chaperones. Look inside to find:

Transcription

1 Secrets to a Successful Field Trip: A Guide for Teachers and Chaperones -1 st GRADE- Look inside to find: Teacher Checklist Chaperone Checklist Field Trip Activities for 1 st Grade

2 Teacher Checklist We are excited about your visit to Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. We have provided a checklist to help you prepare for your visit with us. Please arrange for an adequate number of chaperones. Special needs students: 1 adult/student Preschool and K-2: 1 adult/5 students Grades 3-12: 1 adult/10 students Carpool groups: 1 adult/4 students Mark the map to plan your visit. Routes, locations, and meeting times should be marked before copying the map for the chaperones. If your groups are scheduled for a program in the Education Center please meet in front of the building 5 minutes prior to the program. Your instructor will come outside to greet you. A tram to the garden leaves from Burger King-Kenya Café every 15 minutes. Make copies of the Chaperone Checklist, Field Trip Activities pages, and the map (can be downloaded in.pdf from our site). Provide each chaperone with copies of each item. Provide each student with a copy of the Field Trip Activities page. Discuss the field trip activities before you leave school. Encourage the chaperones to review all materials before arriving at Riverbanks. Make a list of all students assigned to each chaperone and provide them with a copy.

3 Teacher Checklist continued Feeding your herd? Eat on your own or arrange for lunches at Riverbanks. Contact our catering provider Aramark at (803) to make arrangements for Safari lunches. These arrangements must be made two weeks in advance. Bag lunches brought from school must be left in your vehicle and are not allowed in Riverbanks. However, a nature trail with picnic tables and trash facilities is located at the west end of the parking lot. 1, 2, 3 Please have an exact count of the number of children and adults in your group. One person from your school should present the exact count of children and adults to the ticket booth, along with payment. Bring cash, a purchase order, or a school check payable to Riverbanks Zoo and Garden in the exact amount. Please review Riverbanks rules for behavior with your group. Stay on the paths. Walk instead of run. Stay with your chaperone. Respect the animals by talking quietly. Keep your hands, body and objects away from animal exhibits. Pick up your trash. Take you time and enjoy your surroundings. Ask questions. More than 100,000 school children visit Riverbanks Each Year! Enjoy Your Visit!

4 Chaperone Checklist Thank you for volunteering your time as a chaperone. You are an important part in making this trip to Riverbanks a success. Here are a few tips to help make your trip an enjoyable one: Be sure you understand the activities, meeting times and places. Don t be afraid to ask the teacher questions to clarify your role or any times and places. Make sure you have a list of the students in your group. Children can get away quickly so keep your eyes on them at all times. Please review Riverbanks rules for behavior with your group. Stay on the paths. Walk instead of run. Stay with your chaperone. Respect the animals by talking quietly. Keep your hands, body and objects away from animal exhibits. Pick up your trash. Take you time and enjoy your surroundings. Ask questions. Assist students with the Field Trip Activity. Encourage the students to think for themselves and to observe, make guesses and predictions.

5 Where the Wild Plants Grow Teacher Intro Sheet Theme: Plants have basic structures. Plants are observed as food for animals at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. The edible parts of plants are also identified. Students will observe plants in desert and tropical rainforest environments and will describe the characteristics of these plants that help them survive in these conditions. Target Audience: 1 st grade SC Science Standards: 1-II Life Science A2a, A2b, C1a, C1b, C2a Activity 1: C1a, C1b Activity 2: A2a, A2b Activity 3: C2a Process Skills: Observe, Infer, Predict, Communicate These questions are designed to enhance the students experience at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden. They are aligned with the South Carolina first grade science standards. The activities explore plant structures, plants as food for animals, and the characteristics of plants that help them to survive in specific environments. You may want the students to complete some or all of the activities during their visit.

6 Where the Wild Plants Grow Student Activity Sheet Name: Date: Plants have several parts including the seeds, roots, stems, leaves, flower, and fruit. The parts of a plant are important to animals everywhere including the animals at Riverbanks. You will notice that plants live in different environments and have developed ways to survive. The focus of Where the Wild Plants Grow is to think about the parts of a plant, how the plants are important to its environment, and how living things can change an environment. The answers to the challenge are in different places throughout Riverbanks. To find them, you may have to read the signs, or compare and contrast different plants and environments. Good Luck! Activity 1: Find the Aquarium/Reptile Complex. Go inside to the the Desert Gallery. All living things have basic needs including air, water, nutrients, space and light. The desert can be a difficult environment for plants to survive. The temperature of a desert can soar to 120 F during the day and plunge to near-freezing at night. In the desert just a few inches of rain falls each year and some years there is none at all. Most desert animals have developed thick, watertight skin to keep moisture in. For protection, many of them have sharp scales covering their bodies. Plants have similar structures that help them live in this desert environment. Observe the plants you see growing in the desert area. Find a cactus and observe it carefully. Notice the stems of the cactus. Then notice the spines. The spines are actually the leaves of the cactus. They keep the water from leaving the cactus too fast. Riverbanks Zoo & Garden Columbia SC

7 Where the Wild Plants Grow Student Activity Sheet 1. What do you think is inside the thick stems of the cactus? 2. Why would a cactus need thick stems to survive in the desert? (Think about the temperature in the desert and rainfall.) 3. Why do you think a cactus has spines? What could they be used for? Walk through the double glass doors into the Tropical Rainforest. Feel the temperature and observe the plants in this area. Notice the leaves and stems of these plants. 1. Describe how the plants in the Tropical Rainforest are different than the plants in the Desert. 2. Why do you think the leaves on these plants are so much bigger than the leaves (spines) on the plants in the desert? 3. Do you think that plants from the Tropical Rainforest could survive living in the Desert? Why or why not? Riverbanks Zoo & Garden Columbia SC

8 Where the Wild Plants Grow Student Activity Sheet 4. Using a Venn Diagram, compare and contrast the parts of plants from the Tropical Rainforest to the parts of plants from the desert. Tropical Rainforest Plants Both Desert Plants Riverbanks Zoo & Garden Columbia SC

9 Where the Wild Plants Grow Student Activity Sheet Activity 2: Find the Torrid Zone and walk through the tunnel. Observe the animal s exhibits and look for ones that have food inside. Are any of the animals eating? What are they eating? Complete this chart based on your observations of the plants the animals in this area use as food. Some of the food may be lying on rocks or on the ground. Decide what part of the plant the animal uses as food (seeds, roots, stems, leaves, flower, and fruit). Name of animal What part of the plant do you see? Riverbanks Zoo & Garden Columbia SC

10 Where the Wild Plants Grow Student Activity Sheet Activity 3: Find the elephant exhibit. Did you know that elephants weigh around 10,000 pounds? Think about how much you weigh. Do you weigh a lot more or a lot less than an elephant? Observe the plants as you look around the elephant exhibit. 1. What do you think the elephants would do with the plants if we allowed them to wander around the zoo? 2. What do you think the plants around the zoo would look like with the elephants walking around? 3. Would the elephants change the look of the zoo? Why or why not? 4. Would the plants at the zoo look different if we put the elephants back in their exhibit and instead allowed the birds to fly around anywhere? Why or why not? Riverbanks Zoo & Garden Columbia SC