4 Ways to Incorporate Your Travels Into The Classroom

By Diana Eastman

One of the benefits of being a teacher is getting a few months off during the summer to rest and recharge. Teachers use this (unpaid) time to work part-time jobs, focus on hobbies, rest, and travel. Teachers have a hard time switching off their “teacher brains” even over the summer, which means as they explore new places they still have their future students in mind. Even on trips made for rest, a little part of their brain is always jotting down notes and trying to figure out how they can incorporate their travels into the classroom.

The next time you plan a trip, keep these four strategies in mind to bring back to your classroom. Your travel experience can prove invaluable to young, eager minds. Your adventures can foster a love for culture and travel in your students, and open up windows for engaging class discussions and learning opportunities.

Food For Thought
It’s safe to say that one of the best parts about traveling is trying the local cuisine. From famous cheesesteaks in Philly to Margherita pizza in Italy, indulging in foods from different places will not only satisfy your appetite but can serve as a learning tool in the classroom. Trying new foods and discovering new recipes is a great way to expose your students to new cultures, and a little in class taste-testing is a great way to keep students engaged when learning about new places.

A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words
If you travel to a place that you plan on studying during the school year, take pictures of you in front of famous landmarks to show your class. They can see photos of The Liberty Bell, The White House, or Niagara Falls in textbooks any day, but seeing it from a more personal perspective, and seeing you in these actual places makes them seem more real to students.

Save The Souvenirs
Some people collect postcards, coffee mugs, t-shirts or magnets to document their travels, and these souvenirs can be a fun way to show your students where you have been. When you travel internationally, bring back children’s books for your students to read. Even if they can’t understand the language, it serves as a fantastic hands-on activity that promotes language & reading and expands their global perspective.

Music As A Teacher's Tool
Many teachers find incorporating music into their lessons results in a more focused and engaged classroom. Sharing the music from your trip with your students is an easy way to introduce them to different styles of music and instruments. Playing music during study times has been proven to help with retention, and playing music during transitional times can help the class move from one thing to the next smoothly. Introducing your students to bagpipes after a trip to Scotland or country music after a visit to the Deep South will help them make deeper connections to the places they are learning about.

Traveling allows teachers to take off their “teacher hat” and blend into the world as a “normal” person for a little while. But for many teachers, it also provides excellent recourses and ideas to incorporate into next year’s classroom. Using your travels as a way to encourage learning and pursue the wanderlust of your students is a win-win. You get away and get a chance to see the world, and your students get a well-traveled teacher with adventures, stories, and lessons to share.

Crucial Items to Pack for an Overnight Trip with your Students

By Beth Hedrick

When taking your students on a trip, especially overnight, there are the usual items you need to take, such as your wallet, and specific items you “should” take…just in case of anything unexpected. That's the thing about traveling with students that I've learned – to expect the unexpected! Here is what you should put on your list of things to take, in addition to those obvious supplies.

Backpack
Carry one. Not a sling bag, not a purse, but an actual backpack. I'll never forget the time I went on a trip to Washington, D.C. and thought I would be cool and carry a cross body sling bag. It was nice and roomy…and very, very cumbersome flopping around on my side as I walked the hills of Arlington Cemetery.

A backpack allows for much more room while providing an even balance of weight across your body. When walking long distances, which many trips have on the itinerary, a good-quality backpack is ideal for carrying everything you need while providing hands-free movement and comfort.

Necessities
The backpack must contain necessities that you may not think you need for a trip with students. However, you should think outside the box and consider your students' needs while packing for your day out with them. Things you may not have thought of that you may want to include in your large, roomy, backpack include:

hand sanitizer
medications for students who take them on a regular basis
headache or pain reliever (for you)
gum
cough drops
water bottle.
Oh! And don’t forget a battery-operated phone charger!

Emergency Items
Emergency items should also be carried in your backpack.

One large Ziploc baggie of gauze pads and medical tape
Band-aids
A brace or wrap
Wound-care gel
Sanitary napkins

These items are a great start to the perfect emergency kit because chances are, you will need it! A random nose bleed (gusher!) happened to one of my groups while walking through the middle of Washington D.C. Think of your student's individual needs as well. Since a student’s glasses came unhinged in the middle of a production at a theater, I have learned to pack tape and a glasses mini-kit.

Phone Numbers
While you may be leery about giving parents your cell phone number, if you have parent chaperones it really is a must that they have it. Any adult that goes on the trip should have your number and vice-versa. One suggestion is to make one “group” text, so everyone is included and knows what's going on, especially with that small group that may be a little behind the others, or if a child becomes ill. However, the very, very important thing is to have a paper copy of the phone list of the chaperoning parents as well as the parents of the students who are with you.

Weather-Related Items   
How accurate is your local weatherman? There is a very good chance (and I am going off my experiences) that the weather will be a little “off” one day. That sudden rain shower may make for a soggy experience, so be prepared with a mini pop-up umbrella or a poncho. These items will easily fit in your backpack. If a non-bulky pair of shoes will fit, along with an extra pair of socks, that would be ideal. A hat or gloves may be something you wish to add if the weather is colder. Sunscreen is needed if it is a nice, warm day, and if you are like me and get bitten by bugs at every chance they get, bug spray may be a necessity for you.

Paper Documents
Medication documents, permission slips, picking-up children contracts, and other paper documents pertaining to a student need to be carried at all times, just in case. This is really just for your protection. You can put all of them in a manila envelope and slide them into a backpack pocket, or you can just leave them in your hotel room in a safe spot.

The more experienced you are at going on overnight trips with your students, the easier it is to think of things you may need. This is because experience brings wisdom, and if you have “seen it all” then you know it can really happen! Field trips are really the epitome of teaching, the students learn so much by exploring and really “doing” different activities. Field trips are ways your students can experience excellence in education by the integration of all five senses, and not only do they leave feeling full of knowledge, but also full of timeless memories.

Beth Hedrick has been educating students for 22 years. She teaches in a rural southwest Virginia community that values the education of every student. She is the mother of two boys, Aaron and Landon, and is married to Todd.

She is an advocate for Autism Awareness, as her son Landon has Asperger’s Syndrome. She has served on her community and school system’s autism support team. Beth enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her Basset Hound, Lenny. She also likes to read, write, blog, and travel in the summer months. 

Places You Just Have To See When Visiting Philadelphia

By Diana Eastman

Philadelphia is a popular choice for class trips for many reasons. It’s extremely pedestrian-friendly; you can walk to everything! The food is fantastic, the people are friendly, and it’s very educational. One cool thing about Philly is that your experience in the winter can be totally different from your experience in the summer. The city is always growing and changing, providing a unique experience for first-timers and seasoned visitors alike.

As a first-time visitor to Philly, there are a few things that every student must see when he or she visits The City of Brotherly Love.

The Franklin Institute
The Franklin Institute is a “must-see” when visiting Philadelphia. This extremely kid-friendly museum offers escape rooms, movies, a planetarium and a wide variety of exhibits that will enhance their love of science.

The Philadelphia Zoo
For animal lovers, The Philadelphia Zoo offers a unique way to get up close and personal with the animals. Zoo360 is the park’s newest addition and allows visitors to use a path of elevated walkways to get closer than ever before to tigers, apes, meerkats and more. Fun fact about the zoo: it was the nation’s very first zoo!

Independence National Park
You can’t visit Philly without making a trip to see the Liberty Bell in all of her glory. You can find the Liberty Bell at Independence National Park, along with other fascinating historical artifacts. Step inside Independence Hall where the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were signed. Take a tour through Edgar Allen Poe’s home or stroll through Benjamin Franklin’s courtyard. You could spend days exploring Independence National Park, and most of the attractions and exhibits are free.

The Food!
All of the walking and learning is sure to work up an appetite, and you can’t visit Philly without trying some of its famous food. Philly is known for its cheesesteaks, and there is no shortage of delicious places to try one. Ishkabibble’s on South Street won’t disappoint when it comes to mouthwatering sandwiches, but Philly is more than cheesesteaks! The Italian Market is an outdoor street market lined with vendors offering everything from seafood and Mexican to pizza and French cuisine. For a unique Philadelphia experience, take students to the country’s oldest continuously running Farmer’s Market and pick up fresh produce, cheeses, coffee and international delights.

Selfie Worthy Sites
Want to get your middle schoolers’ attention? Encourage them to whip out their cell phones and take a selfie in some of the coolest, most Instagram worthy spots in the city:

•    In front of the Rocky Statue
•    The famous, red “Amor” sculpture in Sister Cities Park
•    Boathouse Row
•    Benjamin Franklin Bridge
•    One Liberty Observation Deck
•    Rittenhouse Square
•    Elfreth’s Alley
•    Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens

These unique destinations in Philly have their own unique charm and personality, and getting there allows you to see parts of the city that you might miss if you stick to the tourist attractions.

Taking a class trip to Philly is an adventure that every student should have the opportunity to experience. Philly is a diverse city full of rich history and the perfect combination of fun and educational. The city offers so much to see and do, making it one of the coolest places in the country for an incredible class trip.

Famous Celebrity Teachers

By Ryan Crawley

Teachers are often local celebrities in the town that they teach in. People usually stop them on any trip to the grocery store or movie theater just to have a little chat. It’s as much part of the job of being a teacher as teaching in the classroom. An educator has to be a role model for adults and children in the area that they live. However, some teachers would go on to become much bigger celebrities than just in their own hometown. These former teachers would eventually become famous actors and singers not long after their time in the classroom.

Andy Griffith
Anyone that has had access to a television in the last 60 years should know exactly who Andy Griffith was. He was the star of several movies, his most notable was a film from 1957 titled A Face in the Crowd. But the role he is best known for is Andy Taylor from The Andy Griffith Show, also starring Don Knotts. Before he became a famous actor, he was a high school English, Music, and Drama teacher while he was in his twenties. It surely helped him when he was creating one of the most beloved tv shows of all time.

Gene Simmons
Most people know Gene Simmons as the co-founder of the band KISS. But the man with the extremely long tongue was a sixth-grade teacher in New York before hitting it big. However, most of his students wouldn’t recognize him because he taught without the makeup and platform shoes.

Sheryl Crow
The singer had a hit with her song "All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun", but a few years before that, she was a Music teacher in Missouri. In fact, some of her first songs she sang and sold were back-to-school jingles that she created.

Sting
The famous singer worked many odd jobs after graduating from high school. He would later teach Soccer, English, and Music at a Catholic school for two years. Sting later would recall those years, "I was the only man on the faculty. In fact, I was the only teacher not in a habit."

Stephen King
One of the most prolific writers of all time, Stephen King started out in the career of Education. In 1971, he was hired at Hampden Academy to teach English. He also married his wife Tabitha that year, another fellow writer. They struggled mightily the first few years of their marriage with finances. Their phone was often disconnected because they just did not have enough money to pay the bills.

By 1973, Tabitha was working at Dunkin’ Donuts while King kept teaching English in Maine. Finances continued to be so bad that he moonlighted as a janitor and gas pump attendant. They lived in a drafty doublewide trailer and drove around an old Buick held together by wire and tape. One day the Hampden Academy offered him an extra $300 a year if he would take the extra position of being the faculty advisor to the Debate Club. It was an offer he could not refuse, he thought, because it would allow his family to buy groceries. His wife, though, refused it for him when she realized it would not give him much time to write anymore. She was willing to risk it because she knew her husband had real talent. A year later, King sold his first novel, Carrie. It turned out to be a good call to turn down that Debate Club position!

Sylvester Stallone
While attending the American College in Switzerland during the 1960s, Stallone made some extra cash by teaching Physical Education. This was a perfect position for the health-minded future actor/writer. You can just hear him shouting out to his students, “You can do those pull-ups! Quitters can’t do pull-ups. And that’s not you! You are better than that! Now give me one more because Mickey loves you!”

Hugh Jackman
Wolverine was a teacher? He was! Hugh Jackman was a Physical Education teacher for high school students, and he remembers his time well. Don’t feel bad that your students don’t always behave. If Wolverine could not get his students to act like little angels, what chance do the rest of us have? Here is a little humorous video when Jackman ran into one of his former students on the red carpet. He was able to remember the man’s name and some of the things that he did in class that ticked him off.

Bob Denver
The Skipper might not believe it, but Gilligan was once a teacher. Bob Denver taught History, Math, and Physical Education at a Catholic school when he was 23 years old. He was allowed time off to audition for Dobie Gillis, and the rest is television history.

Dan Blocker
Blocker is best known for his role of Hoss Cartwright in the long-running show Bonanza, but he was a teacher first. This gentle giant was a high school English and Drama teacher. Dealing with troublesome students probably helped get him in the mood for handling troublesome outlaws in the series.



Ryan Crawley is a writer/educator from Illinois. Born into a family of eleven, he spent most of his childhood watching old reruns of Three's Company and Happy Days. He has his Masters in Reading and Literacy, and is a certified Reading Specialist. He spends his free time writing, working out, and hanging with his two dogs Flair and Smoosh Face. 

Tea Parties, Witches, and Midnight Rides

By Beth Hedrick

Boston and New England
A trip to the Birthplace of America, full of attractions, historical & captivating cities, and charming villages, will fill you, and your students, with knowledge of history and culture. The students will learn where historical, political, and social revolutions took place and how they shaped our present day. Here are 7 fascinating sites to visit with your students! And who knows? Maybe you'll also catch a Red Sox Game while you're there!

The Freedom Trail
History buffs and soon-to-become history lovers will find that touring the 2.5 mile Freedom Trail brings history to life. This brick path has several historic sites that were significant to the building of our country. Museums, parks, churches, burying grounds, memorials, and more! Enlighten you and your students and help them actually envision what was happening at this significant time in the formation of America.

Plimoth Plantation, Mayflower ll
When I visited the Plimoth Plantation, it was as if I was living the settlement life. Students will experience what life was like during the formation of America by exploring the 17th-century village and interacting with the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians. History comes alive as they witness what seems like “real-time” tending to the animals, cooking, doing chores, and eating. The lively exhibits include a visit to the Mayflower ll and the Wampanoag Native American Homesite.

Walden Pond
There are a variety of educational programs for children of all ages at Walden Pond, the home of Henry David Thoreau from 1845 to 1847. He penned his book "Walden," which brought awareness to preserving nature, at this very site. Coined the Birthplace of the Conservation Movement, Walden Pond is an exquisite, serene sight that gives the students a place to relax and participate in educational tours.

Salem Witch Museum
I have always been very curious about the Salem Witch Trials. Yes, the events saddened me very much, as to how people would draw unclaimed conclusions to put innocent people to death. The Salem Witch Trials are a part of our history, and the events can teach children about individuals and their beliefs, fears, and other common characteristics of today. There are several exhibits which highlight this daunting time and bring it back to life. Understanding these issues from such a long time ago can help children and young adults apply this to our world today.

Boston Museum of Science
No awesome field trip is complete without a little science! The Boston Museum of Science delivers amazing wonderment as the children discover all aspects of this fascinating subject.  The exhibits that are featured will easily cover each realm of the sciences; life, physical, and, my personal favorite: the exhibits on the topic of psychology!

New England Aquarium
Students will increase their knowledge of oceanography and marine life when they visit the New England Aquarium. Adding science to this field trip can give the kids a refreshing look at the many species of marine life, give them an opportunity for hands-on experience (I loved petting the rays!), and show them the most colorful coral reefs they have ever seen. The shark exhibit may be one of their favorites as well!

House of the Seven Gables
It may be a good idea, if you teach middle school or high school, to read The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne beforehand. This will allow the students to process the background knowledge in order to thoroughly appreciate the most historical wooden mansion in New England. This 17th century home can also be appreciated by younger students, as well.  If they are given information on the lifestyle of this era they will surely "ooh" and "ahh" during the tour and hands-on activities at the oldest Homeplace in the northeast.

Whether you visit one, or all, of the sites on this list this deeply fulfilling, educational opportunity will make memories that you and your students will always look back on. When I visited Boston and New England and made new discoveries as an adult, I was astounded by what an educational trip can provide for students. Your kids will go back home with much more insight into our country’s first days, as well as fond memories of all the attractions they were able to experience!

Beth Hedrick has been educating students for 22 years. She teaches in a rural southwest Virginia community that values the education of every student. She is the mother of two boys, Aaron and Landon, and is married to Todd.

She is an advocate for Autism Awareness, as her son Landon has Asperger’s Syndrome. She has served on her community and school system’s autism support team. Beth enjoys spending time with family, friends, and her Basset Hound, Lenny. She also likes to read, write, blog, and travel in the summer months.