In chapter thirteen of Meet Me in the Middle, Rick Wormeli talks about how to successfully bring students on an overnight camping trip. As a student, I never was taken on such a field trip, field trips were limited to museums, hikes on local trails, and one day trip to Salem, Massachusetts to wrap up our unit about the witch trials. Although, I did go on overnight camping trips with my girl scout troop, and learned a lot about myself and the wilderness by doing so. I think there’s a lot of value in going on trips like this and it allows students to not only learn about their subjects in an environment outside of the classroom, but also teaches them other skills that they will bring with them even after they’ve left middle school.
Something that I found most interesting was how Wormeli makes arguments and gives examples for how every subject can be represented on a camping trip. Most of the time when you think about being in the wilderness, science is the first subject that comes to mind. But Wormeli gives examples like, writing about what they see around them, studying the trees and their circumferences, or doing a civil war reenactment to bring all the subjects out on a trip like this. Not only would students be learning about things relevant to their core subjects, but they’d be doing it in an unforgettable environment on an exciting camping trip.
Doing something like an overnight trip or even a complete day trip outdoors is something that I never thought I would be able to incorporate into my class, but Wormeli gives solid examples on how a camping trip can teach everything from math and social studies to leadership and trust.
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