Virtual Fieldtrip Lesson Plan for Computer Stations

Overview and purpose: Students will take virtual tours to expand student understanding of
mammals, oceans, dinosaurs, historical places, different geographic places, and science while
developing information literacy and technology skills.
Objectives: The students will:

Communicate information and ideas, conduct research, and organize data

Demonstrate responsible, legal and ethical use of information and technology.
Use effective and efficient strategies to explore and use a wide range of information and
technology resources to gain knowledge, deepen understanding, make informed
decisions and solve problems for educational pursuits.
Define the given task.
Locate, evaluate, interpret, and synthesize information from print and non-print
sources.
Use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity and promote creativity.
Evaluate and reflect upon their work.

Terminal Objective: Given computer access to the virtual field trip, third grade students will
answer the questions provided in the itinerary with 80% accuracy.
Materials:

Computer or I pad with internet access

Travel Journals
Maps
Pencil/erasers
Headphones or ear buds
Virtual Field Trip list
Final reflection paper

Procedure: The teacher will direct students to virtual fieldtrip folder on desktop. The teacher
will show the students how to access the virtual field trip. The students will work independently.
They will locate on their maps where to field trip took place. On the virtual classroom paper they
will list the name of the tour and then proceed through the trip. Two weeks will be allowed for
each tour as these are done in rotating work stations. After they take the tour they will rate it on
their paper. Students write about their tour in their travel journals and mark the location of
museums, or places visited on map. They will have two weeks to complete their tour and
journals. Once completed, the students will submit their journal and maps for grading.
Evaluation: The student journals and maps will be graded by the teacher.

Subject: Science
Smithsonian Museum
Week 1 and 2
1. Mammal Halla. students will tour the hall, identify mammals and their habitats
b. using their travel journals students will write about the mammals in the hall
c. students will mark on the map what mammals can be found in that region
Week 3 and 4
2. Ocean Hall
a. Students will tour the hall, identify animals found in the oceans
b. Identify and mark different oceans on their maps
c. Use travel journal to write about what they saw and learned
Week 5 and 6
3. Dinosaur Hall
a. Students will tour the hall, identify dinosaurs
b. Locate and mark on their maps where dinosaurs have been found
c. Use travel journal to write about what they saw and learned
Week 7 and 8
4. Hall of their choice
a. Students will tour a hall they have not previously toured
b. Locate and mark on their maps where their tour took them
c. Use travel journal to write about what they saw and learned
Subject: History
Week 9 and 10
5. White House Tour
a. Students will tour the white house
b. Use their maps to locate White House
c. Use travel journal to write about their tour of White House
Week 11 and 12
6. Statue of Liberty
a. Students will tour the Statue of Liberty
b. Use their maps to locate Statue of Liberty
c. Write in their travel journals what they have learned

Week 12 and 13

7. Students Choice
a. From list of tours students will pick a historical site to tour
b. Use their maps to locate tour
c. Write in their travel journals why they chose site to tour and what they have
learned
Subject: Social Studies
Week 14 and 15
8. The Arctic
a. Students will tour the arctic
b. Use their maps to locate it in the globe
c. Write in their travel journals what they seen and learned
Week 16 and 17
9. World Wonders
a. Students will tour the wonders of the world
b. Use their maps to locate each world wonder
c. Write in their journals about what they seen and learned
Week 18 and 19
10. Reach the World
a. Students will choose a tour from the Reach the World
b. Use their maps to locate their tour
c. Use their travel journals to write why they chose the tour
d. Write in their journals what they learned
Week 20 and 21
11. Reach the World
e. Students will choose a tour from the Reach the World
f. Use their maps to locate their tour
g. Use their travel journals to write why they chose the tour
h. Write in their journals what they learned
Subject : Science
Week 22 and 23
12. NASA Space Shuttle
a. Students will tour the space shuttle
b. Locate on their maps where the shuttle can be found
c. Use their travel journal to write about they seen and learned
d. Identify jobs of an astronaut

Week 24 and 25
13. Nine Planets
a. Students will tour the planets
b. Identify each planet
c. Locate planet on space map
d. Write in their travel journals what they learned
Week 26 and 27
14. The Rain Forest
a. Students will tour the rainforest
b. Locate on their maps
c. Write in their travel journals what they seen and learned
Subject: History
Week 28 and 29
15. Gettysburg
a. Students will tour Gettysburg
b. Locate on their maps where it can be found
c. Write in their travel journals what they seen and learned
Week 30 and 31
16. Tower of London
a. Students will tour the tower of London
b. Locate on their maps where it can be found
c. Write in their travel journals what they seen and learned
Week 32 and 32
17. Students will pick a museum to tour from the list
a. Students will tour the museum
b. Write why they chose the tour
c. Locate on their maps where the museum is located
d. Write in their travel journals what they seen and learned
Weeks 33 to 36
18. Choice of topic and tours
a. Students will pick a virtual tour from the list.
b. They may chose to revisit previous tours
c. This is also a make-up time to finish any tours not finished
d. Students will reflect on their tours and write about their experiences in a final
reflection in their journals

Virtual Tour Book

Websites for virtual tours:

Science:
NASA space shuttle
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-90/vrtour/
Nine Planets
http://nineplanets.org/
The Rain Forest
http://www.digitalfrog.com/products/rainforest.html

History:
The Statue of Liberty
http://www.nps.gov/featurecontent/stli/eTour.htm
The White House
https://www.whitehouse.gov/about/inside-white-house/interactive-tour
The Tower of London
http://www.everycastle.com/Tower-of-London.html
The Great Wall of China
http://www.thechinaguide.com/index.php?action=activity/greatWallOfChina
Learning Outcome and Standards
Virtual Gettysburg
http://www.virtualgettysburg.com/
Social Studies:
The Arctic
http://www.polarhusky.com/
World Wonders
https://www.google.com/culturalinstitute/project/world-wonders
(Site offers a variety of tours to choose from)
Eternal Egypt
http://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServlet?
ee_website_action_key=action.display.home&language_id=1
Secrets of Easter Island
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/easter/
Reach the World (choose a journey)
http://www.reachtheworld.org/
Museums
Museo Galileo Museum
http://www.museogalileo.it/en/explore/virtualmuseum.html
The Smithsonian Natural Museum of History
http://www.mnh.si.edu/panoramas/#

Museum of Unnatural History

http://unmuseum.mus.pa.us/unmuseum.htm
Variety of museums
http://www.virtualfreesites.com/museums.museums.html
Tours of exhibits:
http://www.virtualfreesites.com/museums.exhibits.html
Special interest tours:
http://www.virtualfreesites.com/museums.interest.html
Indiana Standards:
Handwriting
3.W.2.1
Write legibly in print or cursive, leaving space between letters in a word, words,
in a sentence, and words and the edges of the paper.
3.W.5

up?).

Conduct short research on a topic.

Identify a specific topic or question of interest (e.g., where did Benjamin Harrison grow
Locate information in reference texts, electronic resources, or through interviews.
Recognize that some sources may be more reliable than others.
Record relevant information in their own words.
Present the information, choosing from a variety of formats.

3.W.6.1

Demonstrate command of English grammar and usage, focusing on:

3.W.6.1a

Nouns/Pronouns Writing sentences using abstract nouns (e.g., hope, thought).

3.W.6.1b
Verbs Writing sentences that use regular and irregular verbs and simple verb
tenses to convey various times, sequences, states, and conditions.
3.W.6.1c
Adjectives/ Adverbs Writing sentences that include comparative and superlative
adjectives and adverbs, choosing between them depending on what is to be modified, and
explaining their functions in the sentence.
3.W.6.1d

Standard begins at fourth grade.

3.W.6.1e
Usage Writing correctly complete simple, compound, and complex declarative,
interrogative, imperative, and exclamatory sentences, using coordinating and subordinating
conjunctions (e.g., and, for, but, or).

3.W.6.2

Demonstrate command of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, focusing on:

3.W.6.2a
Capitalization Capitalizing appropriate words in titles, historical periods,
company names, product names, and special events.
3.W.6.2b
Punctuation

Correctly using apostrophes to form contractions and singular and plural possessives.

Using quotation marks to mark direct speech.

Using commas in locations and addresses; to mark direct speech; and for coordinating
adjectives (e.g., a small, red bicycle).
3.W.6.2c
Spelling

Using conventional spelling for high-frequency and other studied words and for adding
affixes to base words.

Using spelling patterns and generalizations (e.g., word families, position-based spellings,
syllable patterns, ending rules, meaningful word parts, homophones/ homographs) when writing.
MEDIA LITERACY
Guiding Principle: Students develop critical thinking about the messages received and created by
media. Students recognize that media are a part of culture and function as agents of socialization
and develop understanding that people use individual skills, beliefs, and experiences to construct
their own meanings from media messages. Students develop media literacy skills in order to
become more informed, reflective, and engaged participants in society.
MEDIA LITERACY
By demonstrating the skills listed in Media Literacy, students should be able to meet the
Learning Outcome for Media Literacy.
Learning Outcome
3.ML.1
Recognize the role of the media in informing, persuading, entertaining, or
transmitting culture.
Media Literacy
3.ML.2.1
Distinguish among the purposes of various media messages, including for
information, entertainment, persuasion, interpretation of events, or transmission of culture.
Social Studies
The World in Spatial Terms
3.3.1 Use labels and symbols to locate and identify physical and political features on maps
and/or globes.

3.3.2 Label a map of the Midwest, identifying states, major rivers, lakes and the Great Lakes.
3.3.7 Compare the cultural characteristics of their community within communities in other parts
of the world.
Science
3.2.4 Identify fossils and describe how they provide evidence about the plants and animals that
lived long ago and the nature of the environment at that time.

Reflection on Virtual Field Trips

Name__________________________________________ Date ____________________

A. Top 5 favorite virtual field trips
1)_____________________________________________
2)_____________________________________________
3)_____________________________________________
4)_____________________________________________
5)_____________________________________________
B. What was your favorite field trip? Why?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
C. What other kind of virtual field trips would you like to take? Questions or comments?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

Draw a picture of your favorite animal,

place, or person you learned about.