The following post is written by Ms. Nashwa Mekky, 5th-grade
teacher at Ivy Hill Elementary School in Arlington Heights, Illinois.
She shares her field
trip planning and the museum visit experience for her students
at the Oriental Institute in January 2014.
“Where is in the world can we find Mesopotamia?” I ask my fifth
graders, only to receive blank stares back. I have a little more luck
with, “How about
Egypt? What continent can we find Egypt on?” Half the hands shoot
up; all ready to answer. There would have to be ample pre-field trip
learning before we
embark on our class trip to the Oriental Institute. With proper
planning, this field trip would be a valuable experience that my
students would always
carry with them in their schema of learning. But where to start… The OI website of course!
The last thing I wanted was to have my students walk through the
museum like drones, looking at artifacts as if they were broken pieces
of stone. Because I
teach in a progressive school district that values 21st-century
skills, like global awareness, technology, discovery, and integration of
learning, I knew I
would find all the resources and support I needed to make this
learning experience an authentic one. After all, my school is WIRED,
literally.
