Writing a Field Trip Proposal in Six Steps

Samuel Hamilton reports:

"Field trips provide an excellent opportunity for students to learn about a specific topic, business or procedure firsthand by directly visiting the source. Though many field trips are often initiated by school administrators, often educators and even students are able to propose a field trip plan to be evaluated by schools for their potential feasibility and educational benefits. Writing a field trip proposal requires you to identify the school administrators' crucial concerns when planning a field trip: educational benefit, safety and cost...Start your proposal with a detailed and thoroughly researched background of the educational topic on which your field trip will focus. Include statements connecting your educational topic to state or school educational standards, as well as statements explaining why hands-on, first-person experience is the best way to learn about the topic...Outline your proposed field trip's educational objectives. Align your objectives with the state or school educational standards used to construct unit and lesson plans for the discipline in which your proposed field trip best fits...Describe the field trip details. Include the names of any organizations or individuals with which students might be interacting, as well as the names of businesses or organizations the group might patronize, either in line with the focus of the trip or because they'll be away from the school...Describe the field trip's schedule. Include the departure and arrival times for each destination, as well as the times certain activities (meetings with individuals, lunch and breaks) might take place...List resources required to take your proposed field trip. In addition to monies to be used to pay organizations you may visit, include a list of personnel that will chaperon or otherwise work with the trip, as well as transportation requirements such a[s] buses or vans. Also indicate the resources students participating in the field trip will be required to provide...Recap the positive features of your proposed field trip. Reiterate the objectives and emphasize the simplicity of the trip compared to the overall educational benefits for the participants involved."