Cart 0
Mission and Vision Our History The People and Puppets of BBMT Puppets on Screen Library & Archives
Something to Crow About Sensory-Friendly Shows Show Calendar
At Our Theater Around Town
Traveling Company Theater Rental and Filming Birthday Parties Field Trips Fabrication
Anything Can Be a Puppet Show Curricula & Activities Seeking Out the LA Shake Podcast
Shop All GIFT GUIDE Apparel Collaborations Stickers & Prints Accesories For Kids Books
Planning Your Visit Parking & Directions FAQs
Ways to Support Donate Membership Name A Chair & Spoon! Volunteer
Cart 0
Pulling the strings of family fun since 1963!

Making the Most of your Field Trip

Need to tie your visit into your curriculum? No problem! From sample lesson plans, to CA Content Standards, Pre- and Post- Show classroom activities, and more, BBMT has you covered!

 Preparing Students Before the Trip

When students know what to expect, they will become more aware and observant when on the Field Trip. Live Theater offers an experience that will awaken emotions as well as senses!

  • Discuss the purpose of the field trip and how it relates to the current unit of study.

  • Introduce visual observation skills. Let students describe in detail ordinary objects, like a paper clip, paintbrush, clothespin, or comb to their classmates.

  • Introduce vocabulary words that relate to live theater, music, etc.

  • Show photographs or posters of the field trip site or related to performances that will be viewed.

  • Assign students "specialists" roles in one aspect of the topic that they will be studying during the field trip. Students could be grouped in different subject areas related to the field trip topic to research (e.g., music, choreography, costuming, story telling, etc).

  • Explore the Website of the location you will be visiting.

  • As a class, brainstorm a set of standards of conduct for the trip and discuss suggested behaviors, etiquette, appropriate clothing to wear for the trip, and more.

  • Discuss with students how to ask good questions and brainstorm a list of open-ended observation questions to gather information during the visit. Record questions on chart paper or in student field trip journals.

  • Overview the field trip schedule.

Post-Field Trip Activites

Just as quality pre-planning is essential to the success of a field trip, planning for appropriate follow-up activities will facilitate student learning and multiply the value of hands-on experiences outside the classroom. The following activities provide a general guide when planning for post-field trip classroom experiences.

  • Provide time for students to share general observations and reactions to field trip experiences

  • Share specific assignments students completed while on the field trip.

  • Create a classroom bulletin board displaying materials developed or collected while on the field trip.

  • Develop a classroom theater that replicates and extends what students observed on the field trip.

  • Link field trip activities to multiple curricular areas. For example, students can develop vocabulary lists based on field trip observations; record field trip observations in a classroom journal; complete math problems related to actual field trip budget planning; etc.

  • Share and evaluate student assignments/activities.

  • Have the class compose and send thank-you letters to the field trip site host, chaperones, school administrators and other persons that supported the field trip. Include favorite objects or special information learned during the field trip.

  • Create a short news report about what happened on the field trip. Share the trip via a school bulletin board, trip presentation for parent's night, or class Web page.

 CA CONTENT STANDARDS

Reference these documents to tie your field trip into your lesson plans! We’ve compiled the CA Content Standards for Pre-K through 3rd Grade that we think best connect to a Bob Baker performance. Want to bring a grade level not reflected here? Please do! There are so many ways for a puppet show to inspire creative thinking for all ages.