virtual field trips Archives

5 Beach Themed Resources for Your Beachy Classroom

July 7, 2023 teachersbrain Teacher's Pay Teachers

Ahoy there!

As the waves of a new school year approach, it’s time to dive into a world of creativity and adventure in our elementary classrooms.

Today, I want to dive into the delightful wonders of bringing beach themed resources into the classroom. So grab your sunscreen and join me on this journey that will have your students riding the waves of excitement while learning important skills along the way!

How do you have a beach day in the classroom?

As teachers, we know how important it is to create a captivating and engaging atmosphere in our classrooms. By incorporating beach-themed resources, we can transform our learning spaces into sunny, sandy shores where imaginations soar and students thrive.

From shells to surfboards, the beach offers a treasure trove of possibilities that will captivate and inspire our little learners.

One of the greatest advantages of using beach-themed resources is the versatility they bring to our teaching. Whether you’re teaching math, language arts, science, or social studies, there’s a seashell, starfish, or sandcastle waiting to enhance your lesson plans!

These resources can be easily integrated into various subjects, helping us create interdisciplinary connections that deepen our students’ understanding of the world around them.

Here are the top five beach resources to use in your classroom this year!

Beach Themed Classroom Decor

Bring the relaxing calm feel of Hawaii to your classroom! This is a Hawaiian Beach Themed Classroom Decor Editable BUNDLE with pineapples and palm trees! It has 6 Resources bundled using Hawaii photographs and watercolor clip art and bundled for a LOW price.

Beach Themed Visual Schedule

Need a way to help your class transition to the next task and display your schedule for all to see easily? I have you covered with this editable BEACH THEMED PowerPoint schedule! Use these cards on a pocket chart, wall, or magnetic board to easily edit and move your schedule around. Allow students to take a card to the next task, if they have trouble transitioning.

Beach Party Turtle Mystery Escape Room

Are you ready to be the most memorable teacher of a child’s life? Use these step-by-step instructions to guarantee student engagement while they practice addition, writing, and reading skills to solve a classroom mystery and SAVE the stolen sea turtle eggs.

With a little prep, your students will work as a team to break into a box, which breaks them out of the classroom as they beat the clock! This Escape Room involves a missing turtle egg mystery that leads your students to a beach day!

Virtual Beach Field Trip

Be every student’s favorite teacher by taking them to the beach from your classroom! Virtual Field trips are a great way engage students in learning. Use these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts, learn about beach safety, ocean life, what to bring to the beach and so much more!

Beach Themed Day Resources

Are you looking for great Beach theme celebration ideas for your classroom? Students love to learn about the beach so why not incorporate a beach theme into your classroom that integrates math, science, and language arts! Be that teacher they remember!

For more beach themed classroom fun, check out my post here!

What are your favorite beach themed resources? Let me know in the comments!

Are Virtual Field Trips Better Than Real Field Trips?

June 17, 2022 teachersbrain Distance Learning, Teacher's Pay Teachers, Teaching Tips

When it comes to field trips, many teachers find that they have a love-hate relationship with them. Are they fun? Of course! Do students love them? You betcha. Are they exhausting? Absolutely! Can they be stressful? Unfortunately, yes.

We’ve all been there. We spend weeks preparing for a field trip. Plan the activity. Get it approved. Send out notices to parents and get permission forms signed. Collect any money necessary. Arrange transportation. Get parent volunteers. And that’s all before the field trip even starts!

are virtual field trips better than real field trips?

During the pandemic, we were all forced to embrace digital-well- everything. We found ourselves figuring out online learning, Google Classroom, Boom Cards, distance learning activities, Zoom meetings, etc. It was a learning curve for sure, but it has changed so much about how we are able to teach, and that includes field trips!

When it comes to field trips, many of us started doing virtual field trips for the first time and realized how much we loved them!

So that begs the question: Are virtual field trips better than real field trips?

They both have their pros and cons. In-person field trips are more immersive, but virtual field trips are great because they bring just as much fun and learning with way less stress, planning, and organizing on your part.

How do you do a virtual field trip?

Virtual field trips are so easy to do! You can find free virtual field trip tours on museum websites or you can go for a more interactive resource that includes the “tour” along with educational activities. For more on virtual field trips, check out my post on 5 Reasons To Take a Virtual Field Trip!

What are some good virtual field trips?

One of my favorite virtual field trips is my Virtual Zoo Trip!

Use these interactive, editable Google Slides to easily have students copy and paste movable parts, learn about Zoo animals, facts, what to bring on a trip, and so much more!

What is in this download?

28 Google Slides with titles, edit text boxes, directions, movable parts great for virtual or in-person teaching.

KWL Chart
Packing A Suitcase for the Trip
1 Minute Take OFF Flight Video
10-minute ZOO Field Trip Video (Car Ride to the Zoo, Animal Facts)
Sequencing Events, 3 Writing Prompts, Counting Objects (under 10), Labeling Parts, ZOO Counting Song, and Comprehension Questions
One extra slide for you to add anything you would like to the lesson. (videos or an assignment)
Home Connection Optional Assignment for students to build an animal habitat
Black and white ink-saving Writing Pages and Home Connection Page for in-person teaching

Your students will love this hands-on virtual field trip! Looking for more virtual fun? Check out my other virtual field trip resources here.

What’s your favorite thing about virtual field trips? Let me know in the comments!

Pumpkin Patch Virtual Field Trip for Kids

October 6, 2021 teachersbrain Fall & Halloween

You can be every student’s favorite teacher by taking them to a pumpkin patch! Virtual Field trips are a great way engage students in learning. These interactive, editable Google Slides make it easy to have students use movable pieces, tour a pumpkin patch, learn about pumpkin parts and the pumpkin life cycle!

This makes for a great book companion with any pumpkin-themed book. Pumpkin lessons can be used in October or November since it’s pumpkin-themed. This is GREAT for virtual or in-person teaching.

What is in this download?

There are 32 Google Slides with editable text boxes, directions, movable parts, videos, and so much more!

KWL Chart
Packing A Suitcase for the Trip
1 Minute Take OFF Flight Video
14-minute Pumpkin Patch Field Trip Video (Review pumpkin parts, the pumpkin life cycle, and take a Hayride Adventure)
Sequencing Events, 4 Writing Prompts (digits, print primary lined, print intermediate lined options), Counting Objects (Up to 10), Labeling Parts, Calendar Song, and Comprehension Questions, Home Connection Project
One extra slide for you to add anything you would like to the lesson. (videos or an assignment)
Home Connection Optional Assignment for students to design a pumpkin face.
Black and white ink-saving Writing Pages and Home Connection Page for in-person teaching.

Slide backgrounds CAN NOT be edited, just the text boxes and movable parts can be edited.

You can delete slides you don’t want to send to students, add your own directions or images to the sides of the slides to personalize.

Here are some ideas of what you can do with this virtual field trip:

Have a local store or parents donate small pumpkins for you to give the students after the virtual trip to decorate.
Write about how to sell pumpkins.
Cut a real pumpkin and have students label the parts on a chart.
After learning about the life cycle, have students explain it to someone in a letter.
Make some items like pumpkin pie or seeds for students to try.

GRADES Kindergarten (non-readers need help reading or you will have to do it whole group) – 2nd GRADE

YOU DO NOT need Google Classroom to use Google Slides. It will force a copy of it on your Google Drive. Students do not need to have Google Classroom to participate. They will need a Google account, which does not have to be a Gmail account, but just an account with Google that gives them access to Google Drive.

Easily share through Google Classroom to collect information or share from your computer to Zoom or Meets. Students move images, add text, and moving parts to get plenty of writing and computer practice!

Your kids will love the field trip and beg for another!

How Are Virtual Field Trips Helpful in Education

August 2, 2021 teachersbrain Back to School, Teaching Tips

The world is at your fingertips thanks to technology! I find that resources like virtual field trips are terrific for providing experiences for students in your classroom who might not have opportunities to visit places across the globe.

There is nothing quite as exciting as a field trip for students. There is also nothing quite as exhausting for teachers as a field trip. Virtual field trips can provide excitement to learning about locations, animals, culture, or imagination while connecting across your subject areas. You also don’t need a permission slip signed and returned!

How are virtual field trips helpful in elementary education?

Teachers say that in-person trips and virtual visits provide real-world text connections.
Technology allows students to travel around the world.
Students gain cultural understanding when they are exposed to other countries.
Virtual field trips allow learners to engage and explore new places.
Teachers are not exhausted by planning and attending an in-person field trip.
There are no worries about forgetting lunches or finding volunteers to chaperone.
Students can learn about animal habitats or dangerous places like a volcano!
They are FREE!

It is hard to replace visiting real places to help enhance learning experiences, but during the pandemic, I found virtual field trips beneficial.

You don’t have to buy anything to make a virtual trip. There are lots of places like the San Diego Zoo online that have fantastic links to see animals in real-time. I like to have students dress up as part of the trip theme, include writing, centers, math, or science activities to complete the field trip.

If you don’t want to plan a virtual field trip, for just a few bucks on TpT, you can find them already made and ready to take your class on some exciting adventures!

Here are a few popular field trips for K-2 Classrooms:

Beach Themed – Learn about beach safety and what it would be like to go to the beach.
Earth Day – Take your class to the recycling center safely!
Camping Themed Trip – See a bear and other animals while learning about camping.
Zoo Trip – Be their favorite teacher by taking students to the zoo! They can find hidden animals, write about the trip, take a plane ride, and more!
Wizard School – This is a GREAT way to teach your class about fiction and non-fiction stories. Students will visit a school for wizards, use their imaginations to write their own stories, learn about the life cycle of a frog and enjoy a home project with parents!

I hope you have fun learning with your students this year in the comfort of your own classroom!

Read all about How to Set Up Your Virtual Classroom