Field Trips
On weekday mornings, we welcome classes from local schools for lively writing-based field trips hosted at our site. Teachers may choose from a wide range of programs, such as our Storytelling and Bookmaking field trip where students learn the tricks of the trade of writing and then apply them to creating a new story that is bound and submitted to a publisher for approval. Or, teachers may request a customized session based on subjects their classes are working on.
Field Trips for the 2012-2013 are all scheduled.
Due to a once again overwhelming demand for our Field Trips program, all field trips have been scheduled for the 2012-2013 school year. If you have questions about a scheduled field trip, please email fieldtrips@826chi.org.
About 826CHI Field Trips
We invite classrooms of students in Grades 2 through 12 to join us for writing-based field trips of all kinds. Field trips typically run throughout the academic year on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, from 10 a.m. until noon, and are available for one class of students at a time. All field trips and use of our space is free and available to teachers in the Chicago Public Schools. Due to the popularity of field trips, schools are limited to 4 classrooms per year.
A sampling of the trips we offer
Storytelling and Bookmaking
This is our most popular Field Trip. Students are charged with the task of writing a story as a group and are aided by our enthusiastic 826CHI volunteers. While the students decide on characters and plot points, an 826CHI volunteer types the story, which is then projected onto a large screen. Students track the story as it is created and make corrections as needed, all the while watching as an artist illustrates their tale. After our team of volunteers prints and collates the book, adding each student’s photo to the back of the book’s “About the Author” page, each student is given his or her own copy . Students are then invited to finish the story – which the group has left at a cliffhanger ending – in their own individual ways and to create cover illustrations. This field trip teaches students about collaboration, self-editing, the bookmaking process, and elements of successful storytelling. And it's really a good time for all.
Recommended for Grades 2-4.
Small Group Storytelling and Bookmaking
After a short discussion about what makes a great and original story, as well as a brief lesson about how to work as a team, students are divided into small groups and given the task of writing and illustrating a children's book. Each group is paired with a volunteer who guides them through their story and types the adventures as the students contribute ideas. Books are copied, collated, and bound so that each student can decorate his or her own cover and have a book to bring home and share. At the end of this field trip, time permitting, each group reads their book to the class audience. Great for team-building and creative collaboration.
Recommended for Grades 5-8.
Images and Imagination
Students are guided through an adventure of writing stories by using images from magazines as their only guide. The stories take on a multitude of directions depending on which pictures are chosen and how they are ordered. Within small groups, volunteers help the students develop clever stories based on random images. Following the trip, volunteers type the stories and the class is mailed a book with their class photo on the back. Perfect for students who think they have nothing to write about.
Recommended for Grades 5 and up.
Recipes and Reflections
Everyone loves food, but what does it really mean? During this field trip, students bring a family recipe and discover how food holds more meaning that just the ingredients in the recipe. Students work with volunteers to write reflections, incorporating memories of the recipe and its place in their lives. At the end, volunteers type the stories and the class is mailed a class book with their class photo on the back.
Recommended for Grades 5 and up.
My Boring Life: Memoir Writing
Memoirs are a great way to for people to express themselves, and let people know about their experiences, thoughts, and opinions in a short, detailed burst. Some students will be the first people to tell you how fascinating they are — and it’s true! Sometimes, though, it’s all too easy for students to think they don’t have “anything interesting to say about myself”. This activity is designed to help students discover and express some of their own life-changing moments, and has also been used to kick-start essays for college applications. Often small and unexpected experiences can be the best memoir material.
Recommended for Grades 8 and up.
Specialized Field Trips
We are more than happy to accommodate requests from teachers who are working on particular projects with their students. In the past, we have worked on specialized writing projects with students involving their own memoirs; we have helped students revise essays previously written in class; and we have supplied volunteers who shared their experiences in the world of writing and publishing with students. The options are endless! Just let us know your ideas and how we can help.
Recommended for Grades 5 and up.
