UC Santa Cruz

Life Lab Garden

3rd Grade Field
Trip Proposal
Ms. Casey Kuhlow
Education 274
Summer 2016
(Mock School Site: Westlake
Elementary, Santa Cruz, CA)

Purpose of the Field Trip

To learn more about garden pollinators, diversity of pollinators,
and their place in the ecosystem!
To explore the advantages and reasons for adaptation in
nature
To expand the students inquiry about exploring the natural
world and get hands-on experience with nature
Birds, bees and other creatures are essential visitors to the
garden. Come explore the relationships between plants and
pollinators and learn how plants and animals have evolved to
meet each others' needs. Life Lab

Scientific Standards

(as listed by the Life Labs website as the

Curriculum Field Trip Standards, pp. 1-2)

Life Sciences:
3. Adaptations in physical structure or behavior may improve an organisms chance for survival. As a basis for
understanding this concept:
a. Students know plants and animals have structures that serve different functions in growth,
survival, and reproduction.
b. Students know examples of diverse life forms in different environments, such as oceans, deserts, tundra, forests,
grasslands, and wetlands.
c. Students know living things cause changes in the environment in which they live: some of these changes are
detrimental to the organism or other organisms, and some are beneficial.
d. Students know when the environment changes, some plants and animals survive and reproduce; others die or
move to new locations.

e. Students know that some kinds of organisms that once lived on Earth have completely disappeared and that some
of those resembled others that are alive today.

Investigation and Experimentation:

5. Scientific progress is made by asking meaningful questions and conducting careful investigations. As a basis for
understanding this concept and addressing the content in the other three strands, students should develop their own
questions and perform investigations. Students will:
a. Repeat observations to improve accuracy and know that the results of similar scientific
investigations seldom turn out exactly the same because of differences in the things being
investigated, methods being used, or uncertainty in the observation.
b. Differentiate evidence from opinion and know that scientists do not rely on claims or
conclusions unless they are backed by observations that can be confirmed.
c. Use numerical data in describing and comparing objects, events, and measurements.
d. Predict the outcome of a simple investigation and compare the result with the prediction.
e. Collect data in an investigation and analyze those data to develop a logical conclusion.

Sourced from Life Labs field trip curriculum unit for the teacher: http://www.lifelab.org/wp-content/uploads 2010/02/3rdGardenPollinators2016.pdf

Location, Date, Time

Location
UC Santa Cruz
Life Lab Garden
Life Lab
1156 High Street, Santa
Cruz, CA, 95064
phone: 831-459-2001
fax: 831-459-3483
lifelab@lifelab.org

Date

April 18, 2017

Time
10:00 am start
(Leave Westlake
Elementary at 9:00
am to walk over
and have snack)

Life Lab Outdoor Classroom

Life Lab Field Trip Agenda

Here is a general
timeline of the
field trip, how the
instructors split up
the groups, and
how long each
activity will take

Link to the 3rd

Grade field trip
unit provided
for teachers:
http://
www.lifelab.org/
wp-content/
uploads/
2010/02/3rdGard
enPollinators2016.
pdf

Costs
$4

per car for parking (parking pass fee): As we

are going to be walking, this will be unneeded (if a

student is unable to walk, arrangements will be made
for a parent to drop off the student at the field trip site
at 10am)

$125

per class (class of 20-30 max): required!

Transportation
Westlake Elementary is located just 0.3 miles from this wonderful field trip
site. Walking will save transportation costs, as well as provide additional
outdoor exercise for the students!

Transportation: A Closer Map

If parking was needed,
here is a general map
provided for those who
may need to drive in
special circumstances.
In addition, this map
offers a closer view of
where the field trip
location site is and how
to get to it from the
UC Santa Cruz campus
roads.

What if a student can not walk?

If

a student is unable to walk to the field trip site,

their guardian (or another volunteer) will drop the
student off at the Life Lab Garden at 9:40 am,
where we will be having snack before the
program begins at 10:00am.

Needed Forms
A field trip permission form will be needed
from every student who wishes to attend!
this is an example of a permission form

Additionally, a substitute teacher may

be needed if any students are not
allowed to go on the field trip, or arrive
very late to class. A form may be required to
give the substitute info on these students

Food

All food must be brought with the students via lunchbox and in
low-waste containers!

9:40 am: Snack time time will be allotted before the lesson
begins at 10am to ensure students are fed

11:40am: Lunch time Students must bring a lunch, and are

challenged to bring low-waste lunches in reusable containers.
Due to a lack of garbage facilities, garbage must be packedout and brought back to the school with the students. Lunch
will last 20 minutes total.

NOTE: Some activities may involve the tasting of seeds,

including peanuts/walnuts. Please be sure to share any treenut allergy information with the coordinators!

Make-up Work for Absent Students

If students are absent the day of the

field trip, or come late to class and
must work with a substitute, the
following is required of them.
Watch a pollination video from a site
such as WatchKnowLearn (the
teacher will choose the best one)
Draw a picture of your two favorite
pollinators from the video
If in class, the substitute will read a
book such as Be & Me and ask
formative questions such as what
do you think will happen next? to
check for understanding and help
students develop listening skills.

Supervision

Life Lab does not state a requirement for supervision, but

rather suggests that the less chaperones the better to ensure
students have a true kid experience.
However, chaperones will still be present:

Students will be split into three groups.

Ideally, there will be 2 chaperones per group, with a total of
6 chaperones in addition to the teacher for a class of 30
students.

No qualifications are required of the chaperones, but it would

be beneficially to have an equal number of men and women
chaperones (or at least some men present for male students).

Supplies needed?

Nametags: Nametags are extremely helpful to group leaders.

Be sure to divide students into three separate groups prior to
the field trip, and to give the nametags different colors (red,
blue, purple) per group for the instructors.

Lunch-bins to hold bagged lunches.

Emergency Backpack/First Aide Kit: with first aide supplies and

medications if needed.

Closed-toe shoes and appropriate clothing: Closed-toe shoes

are recommended, as the activities are outdoors and a handson experience in which students may get dirty.

Rules
The Primary Classroom Rooms will be
followed in this outdoor setting with modifications:
Caring Heart- I will use kind words and be nice
Raised hands- I will raise my hand to ask questions
Listening bodies- I will always follow directions
Quiet Mouths- I will use a soft voice and not talk while the
teacher (life lab instructor) is talking
Be Prepared- bring all materials and homework to class (in this
case, closed-toed shoes and appropriate clothing that you
are willing to get dirty)
I will always do my personal best!
Follow all procedures for my classroom (as well as new rules
that Life Lab may give you) and the school district (no
punching, swearing, fighting, etc).

Emergency Procedures
In the case of an emergency, such as
a severe thunderstorm, earthquake, or
fire, the students will be prepared to do the following:

a) Students will line up in a single-file line behind the closest

instructor/adult
b) The instructors/adult will complete a headcount
c) Students will immediately follow the instructor/adult to the
designated safe area, whether it be a clearing, indoors, or
back to the school.
*Parents/Chaperones will be briefed on this procedure before
the field trip begins.

Potential Problems on Site

As stated on the life lab website, weather is the main concern.

Field trips run rain or shine in the winter.

As we are going in spring (April 2017), light/moderate rain will

not result in a cancellation. Students should wear rain boots
and ponchos if it is drizzling.

If it is storming, it will result in a cancellation with a free rescheduled trip to the life lab.

Restrooms
There is one
restroom
located right
near the office,
which is clearly
marked.
Students will be
shown the
restroom
location before
their activities
begin and will
be told to ask
permission
before using it
and leaving the
lesson.

Medication for Students

No students in the class currently take a daily medication

An emergency first aid kit will be brought by the teacher, as well

as an EpiPen for students with severe allergies.

If a student needs to bring medication with them, such as

antibiotics, a note must be obtained from home and the
teacher will hold it until it needs to be administered.

Follow-up Activities

Students will be doing several

activities after the field trip over
the next week:
Drawing pictures of their
favorite pollinator from the site
Doing a informational text
jigsaw in groups of four. This
informational text will cover
adaptations in the garden
ecosystem more deeply.
Writing a persuasive paragraph
on why their favorite pollinator
is necessary for the ecosystem
they visited, including
evidence from the field trip
and jigsaw informational texts.

Reflection
Fields trips are an incredible way to
get students involved in a hands-on
way. Especially at Life Lab, located
at the farm on University of
California, Santa Cruzs campus,
students engaged through the use
of the natural world as a catalyst
for learning. This connection with
nature not only encourages inquiry
in students as they learn about the
lesson material, but also creates a
deep care aspect.
This desire to connect with the
natural world and the care
aspect that is developed when
working directly with nature acts as
a foundation for students to
develop ambition required to solve
complex, real-world issues in
preserving, caring for, and
protecting nature.

More Information on Life Lab

Photo Resources

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/content/dam/kids/photos/animals/Bugs/H-P/monarchbutterfly-orange-flower.jpg
https://www.fws.gov/pollinators/images/poster2011-small.jpg
http://www.lifelab.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/LifeLabGardenClassroomMap2014.jpg
https://lindapepstein.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/diversity-clipart-diversity2.gif
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Category.aspx?CategoryID=3397
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/C1YCorV9afg/maxresdefault.jpg
https://t3group4assign3.wikispaces.com/file/view/children-writing.jpg/227336512/childrenwriting.jpg
http://p8cdn4static.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_542207/Image/News/Whats
%20New/supplies.jpg
http://www.pacificesd.org/uploads/4/5/6/8/45684839/3411860_orig.jpg
http://www.mathemagica.in/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/artforkids-background1.jpg
http://premierkredit.az/template/images/news_13_03_2013.png
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/yuMMUIwMMxA/maxresdefault.jpg

All Information about Life Lab was found at their website: http://www.lifelab.org
The 3rd Grade Pollinators Unit for Teachers:
http://www.lifelab.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/3rdGardenPollinators2016.pdf