Download Our field trip to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center will be part of an

Schlitz Audubon Nature
Center
Kimberly Casey
Joe Finn Jr.
Johanna French
Amanda Kuhnke
Our field trip to the Schlitz Audubon
Nature Center will be part of an
environmental unit where the
students study the lifecycle of
plants.
Driving Question
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How do plants live, grow
and die?
What evidence of this can
be found at the Schlitz
Audubon Center?
The students will find the
answer to these
questions by looking at
what the plants do to
prepare for winter and
how this is a part of their
life cycle.
Goals of the Field Trip:
Students will:
Learn what the plants are doing to
prepare for winter, how and why
their leaves change color, why
plants need to move their seeds
and what happens to all of those
leaves once they drop from the
trees.
Observe different types of
environment not easily accessible
to students living in the city.
Identify 3 different plants at two
different stages of growth.
Through observation discover how
the different parts of a plants life
cycle connect to each other.
Students will use palm pilots to
take pictures of plants in different
stages of the life cycle that they
will later print and use in the
diagrams they create of the plants
lifecycle.
Application of Terms
Students will need to learn and understand the following
terms:
 Germination – To begin to grow or develop
 Photosynthesis –The process of which plants turn
carbon dioxide into oxygen.
 Pollination – Process of making seeds that involves the
transfer of pollen from one plant to another.
 Seed dispersion – Spread of seeds though wind, water,
explosion or animals.
 Lifespan – the plant cycle of life.
 Compost – a mixture of various decaying organic
substances used as fertilizer for soil.

The fieldtrip will provide the
students with the opportunity to
physically be able to see the terms
in action and to interact with
them.

The interaction and investigation
of different plants parts will
trigger the students curiosity,
encourage them to ask further
questions, and help them to clear
up any misconception that they
may have.

It is important that the students
learn and are able to use these
terms because they will help them
gain a better understanding of the
plant cycle. It is also important
that the students understand the
different parts of the plant cycle
so that they can see how they
effect and are effected by it and
learn to appreciate and understand
it’s importance to all living life.
Data Collection/ Management
Costs and Logistics


Transportation to and from the nature center will be
by bus which will have to be rented.
The cost of this field trip for 40 students and 4 parent
volunteers will come to a total of $170 plus the
additional cost of renting the school bus.
Utilizing the Experience
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
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A fieldtrip, such as this one, to a
nature reserve is very valuable to
inner city kids because it provides
them with the opportunity to
experience an environment that
they normally do not have access
to.
Experiencing new environments
provides students with new
background knowledge which
they are able to draw on when
studying life science in the
classroom.
This fieldtrip will provide the
students with a first hand
experience of the natural
environment of many plants and
animals which in turn will trigger
their interest and motivation.
Assessment

During the fieldtrip the students will be assessed
based on:

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Their behavior during the trip.
Having taken the necessary amount of pictures and
having photographed the appropriate plants and
saved them to their palm pilot.
Whether or not they were able to incorporate their
pictures into their diagram of the plant life cycle, once
back in the classroom, using all of the key terms.
Cross Curricular Activities
Social Studies:
Study the effects of deforestation
Where are forest environments
such as this one prevalent?
English:
Write a story or a poem about the
plant cycle.
Art:
Collect leaves and seeds that
have fallen to the ground and
make a collage out of them.
Misconceptions
Students that do not have access to nature are bound
to have many misconceptions and making a fieldtrip
such as this one is one way of identifying and
correcting misconceptions.
Common misconceptions:
- Students think that plants only reproduce through seeds.
- Students think that cellular respiration only occurs at night.
-- Students do not realize that this type of environment exists so close
to the city.
-- Students do not realize that when plants die they leave a lot of
nutrients behind.
- Students think that when a tree sheds its leaves it has died.
Permission Slip
Dear Parents and/or Guardian,
Our class is planning a trip to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. This field trip is serving as the
student’s final project for our environmental science education unit. We will be taking a school bus,
and we are leaving right after lunch at 1:00pm on Tuesday December 11th, 2007.
The cost is $3.75 per student + the school bus cost. Please enclose the money along with the returned
permission slip.
We need four parent/guardian volunteers to chaperone this trip. If you would like to be a volunteer,
please note this on the bottom of this slip.
The Schlitz Audubon Nature Center is located at:
1111 E. Brown Deer Road
Milwaukee, WI 53217
(414) 352-2880
Please check the weather previous to the field trip. We will be outside for the majority of the trip, so
make sure your student dresses warmly.
I x______________________ give my child permission to attend the field trip to Schlitz Audubon
Nature Center.
______ Yes, I volunteer to chaperon. Please include your contact phone number.