We hope you can take a class trip to an apple orchard. The following tips will help your tour go smoothly and will stretch the value of the time you spend "in the field". The grower tips come from farmers experienced in hosting tours, and the teacher tips are provided by a second grade teacher who has taken her class to the orchards many times. We encourage you to go to the orchard on you own before you bring the whole class. Introduce yourself, pick up relevant information, and try to watch another class having the tour if possible.
| Grower Tips | Field Trip Focus Papers: Pre-visit Post-visit |
What do you need to do before
going?
Call the orchard to make a reservation and ask
if there is a fee. Request teaching materials they may have to aid in preparation.
Begin your apple unit one week ahead, and plan to continue at least one week
after the visit. Prepare your class for inclement weather and field conditions.
Orchards are usually located on hillsides and have cool breezes and wet morning
grasses. Don't forget bee kits if you have students who are allergic. Plan on
about an hour for the complete tour. Inquire about places to eat lunch or snacks.
What do you do when you arrive?
Find the orchard tour guide and let them know
how you have prepared the students. The tour may include some of the following:
1) A walk or ride in the orchard. 2) An explanation of the growing process.
3) Viewing (if possible) of the harvest, handling, and storage techniques. 4)
A chance to pick your own apple (supervised). 5) Explanation or viewing of cider
making. 6) A visit to the orchard store and discussion of market.
Please remember:
An apple orchard is a busy place! While your
orchard hosts have made a commitment to teaching children about apples, this
is not their primary job. Please be active in the control of your class and
careful of equipment and workers who are rushing to get the crop harvested and
stored. To assure your safety and quality of experience, your orchard hosts
have planed a route and presentation within this busy context. There may be
other schools or classes nearby who are in a different part of the their tour.
Please help your students to experience the beauty of the orchard and to recognize
that it is not a playground.
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Pre-visit Preparation Ideas
1. Discuss and make charts related to these questions:
What do we already know about apples and apple
orchards?
What do we predict we'll see at the orchard?
What do we wonder about orchards?
2. Brainstorm a list of questions that might be asked at the orchard. In order
to help the children think of the questions, give them categories and record
their ideas under the separate headings. Example:
Post-visit Follow Ideas:
1. Make individual or class books.
2. Make a "Jeopardy" type game with the information everyone has gathered.
3. Make up a quiz to give parents, or another class, or the chaperons.
4. Have an apple tasting parents night.
5. Make a mural of the orchard based on sketches.
6. Write letters or make phone calls to learn answers to further questions.
7. Plan an "off season" visit to the orchard to see what is different.
8. Make a model of the packing house out of blocks or Legos.
9. Make a maze using a tractor going through the orchard, or an apple finding
its way from orchard to lunch box.
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