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THE
CAREER EXPLORATION FIELD TRIP
Lunenburg School District
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PRACTICE
The Career Exploration Field Trip program in the Lunenburg School District gave
students an opportunity to investigate their career options during visits to eleven
different locations. The district also purchased twelve video field trips for math/science
career investigations in the 7th and 8th grades.
Each field trip was incorporated into the current curriculum endeavor. The purpose
was to expand student awareness of
- the full range
of workplace opportunities,
- the ex-pectations
for opportunities in that field in the future,
- the responsibilities
of the jobs, and
- the paths
that exist for getting to these positions.
These opportunities
provide a foundation for students to learn what work exists so that they can make
better choices in their personal and career preparation as the years go by.
DESCRIPTIONS
OF CAREER EXPLORATION FIELD TRIPS
Pre K -
Farming, Colby Farm, Lunenburg, VT
The preschool class traveled to a local farm to visit a barn, orchard, and garden.
Students were given an opportunity to collect eggs in the barn and view the fruits
in the orchards and vegetables in the garden. The students picked butternuts, green
and sticky from the trees. Student discussed what it would be like to be a farmer
in Vermont.
First Grade - Montshire Museum, Norwich, VT
The first grade students traveled to the Montshire Museum in Norwich, Vermont.
The students were able to use the many varied activities at this hands-on museum.
The students were able to touch a snake, operate computers, and view different aspects
of na-ture. The students were told about the different positions within the museum.
Students learned that many of the workers had a science background. They also learned
that many of the workers had college degrees.
First and Second Grade - Cabot Creamery, Cabot, VT/Eaton Farm, Lunenburg, VT
The first and second grade classes visited the Cabot Creamery and the Eaton farm
while studying a unit on agriculture. The students were taken on tours of both of
the fa-cilities. Students discussed the different career opportunities presented
in the facilities. At the Cabot Creamery, the students were told that all employees
needed to have at least a high school diploma. The employees that did the testing
for the creamery had college de-grees.
Third Grade - Post Office, Lunenburg, Vermont and Simpson Paper Mill, Gilman,
VT
The third grade class at the Lunenburg school was studying the town of Lunen-burg.
As part of the unit of study, the class learned about different types ofjobs that
their parents and other people had. Students interviewed people to gather information,
then wrote a short paper on their findings.
The class visited the Lunenburg Post Office. Prior to the field trip, the class de-veloped
a list of questions pertaining to employment that the students could ask the post-master.
This trip was very informative, and the class showed much interest in the many different
types of jobs needed to be done in order for the post office to run efficiently.
The class also visited the Simpson Paper Mill in Oilman, Vermont. Prior to this visit
the class again prepared a list of questions to ask. The tour of this mill was ex-tremely
educational. Students learned of the many different types of jobs that were at the
mill and the level of education that was needed. They learned about safety issues
within a mill environment. They also learned that the more education they had, the
better their chances were to a well paying job.
Fourth and Sixth Grade Classes - Rock of Ages Granite Quarry, Barre, VT
The fourth and sixth grade classes visited the Rock of Ages Granite Quarry in
Barre, Vermont. The sixth graders had been studying geology at the time. In particular,
they were looking at what every day materials were made of and where we get those
ma-terials. The students had also been studying different types of rock, how they
were formed, and where they exist in the state of Vermont. The fourth grade students
were studying types of rocks, minerals, mining, and technology. They were also looking
at Vermont geographical features and natural resources.
During the tour of the quarry the students saw how huge blocks of granite were blasted
out of walls of the quarry and then loaded onto trucks to be taken to a cutting building.
The students went into the manufacturing plant where the granite was made into memorials,
engraved signs, pillars, etc. The tour ended with a visit to the gift shop where
the students were given an opportunity to speak with the manager of the quarry. The
manager went over the different jobs at Rock of Ages and the education needed to
work in those fields.
Fifth Grade - Caledonian Record, St. Johnsbury Vermont and Shelburne Museum, Shelburne,
VT
The fifth grade class participated in the "Newspaper In Education"
program. Weekly activities were done in the classroom with donated copies of a local
newspaper. As a culmination of this year long exposure, two off-campus field trips
and an in-school activity were offered.
The class traveled to the Shelburne Museum to learn- how a paper was prepared and
published in the late 1 800s. The focus was largely on the role of an apprentice
at that time, but knowledge of the actual printing process was gained. The following
week the class toured the Caledonian-Record where they were able to watch
the process and con-trast the process, see the advancements, and learn of the various
employment opportuni-ties. The final activity was to have a representative of the
paper come to the school and guide the students through the process of composing
a front -page using authentic materi-als. All of these trips focused on the different
career opportunities in the printing and newspaper industry. Students were able to
see the changes that took place in those posi-tions over the last hundred years.
Sixth Grade - Ben and Jerry's, Waterbury, VT
The sixth grade class traveled to Ben and Jerry's ice cream plant located in
Waterbury, Vermont. The students took part in a Cow to Cone study unit which was
de-veloped by Ben and Jerry's. The students were given a guided tour of the ice cream
plant. The tour focused on the jobs of the individuals who worked at the plant. The
stu-dents were given an opportunity to ask additional questions about Ben and Jerry's.
The tour ended with a sample of the famous ice cream.
Seventh Grade - Fairbanks Museum, St. Johnsbury, VT
The seventh grade class traveled to the Fairbanks Museum to hear three different
presenters discuss their careers. The students heard a presentation by a biologist,
a meteorologist, and an astronomer. The students were given an opportunity to ask
questions about the different positions. Students returned to the classroom and processed
the information that they had heard and selected a position that they felt they would
like. The students wrote a piece describing what career they would like and why they
would like it.
Seventh and Eighth Grade - Interactions "Real Math - Real Careers" Videos
This video series takes students beyond the walls of the classroom - all over
the country and around the world - to discover how athletes, artists, scientists,
and engineers use math, science, and technology to make their jobs a reality. The
videos align with the math, science, technology, physical education, and music curriculums.
RELATIONSHIP
TO VERMONT FRAMEWORK AND LEARNING OPPORTINITIES
The Career Exploration Field Trips are a School to Work activity in the classification
Educational Visit/Tour, which is defined as a class visit or tour of a specific learning
environment that exposes students to new opportunities. The Student Learning Areas
and Learning Objectives applicable to this activity, include:
Personal
and Career Preparation
- Understand
the concept of expectations and standards for work and demonstrate such life skills
as responsibility, cooperation, and accept/valuing diversity.
- Understand
that all work is valuable
Self Knowledge
- Understand
that change will be the norni in their lives and in the workplace
- Understand
how and why change occurs and how to deal with change effectively
- Refine and
use skills to communicate and interact with others successfully
Knowledge
to Work
- Be aware of
work's relationship to the needs and functions of society
- Understand
the connections between learning and the world of work
- Increase knowledge
of the broad range of careers available without gender/disability barriers
- Understand
that learning and work are ongoing, and that all work, paid or unpaid, has value
- Understand
the connection between education, training, economics, careers and soci-ety
- Understand
secondary and post-secondary options
Each individual
Career Exploration Field Trip addressed specific Fields of Knowledge standards that
related directly to the curriculum that was being taught in the classroom.
The Vital Results that were addressed in all of the Career Exploration Field Trips
include:
3.15 Career
Choices
Students know about various careers. This is evident when students:
a. Describe
the types of work done by their parents or other members of the community.
aa. Collect information about careers, and experience careers directly or indirectly
through classroom work and community experiences such as Job shadowing, working with
a mentor, or performing community service.
BUDGET
This project was originally funded with a regional STW grant for $3,443.85, which
was matched with additional In-Kind support valued at $3450.00. Additional funding
was received from the Lunenburg-Gilman PTF which helped to offset some of the transportation
expenses. The trip to the Fairbanks Museum was paid through school budget funds.
The entrance fee into the Shelburne Museum was funded by a Title VI grant in the
amount of $328.00 as was the bus transportation fee in the amount of $500.00. The
current school budget co-curricular dollars have been increased for this budget year
so classes will be able to complete more of these trips.
CHALLENGES
The greatest challenge for this project was coordination of all of the trips.
Teachers needed to learn to develop ways to ad-dress Vital Result standard 3.15,
Career Choices. Career education in the elementary grades was seldom addressed. Teachers
needed assistance in developing methods to integrate career education into their
current curriculum and not perceive it as an add on.
CONTACTS
Beth Goodwin
and Leslie Ercole
Lunenberg School District
P.O. Box 97
2720 River Rd.
Gilman, VT 05904
Phone: (802) 892-5969
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