A classroom teacher myself, I have come to consider my students' relationship to Hidden Villa a precious teaching tool. The hands-on exploration supports their learning of science standards; the excitement of discovery inspires a wide variety of writing and the curiosity generated motivates academic research and reading. In short, our relationship with Hidden Villa has facilitated the teaching of a range of state-mandated standards. In addition, I have had the joy of witnessing my students' confidence and compassion grow and their ecological understanding deepen.

I hope that some of the information, ideas, and suggestions presented here will provide inspiration and support you to make your Hidden Villa field trip an important teaching opportunity in your classroom.

-Kristina Underdal

You can extend your Hidden Villa field trip in many different directions. The units and lessons presented here offer a wide range of ideas, touching on many different state standards. Each teacher has his or her personal teaching style and unique set of students. Although these units may be implemented exactly as written, it is more likely that they will inspire your own teaching creativity.

Preparation Before Your Trip

Preparation is key to your students learning as much as possible from their field trip. In these "Before Your Trip" sections you will find units which will prepare your students from their Hidden Villa experiences, including the Eco-Healthy Lunch.

Writing Projects

Authentic learning experiences support the development of students' writer's voice. Not only does the Hidden Villa field trip offer students concrete information and experiences to write about, the excitement from these experiences often acts to heighten students' motivation to write. In the section on writing projects, you will find units that touch on almost all of the state writing standards from grades 2 to 5.

Science Projects

Hidden Villa field trips encourage students to get up close and personal with the animals, plants, soil and water of their environment. This hands-on approach encourages students to make connections between the "real world" and the science concepts they are asked to understand in school. In the section on science projects, you can find several units that capitalize on your students' hands-on learning about the environment to teach the life science standards of your grade.

Action Projects

Once your students have connected deeply with their local environment and learned about the interconnections within it via your integrated units, they may be ready to take on an action project. In the section on action projects, you can find a range of activities students can participate in that are developmentally appropriate. All of these projects are based on the idea that young children should NOT be asked to understand or worry about the ecological disasters of our world, but rather be empowered to make changes locally, in their own lives, with the support necessary to be successful.

Best Practices

Many of the units incoporate teaching strategies that have been proven to be effective and efficient ways to support students' development in writing and reading. The section on Best Practices includes on overview of the following strategies: Interactive Writing, Shared Reading, Reciprocal Teaching and Writers' Workshop.