Self-Facilitated Field Trips

The C&O Canal NHP Education Program has developed self-facilitated field trips to give classes opportunities to visit and learn about the canal at their own pace. These lesson plans have descriptions with site-specific suggestions, printable materials, and pre, post, and during field-trip activities. Read through descriptions of these field trip lesson plans below. To learn more about a self-facilitated field trip, click on the field trip title to see its lesson plan and materials or email us at [e-mail].

Olmsted Island Scavenger Hunt

In this self-facilitated field trip, teachers will take students on a walk to the Great Falls Overlook via the Olmsted Island Trail. Along the way, students will use their observation skills to complete a scavenger hunt of plants and animals in the park. Students will also connect with their senses by completing a sensory poem/song activity.
Time: 90 min
Theme: How can you use observation to learn about the environment around you?
Suggested Grade Levels: K-8

Trash Talk

In this self-facilitated field trip, students will learn about biodegradation and decomposition and consider how these processes factor into the impacts human waste production and littering have on the environment. Students will visit any location in the C&O Canal NHP and pick up trash. While collecting trash, they will record data about the trash they collect. In a post-field trip activity, students will use their data to understand the kinds of litter removed from the park in the context of biodegradation rates and their local recycling program policies.
Time: 60-120 min
Theme: What happens to waste and trash in natural environments?
Suggested Grade Levels: 6-12

Nature Writing

In this self-facilitated field trip, students will take a nature walk at the C&O Canal NHP, observing elements of nature along the way. Students will then read examples of nature writing in literature and use what they’ve experienced to inspire their own writing. Park staff have provided detailed instructions for a walk at Fletcher’s Cove, but walks along the towpath at other locations in the park are equally effective for this field trip.
Time: 90-120 min
Theme: What is nature writing?
Suggested Grade Levels: 9-12