Stone Soup--More than a Field Trip When it is a Video/Movie

Often first graders simply get on a bus and go on a field trip with very little preparation or follow-up. The field trip is the entire learning experience. Digital storytelling and research can be used to expand the field trip experience and make it memorable for all students.

In first grade, we often teach the folktale “Stone Soup”--students are told the story and then each student is asked to bring in a vegetable so we can make the soup in our classroom.

This time, we decided to do something different. We are going on a field trip to the farmers’ market as a class so we can interview venders and learn about vegetables. Each child will purchase a vegetable and bring it back to the classroom so we can study it and then make the soup.

Before the trip, students are placed in teams of three and paired with an adult chaperone. Students are told the purpose of the trip and also that they will be making a movie about the trip. They will brainstorm and predict the types of vegetables they might see at the market. Next, students will learn how to operate the cameras. The adult helpers will help trouble shoot the equipment issues but each student will use the camera and for a segment. Student teams will have a clip board with sample questions and then each child will interview a vendor while another is the "camera-person" and one works as the "director".

After the field trip, students will return to school where they will edit their film and add music and credits. They can do additional research on vegetables and then have a movie premiere and eat the stone soup they made.