Classroom Preparation
If a field trip is to be worthwhile, it must be of educational value. This involves much more than making a reservation and showing up at the museum. A teacher should prepare students before the visit to the Georgia Agrirama and follow up with meaningful activities integrated in some way with the student’s classroom work. The visit can serve as a preview or review to a unit concentrating on the period 1870-1910. If the studies are something other than Georgia history, but students are afforded the opportunity to visit Agrirama, preparation can enhance the visit to suit individual needs.

For example, art students can concentrate on sketching, photography, architectural styles, and building construction of early Georgia. Mechanically minded students can spend extra time with the blacksmith or cooper shed. Others may take note of the equipment in the cotton gin, saw mill, or gristmill investigating the development of technology. Girls with a domestic interest can concentrate upon home economics of homes one hundred years ago. There are a number of ways in which Agrirama can be used and it should be decided what the trip is intended to do for the student.

As much as possible, students should be involved in the planning of the trip. In preparation for the visit, students can set up a classroom exhibit or gather reading materials in the school and local library. They can make short speeches on relevant topics such as Nineteenth Century travel, the professions, building construction, agriculture, furnishings, home life, politics, or the preparation of food. Arousing student interest in the trip and making its purpose clear is extremely important. If limited assignments have been made obliging students to take note of what they see, the trip will be successful. Encouraging students to take photographs or to sketch can also be valuable, especially if they concentrate on details that force them to take more than a cursory glance at what is in front of them.

One of the best ways to stimulate curiosity and motivate learning is to identify groups of questions that grow out of classroom study. These can be answered by the visit to Georgia Agrirama. This will ensure that once at Agrirama, students will be looking for answers, either as part of a formal assignment or for general information. Some prepared questions are provided for your convenience. Such questions can give added purpose to a student’s day and be a tool for the group leaders to generate discussion. Also, the Living History/Heritage guide contains extensive terms, vocabulary and lesson objectives that can be used in preparation of classes participating in those workshops.

Back to School
Upon return to the classroom, there will be much to talk about with your students. The degree of a follow up may well depend upon the preparation and specific connections the museum visit had to the classroom work. Students should be challenged to talk about their experience and to make reports so that particular points might be further discussed and any misconceptions clarified. Also, a decision can be made on whether or not the student's experiences can be used as the basis for a classroom exhibit or even a program for parents.