5 Easy Steps to Create a Virtual Field Trip

When teachers hear “virtual field trip,” they often assume it has to be complicated.

Fancy tech.
Hours of prep.
Links that don’t work the day of the lesson.

But a virtual field trip doesn’t have to be any of that.

In fact, a virtual field trip is really just a short, purposeful slide deck that helps students explore a topic in a structured way. And when it’s done well, it becomes one of the easiest ways to build background knowledge, practice reading skills, and increase engagement before a unit begins.

In this episode, I walk you through a simple, repeatable process for creating virtual field trips you can use with almost any ELA unit. You’ll see how these trips can support informational reading, text structure, and discussion without overwhelming you or your students.

If you’ve ever wanted to use virtual field trips but felt unsure where to start, this episode breaks it down step by step.

HERE ARE THE 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THIS EPISODE:

1️⃣ Virtual field trips don’t need to be fancy
A few intentional slides with clear purpose are more effective than complex tech or endless links.

2️⃣ Skills come before content
Virtual field trips work best when students are practicing a specific reading skill while they explore.

3️⃣ Short and focused beats long and overwhelming
Three or four well-designed stops keep students engaged and focused.

WHAT A VIRTUAL FIELD TRIP REALLY IS

A virtual field trip is a guided experience, not a slideshow of random facts.

Students explore a topic through images, diagrams, short texts, or videos, all with a clear goal in mind. These trips are especially powerful before reading a novel or starting a new unit because they give students shared background knowledge to pull from later.

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

Hatchet Novel Unit 

MORE FROM EB ACADEMICS

EB Academics creates ready-to-use virtual field trips designed to build background knowledge while targeting specific reading skills, so you can focus on instruction instead of prep.

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If this episode helped you rethink how to use virtual field trips in your classroom, please subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more middle school ELA teachers find practical strategies that actually work. Thanks for listening to the Teaching Middle School ELA Podcast.

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