Union City English Language Classes Learn With Field Trips

By Mike Hutchens, UC Schools Communications Director
 
Union City, Tenn.–Teacher Selena Barker is playing a game of “Show and Tell” to better help her English language learners at Union City Middle School.
 
Barker, an ESL (English Second Language) teacher in the Union City School System who works in both the middle and elementary schools, has used a couple of recent field trips to educate her students on both the concept of changing seasons and the importance of agriculture to our region.
 
“Our administration has graciously permitted me to take my students to gain knowledge that is important to understanding our culture,” Barker said. “As our class was discussing the fall season, I realized that my students had no prior concept of the changing seasons.
 
“I understand that a great deal of prior knowledge is built from experience and these students have had no opportunity to establish such knowledge.”
 
Students visited both Nanney Farms Pumpkin Patch in Union City and Discovery Park of America on separate trips as part of the culture-learning process.
 
Because many of her students come from regions where year-around summer is the only season, the trip to the pumpkin patch was designed to show them how the local culture celebrates fall.
 
The class enjoyed the pumpkin patch, learned many fall customs and even played a couple games of cornhole.
 
The learning excursion to DPA was organized around discovering the importance of the corn crop to our region. Parts of the crop and the harvesting of such – both from long ago until now — were also included during the instructional/visual time, which was headed by DPA educational specialist Russell Orr.
 
The students also received a brief history lesson on cotton-picking from a patch adjacent to the corn rows.
 
“These two learning experiences have been a wonderful way for my students to build on background knowledge to facilitate a deeper comprehension for science, social studies and reading curriculum,” Barker added. “I was so excited for my students to develop a greater understanding of our culture.”