Badger Elementary provides experiential learning opportunities (ELOs) for students to learn outside the classroom. ELOs include visits to local businesses, farms, and venues to give hands-on experiences. Students complete reflection forms before and after each ELO to write about what they know, learn new vocabulary words, draw pictures, and ask questions. A student survey found that over 75% felt ELOs were an important part of learning. Popular ELOs included visiting pigs, Walmart, a nature reserve, the post office, an art mobile, and a snake expert. The document then lists ELOs provided in the first semester of 2012, which included author visits, a dairy farm, a veterans assembly,

1. Experiential Learning
Opportunities
Badger Elementary

2. All life experiences serve as a point of
reference for:
 Engaging conversations
 Making reading connections
 Writing descriptively
 Having a command of a rich academic
vocabulary

3. Badger Elementary works to
provide outside- the- classroom
experiences by providing
Experential Learning
Opportunities (ELOs) for its
students

4. Experiential Learning Opportunities
(ELO’s) provide…
 Hands-on life experiences in which students can
participate
 Contact with community members, local businesses,
government and municipal organizations
 Visits to local venues (post office, grocery store,
outreach center, Veterans memorial)
 Everyday objects for observation and experimentation
(ant farm, pumpkin, cow bone, pigs)

5. Before and after each ELO, students
complete the ELO Reflection form

6. Experiential Learning Opportunities
(ELO’s)
 Experiential Learning Opportunity

 Place / Event _______________________________________________
 Name_________________________ Grade ______ Date ____________
 5-Minute Quick PRE-Write:
 Write as much as you know about ________________________________________.
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 __________________________________________________________________
 Post-ELO Reflection:
 How did you like it?

7. List 5 new words you learned and include some information
about each word.
1.________________________________________________
____________
2.________________________________________________
____________
3.________________________________________________
____________
Use 1 of your new words in a sentence.
4.________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
____________
______________
Draw and color a picture of what you saw.
5.________________________________________________
____________

8. Write about what you learned.
____________________________________________________
______________
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________
Questions I still have:
__________________________________________________________
________
__________________________________________________________
________

9. What students say about
ELOs
A the end of each academic year all students are
surveyed. The following questions pertaining to ELOs
were asked.

10. 17. The ELO’s were an important part of my
learning experience this year.
**********************************************************************************************
 281 answered this question
yes 75.4%
no 6 %
maybe 18.6%
-- 32 skipped this question

11. Check the ELO’s that were the most meaningful
to you.
------------------------------------------------------------
287 answered this question / 26 skipped the question
 Pigs 23.3%
 Wal-Mart 23.7%
 Blanchard Springs 24.4%
 Post Office and Christian Outreach Center 22%
 Art Mobile 27.2%
 Veteran’s Memorial 21.6%
 High School Drama 46.3%
 Snake Man 73.2%
 Petting Zoo 59.6%
 Other: family farm/ rock star day/ Australian Day/ high school band/ GT Hot
Springs Museum/ Ron Cole/ track and field/ homecoming pep rally/ Lion,
Witch & Wardrobe/ Old Washington GT/ auditorium plays/ AR Children’s
Theater/ people reading to us/ guest speakers

12. 19. My favorite events during the school
year have been…
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
284 answered this question / 29 skipped
Ron Cole Concert 57.4% Red Ribbon Week 62.3% Talent
Show 64.4% Badger Store 61.6% Destination Australia
62.3% Plays and Musicals 56.0% KC Club 9.2% Student
Advisory 9.9% Track & Field Day 83.1% FUN Days 83.8%
Snake Man 64.1% Petting Zoo 60.2% Career 62.7%
Benchmark Celebration 73.9%
Other: family farms/ GT/ GT and field trips/ Blanchard Springs/
movies/ book fair/ pizza parties/ concert/ last day of school
celebration/ Christmas concert/ Benchmark/ Destination America/
holiday parties

13. ELOs – First Semester
2012

14. Ricky Pittman –
Author Visit

15. Blanchard Springs
Caverns (fourth-grade)

16. Senator Eddie Jo
Williams

17. Author Visit: Dave
Sargeant Jr.

18. Mobile Dairy

19. Charlotte’s Web Farm Animals
Veteran’s Day Assembly
Deer (Drop Everything Everybody
Read) Day

20. “You're the same today as you'll
be in five years except for the
people you meet and the books
you read.”
- Charlie "Tremendous" Jones