A Day They Will Never Forget – Amazing Race: Plainfield
Written by: Karisa Schwanekamp
Exploring Civics One Step at a Time
Are you looking for ways to engage your students in the Civics curriculum AND get them excited to learn more about local businesses and local government? Look no further than the wonderful people in your community. Last year, we set out to do just that with our 460 sixth graders. Our guiding question became, “how can we create an interactive walking experience in our community that would encourage students and parents to discover, learn, and connect with their surroundings in a fun and meaningful way?” Enter Amazing Race: Plainfield!
Goals for this community-supported event:
- Experience Civics in action in our community
- Meet and learn from community leaders and business owners
- Discover more about the town of Plainfield’s history while completing tasks and challenges
- Connect our district’s mission statement of “Bringing Joy to Learning” to Civics through a memorable experience
On Your Mark!
If you would like to do the same, but just don’t know how to get started, I have a road map for you. We used the show Amazing Race as our model for this scavenger hunt-type experience. It definitely was a team effort consisting of sixth grade teachers and administrators. In my role as our district’s Instructional Technology Integration Specialist, it was easier for me to connect with community members during the school day. I started by attending local Kiwanis, Rotary, and Chamber of Commerce meetings. I asked for a few minutes to speak at each and explained what we were hoping to accomplish through the goals of our event. The community could not wait to jump on board and help in any way. I left attendees at each meeting with QR codes that sent them to a Google Form where I collected information about their business and how they were willing and able to be a part of our day. If their business happened to be outside of the parameters for our walking field trip, many businesses were willing to set up tents within our event boundaries. This planning began in the fall to gear up for a mid-May event. I highly recommend starting well in advance of your event. In December, prior to the event, students in sixth grade participated in a logo design contest using Canva. After narrowing it down based on student votes, here is the logo that won and became our brand for the event. You can only imagine how excited these sixth graders were in anticipation of the event that was still months away!
Get Set!
Once we knew where all of the stops would be in the community, it became easier to map out the day. Our students were going to be able to learn more about our local library, Town of Plainfield government, Department of Public Works, statues around town, special historical markers, local law enforcement and fire department, our School Board, small businesses, and so much more! We created a scavenger hunt packet in Canva for each group to document their time spent on tasks, challenges, and as a way to record answers to special questions they had to ask in order to move on to the next stop. Click here for a small sample of our packet. We gave each business an opportunity to plan a challenge for their stop if they were interested. We also created small yard signs that could be placed at each stop for easy identification. It is important to note that we planned on having this event rain or shine. Fortunately, we got very lucky with the weather!
Go!
This was definitely a collaborative endeavor with all sixth grade teachers and middle school administrators playing a role in participating in some way during the actual event. The students and their chaperones could complete whichever task and as many challenges as they could within their time constraints. In order to earn the ticket for the Frigid Frog shaved ice, there was a particular challenge they had to complete. The students and chaperones agreed that this was a fun added bonus at the end of the event for those who completed the task that ended up being on the furthest side of town within our boundaries. We had parents use a QR code that was linked to a Google photo album so they could upload pictures and videos documenting their adventure and as a way to show proof of each challenge completed. At the end of the race, we tallied up the points each team earned based on challenges and tasks completed and the winning team received a pizza party. Everyone walked away feeling like winners with memories they will treasure forever, and we established a new tradition that will be part of our sixth grade curriculum for years to come!
“Everyone walked away feeling like winners with memories they will treasure forever, and we established a new tradition that will be part of our sixth grade curriculum for years to come!”
Race Day Stats:
- 133 Teams
- 460 Students
- 178 Parent Volunteers/Chaperones
- 2.5 Hours
- 11 Locations
- 15 Community Partners
Chaperone & Parent Feedback:
- “I LOVED this experience! This was fun and educational and as someone not from Plainfield, I learned a lot, too!”
- “Best activity I have ever gone to for a school. We learned new things, got to be outside, and had so much fun.”
- “Loved this activity so much! I think it was very well organized overall and I appreciate the opportunity you guys are giving our children.”
- “I thought it was an awesome event and a super cool idea. I think you have found something that can be a tradition for years to come for our Plainfield sixth grade students.”
- “I have lived in Plainfield my whole life, but learned so much about places I have never visited!”
Follow me on social media & reach out if you want to know more about bringing this experience to your students and community: @MrsSchwanekamp on X & Instagram.
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