Wild words excursion | Stage 1 English | Field of Mars EEC

Cost, risk assessment and details

Cost	DoE $27 per student – GST free Non-gov $37 per student – GST free, min charge $750 per class Term 1 – Non-gov weeks 3 to 5 cost = DoE cost – GST free, min charge $750 Program costs may change. Bookings are charged at the cost confirmed when you book.
Classes	Recommended maximum: 6 classes per location, with up to 30 students per class. Bookings for more than 6 classes may require multiple locations. Please contact us to discuss suitable options.
Risk assessment	Field of Mars Reserve risk assessment - main location
Bring	Sports uniform, backpack, medication, low-waste food, water bottle, sunblock, raincoat, hat, sturdy shoes, reusable name tag.
View	Preparing for your excursion Ranger for a day learning resource
Welfare	Rugged bushwalking, limited wheelchair accessibility. May not suit recently unwell participants. For medical or special needs notify staff prior to program.
Extreme or wet weather	Program may be modified, postponed or cancelled due to predicted extreme temperatures, bush fire danger, heavy rainfall, high winds or dust storms.
Booking policy	Confirm student numbers and classes 7 days in advance.
Cancellation or rescheduling	Cancellation or rescheduling with less than 30 school days’ notice before the booking date – $650 Cancellation with less than 14 school days’ notice before the booking date – full program cost Cancellation due to unsafe weather or fire danger – $0

Activities

Activities may vary depending on student needs, timing and weather.

This is a brand new excursion that has been built for EAL/D students. We are still finalising activities and they may change.

Ranger HQ

Students learn the day’s ranger words using picture cards, gestures and quick call-and-response games.

Wild words

Students explore Field of Mars Reserve as park rangers, stopping at investigation points to observe, interact with nature and learn new vocabulary. Students will record words in their Ranger dictionary. Students also learn how the Wallumedegal Peoples cared for Country and place.

Our park

Working in small groups, students design a mini national park that includes habitat features (food, water, shelter), visitor features (paths, bins, signs) and ranger rules that protect the environment. Each group delivers a short spoken ranger report using their Ranger dictionary and simple cause-and-effect explanations.

Explore related fact sheets

Use these student-friendly fact sheets before or after your Wild words excursion to build nature vocabulary, introduce habitats and support classroom talk about caring for places.

• ⁠Field of Mars Reserve fact sheet – Explore the bushland environment where students work as park rangers and learn nature words.
• ⁠Habitat fact sheet – Learn how food, water, shelter and space help living things survive.
• ⁠Leaf litter habitats fact sheet – Discover fallen leaves, bark and twigs where small animals shelter, feed and hide.
• ⁠Tree habitats fact sheet – Learn how trees provide flowers, leaves, bark, hollows and shelter for wildlife.
• ⁠Invertebrate fact sheets – Explore insects, spiders, worms, molluscs and other small animals found in bushland habitats.
• ⁠Eucalypt forest ecosystem fact sheet – Learn about gum-tree forests with trees, shrubs, leaf litter, animals and connected food webs.

Suggested timetable

Time
9.45 - 10.30	Introduction Recess and toilets
10.30 - 11.00	Ranger HQ
11.00 - 12.00	Wild words
12.00 - 12.30	Lunch and toilets
12.30 - 1.30	Wild words
1.30 - 2.00	Our park
2.00 - 2.15	Pack up, toilets and depart

Tier 2 and 3 vocabulary

ranger, care, protect, respect, observe, record, evidence, habitat, shelter, track, leaf litter, visitor, rule, national park, eucalypt

Syllabus outcomes and content

English K-6 Syllabus (2022)

Outcome

• Understands and effectively uses Tier 1, taught Tier 2 and Tier 3 vocabulary to extend and elaborate ideas EN1-VOCAB-01
• Communicates effectively by using interpersonal conventions and language to extend and elaborate ideas for social and learning interactions EN1-OLC-01
• Plans, creates and revises texts written for different purposes, including paragraphs, using knowledge of vocabulary, text features and sentence structure EN1-CWT-01

Content focus (Vocabulary)

Students will be supported to:

• use taught morphemic knowledge to build word families
• understand and use words with different meanings in different contexts
• use vocabulary to express cause and effect
• intentionally choose subject-specific vocabulary to enhance precision and effect

Other syllabus links

Learning experiences will also support (but not explicitly teach) Stage 1 HSIE Geography content about caring for places and active citizenship.

English K-6 Syllabus © NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) for and on behalf of the Crown in right of the State of New South Wales, 2022