Field Trips to 826
Up to five times a week, 826 Valencia welcomes up to thirty-five students per session for a morning of high-energy learning. Students may experience a round-table discussion with a local author or enjoy an active workshop focused on poetry or journalism. The most popular field trip is one we invented called Storytelling and Bookmaking, during which students collaboratively write an original story, leave it at a cliff hanger, and then individually write their own endings with the help of volunteers. Meanwhile, a professional artist illustrates the story and volunteers help bind a book for each student. Due to the high demand for our field trip programming, we prioritize visits for classes in public San Francisco schools, and specifically schools with an API score of less than 800.
Applications for the 2013-14 school year will be accepted starting July 2013.
Our field trips are scheduled Monday – Thursday, 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM.
Please contact us with questions or to schedule a field trip.
Read about the kinds of field trips we offer below.
Storytelling and Bookmaking
Recommended for students second-fourth grade (35 students max).
Students are charged with the task of writing an original story as a group, with the help of 826 volunteers. While students decide on characters and plot points with a leader, another volunteer types the story, and it is projected onto the wall. Students can track the story’s progress and ask to have corrections made as needed. Meanwhile, a professional artist is illustrating the story. As the pages are finished (one set for each student), support volunteers are collating in our back production room. In the second half of the field trip, students each write their own endings with help from the Leader and other volunteers. Thus, as soon as the class finishes creating the story, we’re ready to bind the books with our in-house tape bindery.
Students will go home with personalized books created as a class, with illustrated covers, and their photo on the About the Author page. This field trip teaches students about collaboration, self-editing, the bookmaking process, and elements of successful storytelling. And it’s really a good time for all.
Request this field trip and provide your preferred month to visit 826.
Writing a Screenplay
Recommended for students fifth-eighth grade (35 students max).
Just like in our Storytelling and Bookmaking field trip, students will collaborate on a story. This story, however, will be in the form of a script, which is written for the stage or the screen. Students will learn to craft scenes and write engaging dialogue, while a professional artist creates storyboards to accompany the text. Students will leave with a bound script, all ready to send to Hollywood or Broadway.
Request this field trip and provide your preferred month to visit 826.
Meet the Author
Recommended for middle- and high-school students (20 students max).
826 Valencia draws upon the wealth of Bay Area writers for this field trip. Teachers request a local writer and prepare students by introducing them to the author’s work ahead of time. At 826, students will be treated to a short interactive presentation by the author, who will then answer all questions from the students. Because of the rich diversity of writing talent local to the Bay Area, we often find a perfect match between talented author and classroom. This trip can also be structured around a specific genre.
Request this field trip and provide your preferred month to visit 826 three months in advance.
Specialized Field Trips
Recommended for middle- and high-school students.
We draw on the expertise of our volunteer community to bring writing professionals to our writing lab to work directly with classes. We can accommodate different requests from teachers to meet their unique curricular goals.
We have presented a broad range of specialized field trips, including poetry with a well-known poet, basic journalism and interviewing skills, building an argumentative essay — the list goes on.
If you have an idea in mind for your students, let us know, and we can work with you to tailor a field trip to meet your class’s needs. Because this type of request requires time to plan, please fill out this application two months in advance.
