50+ CBI Trip Ideas for Students in Special Education
Sep 04, 2019
Community based instruction trips/outings (aka CBI trips) are (hopefully) part of the daily, if not weekly, schedule for your students in special education.
CBIs can also be referred to as Community Based Learning or CBLs. CBIs are valuable experiences for all students, from middle school, to high school, to young adults in transition, including students with learning disabilities through significant developmental disabilities.
While virtual field trips have their place, especially when weather limits all travel, there are so many benefits of community-based instruction.
Community trips are a great way to:
Practice independent living skills
Students being able to show off their money skills (like entering their PIN on a debit card machine) at the grocery store in front of a real cashier is a far more meaningful way to assess essential skills than in a familiar, controlled classroom environment.
Assess social skills between peers
Peers conversing as they wait in line to order popcorn at a movie theater is a more authentic and natural setting to truly determine if a student has met their IEP communication goal than in a classroom or small group setting.
Apply functional skills in natural settings
Students can practice ordering a meal with a staff member in the classroom, but reading community signs to know where to order and pick up their food and answering the cashier’s questions related to their order (like do they want regular or sweet potato fries) makes the experience all the more meaningful.
Provide opportunities for IEP goal data collection
Special education teachers want to gather and report on students' IEP goals with quality data and community trips provide opportunities for students to really show their skills (and for teachers to gather data on those skills). Check out this resource to help students set their own goals for outings!
Exposure to new or different community locations
I loved helping students access community resources that they may have not have known about but would love and want to access both now and after they graduated or exited from special education. Helping them learn about what was out there, especially age appropriate options, was a perfect way to increase confidence and excitement about leaving the comforts and familiarity of special education.
Allow for students to engage in community participation
Volunteering in one's community is a chance to give back. For example, volunteering at a local non-profit can help improve one's community and when students have the opportunity to give support instead of receiving it, the self-esteem boost is extra good!
Access local businesses for vocational education and work experience
While accessing the community for vocational training is typically focused on securing future employment, these community experiences create opportunities to continuously practice all the skills mentioned above.
50+ Ideas for Community Outings
- Grocery store
- Bank
- Bulk grocery store
- Fast food restaurant and sit down restaurant
- Fitness center (YMCA)
- Craft store (check out their group classes too)
- Toy store
- Mall
- Museum
- Zoo
- Park
- Adaptive equipment park
- Post Office
- Public library
- Water park
- Driving range
- Mini golf
- Movie theater
- Pumpkin patch/apple orchard
- Trampoline park
- Post secondary education activities (like free concerts) and envrionments
- Bowling
- Bocce
- Bags/corn hole
- Medieval times
- Arcade
- Roller rink
- Art gallery (extra points for galleries that have artists with special needs- yes, they do exist)
- Decorate cookies/cupcakes
- Lowes/Home Depot (or local hardware store) classes
- Gardening store
- Volunteer for local senior citizens (raking leaves, for example)
- Paint ceramics
- Take public transportation (bus, train, etc)
- Calculate tip at sit-down restaurants
- Arcade
- Horseback riding
- Adaptive sailing
- Arboretums
- Conservatories and botanical gardens
- Tour local businesses to learn about different job opportunities
- Make pizza at local pizza restaurants
- Taken clothes to the dry cleaners
- Class at the Apple store (learned about different apps and technologies)
- Yoga
- Visit a sensory room or snoezelen room
- Assist at an animal rescue center
- Tie dye shirts/pillow cases/socks
- Set up an obstacle course at a local park
- Frisbee golf
- Check out a movie from a library or RedBox/Movie Rental store
- Visit a therapy dog
- Get a Clean-Up manicure or pedicure (parents usually take care of this task and might appreciate a week off)
- Flower arranging class
- Guided painting class
- Watch a play at a local theater
- Make-up lesson (for ladies who might be going on interviews in the future)
- Dance class
- Thrift store shopping
- (I’ll add more as I discover more!)
And, if you need to justify visiting any community site, keep in mind that exposure to community environments is often the first step for students to begin comfortably accessing them outside of school. Scavenger hunts are great for trips to new places because they can give just the right amount of structure while allowing opportunity for geniune curiosity. If you need a store scavenger hunt, this is a great FREE one by clicking below!
As you can see, there are several community settings to visit within your students' local area. Taking community based instruction outings is the best way for your students to access meaningful places in their local community and learn the skills in the actual environment, so go- get out there!
