SHARP in the Field
Opportunities for Discovery and Adventure
SHARP Literacy is thrilled to partner with museums and organizations around Milwaukee and Waukesha County to provide a more diverse educational experience for students. Our educational tours program started with all SHARP students taking a docent-led tour at the Milwaukee Art Museum.
Educational Tours
Milwaukee Area
Urban Ecology Center: K4 – Science – Living Things
The K4 tour is about living things.
Lynden Sculpture Garden: K5 – Science – Plants
In Milwaukee schools, K5 curriculum focuses around a plant-based theme. The tour consists of two 45-minute activities: one related to the environment and the other a hands-on art activity.
Museum of Wisconsin Art: 1st Grade – Science – Growing Things
This tour consists of students viewing up to a dozen works of art while docents integrate artifacts and appropriate vocabulary words. Docents include conversation topics, questions and flashcards that complement what the children are currently studying. Children are also able to participate in an art project directly aligned with A Busy Bee: The Story of Bella the Honey Bee.
Mitchell Park Domes: 1st Grade – Science – Growing Things
First grade students engage in two bee-related hands-on activities in the Show Dome. In the other two domes, students use worksheets to make more discoveries and connections through drawing plants that need pollinators.
Discovery World: 2nd Grade – Science – Weather, Water & the Environment
Students get to see the world’s largest model of the Great Lakes, explore Reiman Aquarium, and even touch a live lake sturgeon. They are taught hand motions to accompany vocabulary words that are used throughout the tour and are challenged with a game of “Salmon Says.”
Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful: 3rd Grade – Science – Urban Agriculture
Recycling is an easy way to have a huge impact on the environment. Ever wonder what is really recyclable or where it all goes? SHARP students learn about the recycling industry and its impact on our local economy and environment.
Museum of Wisconsin Art: 4th Grade – Social Studies – Wisconsin
The tour consists of students viewing up to a dozen works of art while docents integrate artifacts and All about Wisconsin vocabulary words.
Milwaukee Art Museum: 5th Grade – Social Studies – American Stories
Milwaukee Art Museum tours have been a part of the SHARP curriculum since its inception in 1996. The 5th grade curriculum focuses on storytelling in art.
Waukesha Area
Waukesha SHARP students attend field studies at EB Shurts Environmental Education Center, Prairie Springs Environmental Education Center, Retzer Nature Center, Sharon Lynne Wilson Center, Intergenerational Heritage Fair, and Waukesha County Historical Society & Museum.
Summer Learning Gain Initiative (SLGI) and After School Learning Initiative (ASLI)
These programs help educate and nurture students outside our core program and encourage them to become responsible and competent citizens of the community.
SLGI addresses the prevention of the summer slide – a reality for too many urban students.
ASLI provides structured programs for students to achieve academic success, build character and develop teamwork, all in a safe, fun environment.
Our partners include Browning Elementary School and Thurston Woods Elementary School.
Additional Partnerships
- Reading With the Golden Eagles is a program in which Marquette University’s men’s basketball team reads to students once a month.
- Reading with the Carroll Pioneers is a program in which Carroll University’s men’s basketball team reads to Waukesha students.
- The Read To Me Intergenerational Program is a partnership between SHARP Literacy and the Jewish Home and Care Center Foundation. Elementary school students read with seniors, both at their schools and at the senior living communities.