Teacher: Okay Class today we are going on a field trip to St. Stan’s Museum.
Student 1: Oh Yay!
Student 2: I’m so excited
Student 3: I can’t wait!
(Walk onto stage)
Teacher: Welcome to the Museum! Today we are going to be looking at dinosaurs!
Student 1: WOW look at that dinosaur! What is that dinosaur like to eat?
Teacher: Well, Let’s look at the caption to find out.
Student 2: Well I don’t know how to read those big words.
Teacher: Lets look at the exhibit, and read the sign.
Student 3: (Read Sign) This dinosaur is a herbivore. It likes to eat grass, leaves and
plants.
Student 1: I don’t know what the word herbivore means?
Student 2: Me either!!!!
Teacher: Well what can we do to figure out the meaning of the word?
Student 3: Oh! Let’s look at the words we do know!
Student 1: I know what grass, leaves and plants are!
Student 2: And that word is eat! I know what that means.
Student 3: Maybe herbivore means its likes to eat grass, leaves and plants.
Teacher: Good job small class, we just used contextualizing. Contextualizing is where you use the surroundings of an unknown word to find the meaning.
Student 1: Cool this is so fun.
Teacher: Lets head on to the next exhibit
(Pretend to walk)
Student 2: WOW LOOK THAT DINO IS EATING ANOTHER DINOSAUR.
Teacher: Lets look at the caption.
Student 3: (Read Caption) “The T Rex are known for being carnivores. They enjoy eating prey of smaller dinosaurs.
Student 1: EWWWWWW that’s so gross!
Student 2: I’m not sure what the word carnivores mean.
Teacher: Well let’s use visual imaging to find out what it means.
Student 3: What is that?!!?!?!
Teacher: Well, Visual imaging is when you use your imagination to facilitate
Vocabulary, development and comprehension across the curriculum.
Student 1: Wow that is sooo cool! Let’s try it!
Student 2: I cant wait!
Student 3: Well, I see the T Rex eating the other dino, maybe carnivores mean an
animal who likes to eat meat, like another animal!
Teacher: Well student number 3, that is exactly correct. Great job using visual imaging to find out what the word means. Good readers use visual imaging all the time when they don’t know a word in the text. Lets move on to our last exhibit!
(Walk again…)
Student 1: Wow look at this exhibit with all the different dinosaurs!
Student 2: There are so many! Look that one is eating another dinosaur and that dinosaur is eating leaves.
Teacher: well We talked a lot about different vocabulary words to express the way animals eat, Now lets make a connection to what we are?!
Student 1: Well dinosaurs that eat grass are called herbivores.
Student 2: Oh and dinosaurs that eat meat are called carnivores.
Student 3: Well we eat both so can we be herbivores and carnivores?
Teacher: Well class, there is another vocabulary word for that which describes an animal which eats both meat and plants, it is omnivore.
Student 1: Oh I think I’ve heard of that.
Student 2: What are new words called again?
Teacher: Well, the new words are called Vocabulary words; they are words or phrases of a language that have meaning. We sometimes put them in alphabetical order. There are hundreds of different ways we can learn vocabulary words.
