What is an Imaginary Field Trip? Well, it's just like it sounds. It's a field trip that the class takes in their imaginations. Usually it is guided by the teacher, but after several samples I have let students host their own story. Another name for this is "Guided Imagery". The story is told from the second person point-of-view ("You are doing this or that") so that whoever is imagining it is the main character the action occurs to. It is also important to make it all in present tense, so the audience can imagine it happening to them in real time. Another key feature is to include as many multisensory images as possible and in as great detail as possible so they can really imagine being there and experiencing those events.
One other part of the Imaginary Field Trip is to include one or more aspect that each listener has to create for themselves. For example, the story may say that you see a creature and he helps you find an amazing treasure. Students might not be told very much about the creature or the treasure, but are still expected to be able to describe and draw the creature and tell what the treasure is. These ambiguous aspects help develop creativity. The follow up questions are good ways to evaluate student creativity and memory. After answering the questions, students greatly enjoy sharing their visions with others and this gives them practice communicating clearly.
I am more than happy to write personal imaginary field trips for you and your child if you want one. Just tell me where you want to go and any specific objective you have for it - ie. peace, calmness, joy, curiousity, creativity, wisdom, seeing animal guides, etc. (pick one or two). These are $25 for written stories or $50 for the audiotape version. Email me at Director@metagifted.org to order. OR you can write your own!
How To Write an Imaginary Field Trip
Imaginary Field Trips Index
Here you will find an index of the various Imaginary Field Trip
Journeys I have written which you can go on, use with your children, or use with a class.
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