Vocabulary Visits are virtual field trips that appeal to the senses while developing new concepts and vocabulary. At a meeting of a teacher study group on vo cabulary learning, a group of primary teach ers were sharing stories of surprises they encountered when reading with their students. "I had a whole group of kids who didn't know what an umbrella was," lamented one teacher. Another chimed in, "I took a wonderful running record of one child who was reading about the Olympics. He decoded everything perfectly, and when we dis cussed the selection, he didn't know the word ath lete... and he had read it perfectly 11 times!" The grade team leader asserted, "Our students are smart, but they need more concept and vocabulary devel opment. Every time we take a field trip they learn a lot. I wish we could take more field trips!" Many of the teachers in the room nodded affirmatively.