I was asked via email about the content of the Bite Size Books – what it looked like. I sent the person this example from our Bite Size Book of Student Artists, and share it here as well:
Comprehension-based teachers sometimes get themselves all worked up with the challenge of providing repetitions of the language so that students will have more opportunities to uptake the new words and grammar contained in the messages. In fact, this process of mechanically repeating the language over and over usually ends up losing the class’s interest because kids sense that the teacher is trying to force the language upon them.
When we prioritize repetitions over flow, boredom sets in, and students begin to look for other sources of amusement, usually through side conversations or disruptions. These small distractions can end up sinking our efforts at transitioning to comprehension-based teaching. Thus, many teachers give up after an initial burst of enthusiasm.
Art provides a better vehicle for repetitions because it holds students’ attention better than ideas represented by words only. By focusing on the image, we can reconstruct our relationship with wholeness and balance via whole and balanced (read unfractured) language.
Artwork makes repetitions natural and painless. Big language gains are the natural result of focusing on an image. Artwork, not words, provide the engine that propels the car down Comprehension Avenue. Kids will eagerly listen, spellbound, to a retell of a class story or a description of one of their Invisibles as long as we use the artist’s work as the basis for the retell.