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Targetless Instruction – 7
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43 thoughts on “Targetless Instruction – 7”
I think you are 100% right on this! But I do have a couple questions. How do I get to these stories? I PQA with my kids and for the most part they are really into it, but when the instrest fades I have moved into other things. Four truths, some embedded readings, etc. But I miss stories and am not getting a lot of stuff I can spin from PQA into extended PQA let alone a mini story or full story and I am with you on making stories shorter I have always tried to finish them in one class period I can always recycle it the next day and do a reading or movie talk or whatever. So my question is do you use a story script and not worry about targeting structures or do you do something else? I am confused as to how to move to stories and I crave them. I have never been very good at spinning stories that’s why I love having a script but really want to do more non-targeted instruction. The second question is I see you edit and change a lot of stuff on here and I was curious if we can do that too? Like Claire I am addicted to typos apparently.
Russ’s first impressions of the blog:
Ben= awesome
targets= bad
Claire= typos
🙂
How close am I to the mark?
100% on it.
“I have never been very good at spinning stories that’s why I love having a script but really want to do more non-targeted instruction”
Russ, I use to type up a Matava Script and have the students decide as a group in l1 what goes in the blanks. It gets the check mark off when being observed but its predictability made it unengaging/boring for students by the third time I did it. I decided to let go of its ease.
I explained to the kids the steps towards Ben’s procedure: 1. Who 2. With Whom 3. Problem/Location A 4. No success in Location B 5. Success/resolution Location C
I cue the students to come up with answers to my simple questions WHO? because I have MANY students I train them to raise their hands but one class is good enough to have one person speak at one time.
With jobs (see job lists) I have the students move along. I do 10 mins in TL then break for 2 minutes. Then we go back into the story.
To be honest, I have been doing untargeted CI for … ages. All we need is something interesting to talk about. I use a lot of films for this, also the book The Arrival, a graphic novel with no words. We watch a scene and talk about it. We look at a picture and talk about it. I ask them what they did over the weekend and we talk about it.
So you don’t do stories? I am very glad to hear all of these techniques. I do a lot of these and I am already looking into the arrival it looks super cool, but I didn’t see anything about stories maybe I am missing something.
Hi Judy I’ve been looking into the Arrival book and was wondering do you use a .pdf version? Can you go into some more detail here? It looks so cool!
Thank you
Craig
Yes it’s amazing. It makes me want to find more wordless novels. Thanks for sharing
So Judy this past month I have asked both Dr. Krashen and Blaine to comment on the topic.
First, I asked Dr. Krashen to comment on whether this statement I had written was true or not:
…Dr. Krashen, of course, never stopped promoting non-targeted input over the years, but the TPRS community has largely ignored him on that point as they have on many others, preferring to invent their own versions of TPRS….
He replied:
…not quite. I think that many teachers simply can’t do non-targeted input because they are required to follow a grammatical syllabus….
Then I asked Blaine this question:
…Hey Blaine could you briefly comment on whether you target structures when doing a story? What you prefer to do in terms of targeting? Like in the 1990’s did you target anything before doing a story? I am interested in the progression of it over the years, if it changed or remained the same in your approach to teaching stories….
Blaine responded:
TPRS started with the idea of pre-teaching all vocabulary. As the stories got longer and the vocabulary got more advanced that became more and more of a problem. I remember spending 2 weeks pre-teaching vocabulary for a story. It was awful. The pre-teaching evolved more and more into teaching mini-stories. It turned out that teaching mini stories was the best use of time anyway.
We do put targeted structures in our materials because I don’t think teachers would even look at our stuff without. They are definitely as a group addicted to the idea of structures.
While I don’t know, I really don’t think they are needed. I have been teaching class all week and I don’t use structures. I look for break down and then practice the breakdown. So when I see breakdown, I then have a structure to work on. The structure comes from seeing where the student isn’t confident.
As long as teachers get the idea of teaching the frequency words, I see nothing wrong with using those verbs as curriculum. I think most teachers will teach better with structures.
I was in a class this week where the teacher was using the word “got stuck” in Spanish. At 2 other schools I asked the non native Spanish teachers if they knew the word. Not one of them did. I think working on any verb that isn’t pretty high up on the frequency list is not a very good use of time.
I do think that getting confident is a frequency verb means that the students are at least confident is the I, you, he/she form in the present tense.
This might have been more than you wanted. It is an interesting idea. Krashen is against structures and he very well may be right.
I do think that what Blaine said here is most interesting:
… I think most teachers will teach better with structures….
Notice that he didn’t say that it is better to teach with structures, he just said that “most teachers” will teach better with structures….
Why did he say that?
It seems that there needs to be an “unteaching” of how we do things. That’s hard and uncomfortable but there are major gains for students.
…it seems that there needs to be an “unteaching” of how we do things….
To me it’s all tied to assessment and until we change the way we assess nothing will change. The ACTFL concept of proficiency standards, basically unchanged since the 1980s, has a super flaw in it. It assumes that the kids are in classrooms where they all want to learn. The reverse is true.
There is another flaw. ACTFL assumes that people are teaching for proficiency using methods that lead to proficiency. And yet most teachers use methods that do not bring proficiency or anything else. So how do the standards work if it is all flawed?
What kind of proficiency would a person exhibit if they didn’t want to do the job but were made to do it? So no blame the kids do it for the grade.
There can be no accurate assessment, therefore, any more than we could assess the skills of an air traffic controller who wasn’t really interested in the job but just did it for the money (our students’ version of money being the grade.)
So sad for the kids who want to learn but must memorize. The teacher gets away with criminal professional negligence and the damage doesn’t show up until the four year A student gets the 2 on the AP Exam which is conveniently reported in July after they graduate or until they get to the country and can’t use the language to buy a post card.
It’s a national disgrace of compulsory and insane gathering of data gathered by greedy corps from the sugared up minds of unmotivated children who, like their teachers, think that learning a language means memorizing lists. And many of those kids’ basic human needs are not being met. But they have to test high or risk being judged and being seen to not measure up by some grammar teacher?
OK I’ll stop.
Yep. What we (or I at least) are fighting against is way bigger than FL bubble politics. It goes to the very nature of extrinsic rewards for education. Education should be the most exciting and sought-after endeavor in our world. It is for those who haven’t been taught or who have resisted the teaching that learning isn’t worth doing for its own sake.
But we do what we can here and now, improving the lives in our hands via joyful (and effective) L2 interaction, and wait for the word to spread.
“There can be no accurate assessment”
I would agree with this statement if you added “with traditional assessments.”
There can be no accurate assessment with traditional (test/quiz) assessments.
…but we can assess kids who don’t show up with jGR. That’s the beauty of authentic assessment. Authentic assessments not only serve their purpose and actually show what kids can do, but the reward them for their efforts even if they’re not one of the 4%ers. No haves and have-nots. We hold kids accountable and empower them to show growth no matter how slight or hard to spot.
Authentic assessment is typically less formal and less quantitative, so some less informed educators take it less seriously. We have to change this attitude. Like Ben and Jim say, the politics pressuring us to collect quantitative data are shameful. When authentic assessment is easier for us and kids and and even hold the kids accountable for doing their 50%… Why aren’t we using it? So frustrating!
Can’t wait to hear what you have to say about authentic assessments. I know they may be a lot of work but if I am not doing other assessments that if work time that I can use for better ways of assessing my students.
Authentic assessments are do extra work during classtime (mostly) but rather reflecting on class work more dynamically. After the bell rings, pick up the rubric that fits what you just did: if they just responded nonverbally, use a TPR rubric (even if you only score a handful, like 3-4 kids a day). If they participated in class, tracked the speaker, etc. use jGR. If they do SSR and read in L1 and described what they read, jot down daily antidotal notes or just check off a list (participated or not; Monday-Friday or just once weekly). That’s evidence of effort and authentic responses to L1 in a lesson. Don’t make them do anything extra, you just document what you see. It doesn’t have to be for every child, every day. It doesn’t even have to be that formal. But you are already assessing this way-you just call it “noticing.” We have to start calling this assessment. That’s what it is.
The danger is when we are using more appropriate assessments like the above–but we cave into “quiz” pressure that validate Data Turds.
Just say no to tests and quizzes that look for “did you acquire X, Y & Z” and start to notice in a more obvious way- on paper or checking boxes in a spreadsheet.
Notice students=we are “showing up” for them= more kids will “show up.”
But why do we have to capture it on paper? We don’t technically. It’s a safety net for some teachers (those who are being bullied) and for some kids-especially those who need to see growth on paper. (My ELL) kids are inundated with papers showing what they can’t do: they missed 3 questions here and partial credit there. We have to counter-act that (maybe not foreign language so much) with “here’s what you can do.” They don’t have to master points of grammar or thematic vocabulary lists. We just “notice” (with a rubric) what they can do “often” “sometimes” or “occasionally” through holistic and quantifiable observations of tasks.
Use a rubric. Notice kids. Don’t test. That’s all.
Someone recently pointed out that ESL and Foreign Language are very different and I’m 100% with Ben that the most important thing is the mental health. If this is too much for you, who have larger classes, please don’t do it. Don’t make extra work for yourself. Just with the time you would have written tests, don’t and instead fill out one rubric noticing how one student writes or speaks or responds nonverbally. Or don’t.
Just don’t ever diminish the “noticing” that we do by saying we “don’t assess.” We do assess. It just looks different.
Our assessment is harder to spot, but it’s there. (Kind of like our kids’ growth.)
*Authentic assessments are NOT extra work during classtime
(so more time for fun stories and actual learning)
Get out a rubric. Notice what kids can do. Circle the rubric. And toss it in a folder. And that’s an assessment. Sounds doable, Claire. Thanks.
Yes, exactly. Or don’t fill out the rubrics anywhere but your heads. The purpose of the rubrics is to elevate what we do to something amazing this day and age-real, authentic assessments.
Don’t you see how you are the assessment EXPERTS in your building?
TPRS is assessment on steriods. You assess in three seconds flat by scanning the room. Or maybe through a Listen and Draw you were going to do anyways. No extra steps.
Other teachers have to wake kids up and waste 30 minutes on tests that don’t always tie in to what kids learned-not really.
We show holistic growth, during assessment and use it to drive our instruction faster, slower, or wherever it needs to go, real-time in an ad hoc way.
They just use test to determine the 4%ers and keep working through the textbook. They modify nothing.
You help students acquire and demonstrate a concrete connection between your objectives (S&S), research-based instruction (TPRS), and assessments that happen in a way that’s authentically related to the instruction. We directly integrate curriculum and instruction (CRT items are directly copied and pasted rom the S&S to the rubrics we use–more on this later).
You modify for students in silent periods or struggling readers. You let kids who can’t talk TPR or draw or write. Making animal noises at key parts of the story–that’s our assessment. Our kids actually feel good about themselves and are motivated (lowered affective filters) during assessments which are seamlessly blended with instruction.
They may chose to “review” for 10 minutes before to make sure not all kids fail (skewing the test). Students forget everything in a few weeks anyways, so why not? No one, except maybe the 4%ers feel good about tests.
They don’t care about the kids who show more subtle growth, they just want their “data” to make them look like they are as good a teacher as Ben Slavic–but they know they aren’t. Sorry, Data Turd, you can’t stand up to what we have (and after one observation with Ben, he knows it).
Sadly, conventional wisdom in the US is that less boring=less rigor.
We have the opportunity to change this. Just know your shit on how to defend our assessments… and shout from the rooftops about why they are superior.
Now it’s time to fight fire with fire. Pull out the big assessment guns. Do it.
How to Play the Game:
1. Learn assessment terminology (never say “breakdown” again-just don’t!).
2. Never say “I don’t assess.”
3. Always say “My assessments, like my instruction are research-proven and based on well-supported SLA theories of comprehensible input.”
4. Don’t test ever again. You could, like make your test just a “fluff” test where all the kids pass and it makes them feel good and that’s fine. But we are at war. Just by principle, don’t test… and be ready to defend why.
If I want my car checked out, I don’t answer a multiple-choice assessment about what looks like items related to the car’s ability to operate. I put the key in the ignition, turn the key, and see what happens.
If you want kids to communicate, instruct them in how to communicate, then give them an opportunity to communicate.
“You want kids to communicate…”-that’s our objective that we indicate in a S&S without targets.
“…instruct them in how to communicate” –that’s TPRS
“… then give them an opportunity to communicate” –that’s Authentic Assessment.
Unlike with tests, authentic assessment, instruction, and curriculum… all align. Right now, people on this blog have some awesome curriculum documents (thanks Lance) –we have awesome instruction (thanks Blaine Rey)—but we need Authentic Assessment to round it all off.
Then our happy communicative circle is complete. The walls around our castle will be completely fortified from traditional foreign language attacks.
When we as a body of educators demand AUTHENTIC assessment, we also start to demand authentic communication in general.
Grammar-Translation is finished when we finally shut down their pathetic “data” crap. You can’t cram for rubrics. You can’t learn it for the week and then forget it. Grammar-Translation people will be shaking in their boots.
Holy cow, that rant just got away from me. Sorry.
It’s good stuff, Claire. I agree that assessment is an issue not fully resolved for TPRS/CI teachers, & I like what you say here about it. It’s like fulfilling assessment requirements without the stress & artificial feel of an explicit quiz, test, oral interview, or whatever else. I hope you’ll keep sharing.
…authentic assessments are do extra work during classtime (mostly) but rather reflecting on class work more dynamically….
Claire is there a “not” in the above that is missing? Am I reading it right?
yep. that’s a typo. Claire=typos.
Sorry, I’ll just edit in Word and maybe not type so much, so fast.
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn. ”
-Alvin Toffler
I am afraid that many of my colleagues in education are illiterate in this sense.
“The secret message communicated to most young people today by the society around them is that they are not needed, that the society will run itself quite nicely until they – at some distant point in the future – will take over the reigns. Yet the fact is that the society is not running itself nicely… because the rest of us need all the energy, brains, imagination and talent that young people can bring to bear down on our difficulties. For society to attempt to solve its desperate problems without the full participation of even very young people is imbecile.”
Alvin Toffler
I think he said it because as a group, teachers are so conditioned / programmed to follow a syllabus or pre-packaged curriculum. It has been that way for so many generations that it probably does not occur to ppl that 1) there is no need / rationale (from a SLA standpoint) to do this and 2) they don’t have another frame of reference.
It seems to me that the “training wheels” model of using structures is a way to meet folks where they are. It is too much of a leap to try something as radical as “non-targeted teaching.” Especially if one lives 99% or more of his or her day in the head/intellect rather than in a more intuitive mode. Schools and society in general has evolved to disregard intuition. It is all but beaten out of us, even though it is the most trustworthy guide.
This is so insightful, Jen.
This is a long response for Russ on diving into a targetless story, which has been my 2nd grade experiment over the past few class sessions. The kids have had +-50 hours of Spanish in 1st grade (pre- or emergent literate) and another prolly 40 so far in 2nd grade.
One day I told them that we were gonna create an original story from scratch together. Who is in the story?
With an open blank Word doc onscreen, they told me names of possible characters.
Soon enough someone said, “A marker named Scribbles.” I went with it. “what color?” Soon a kid offered, “all the colors of the rainbow…” and another added, “But the ink was stolen!” We were off to the races!
I simultaneously wrote these ideas into the onscreen doc in Spanish, and I circled the sentences and gathered more details. During prep time, I turned the list of details into narrative for the next session.
We spent several sessions expanding the story and adding plot elements – they had some wonderful and silly twists. When I need to, (if interest flagged) I just chose one of the options, (“I’m the director”), or we voted…
We started adding in sound effects and gestures a la Alina Filipescu’s gesture reading (briliant – please watch!!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyfWx630bdI
which I mark with a colorful icon within the text. When they wanted to hum a few bars of ‘bad guy Star Wars music’ I put in a lil SW icon I found on Google images. I find my kids are very excited by these colorful lil ‘rebus’ images within the text – they promise an upcoming explosion or silly gesture, and make the reading and digesting of the text more exciting.
We came up with a story over 300 words long.
Wanna know how Scribbles got his rainbow ink back from Señor Burrito?
SPOILER ALERT:
Scribbles’ friend, Neymar Jr, who is a banana cream pie, attacks Sr. Burrito in his secret laboratory in Bikini Bottom – and now Sr. Burrito cannot see (with all the banana cream in his eyes). Scribbles, and his friends, Neymar Jr, Frosting the donut and Choco Zucarita (a flake of cereal-who is also a computer expert) make their getaway from Bikini Bottom on (what else?) a Jet Ski.
The kids were SO TOTALLY into the story that they have asked if I will print/copy for them to take home. I am also formatting it for a kid-illustrated book – I will have several versions as many, many Ss want to take it home to illustrate!!
BTW – this story is built almost exclusively on hi-freq verbs and direct cognates.
That is awesome, Alisa!
Nice job.
How much of the details were provided by the students in Spanish:English?
Thank you so much this is so helpful! I know I can do this and that I am over thinking it but just hearing like someone’s process helps me process how to approach it. Also that video is literally amazing! I have learned more in the last two weeks than all year combined! Which is awesome and sad at the same time.
Reading this makes me wish I taught students that still had imagination. Mine are pretty much empty of this kind of spontaneity. They are little more than pure consumers of media. They watch stuff they don’t create stuff.
I did a targetless story using Ben’s steps. Totally cool. I use a 10 minute timer 100% in TL and if they get off task then we reset the timer then there is no break.
I had a story writer in L1 and L2 plus Live artist drawing on whiteboard. ONe class could not handle it.
We circle and get more details. 3 structures create themselves EASILY! However, it is important to go SLOW and choose wisely. Prof 2 keeps the story moving.
This is communication. With other jobs, I am sure that it can only improve.
The story writer actually types on his/her laptop then just shares the google doc with me to present the next day during ROA. Win-Win!
In my 2nd grade example, a LOT more English than usual crept in for the collecting of details, (it was truly my very first attempt at going totally commando – no pictures, no targets- just me and the keyboard and those 8 yr-old creative imaginations…) but then we quickly massaged ’em in in the TL.
I was OK with sacrificing some TL during story asking as the interest was sky high, and after the facts were vetted, interest remained high. I am very willing to make this kind of sacrifice to end up with such a class-generated story – really the time is negligible compared to all the juice we’re gonna squeeze from it. I don’t think I’d necessarily ask a target-less story while being observed for evaluation, however:}
I will get better at target-less story asking – but even if I don’t, I haven’t seen active, engaged interest like that at the end of April for a LONG time.
J-Lo is going commando and I love it.
” I don’t think I’d necessarily ask a target-less story while being observed for evaluation, however:”
I just did this for my recent formal EVAL. My principal loved it and wanted me to make sure ALL students were being formatively assessed.
“I just did this for my recent formal EVAL. My principal loved it and wanted me to make sure ALL students were being formatively assessed.”
Steven,
PRETTY Please give us a step-by-step when you have a minute. What (if anything) was on the board? How did you set up for success? How far along did you get in the story? Describe the kids engagement….and speak to that last bit on formatively assessed, porfa’.
See, people here are curious about formative assessments. Steven did them. We all do formative assessment but knowing how to define and defend these assessments is important when talking to administrators.
I second Alisa’s request, please, Steven, share some more about the formative assessments you used. Congratulations on your awesome evaluation, by the way. I’m so glad your administrator realizes what a gem you are.
Wow! This whole series of articles 1-7 has gotten me even more fired up. I have not read all the comments yet, and will do that, but one of my burning questions is how to translate assessment into “grading.” They are 2 different animals. They don’t go together. Grading in SLA and ESL seems completely unethical to me. We don’t compare a 2 year old to an 8 year old and give the older child an A because he “knows more language.” WE don’t even compare a 2 year old to our neighbor’s 2 year old and give one of them an A bc they said “mama” first.
I’m curious what others do. I will be perfectly honest below about my current “assessment system” “grading system” and my “data reporting.”
1) assessment: is pretty much what Claire describes, although having her describe it gives me more confidence to state what I do without fear. Whenever anyone asks “but how do you assess” …inside I’m like “what ARE you a moron? how can you not see that the process itself IS the assessment????” but I usually remain polite and reserved and point out “the process is the assessment.” and I break it down for them bc grown ups often need everything to be explained like this: “For example, if I ask a question and get blank stares it means the kids did not understand, so I re-establish meaning,” etc etc….Then i usually toss the adminZ or colleagues a bone in language they understand (aka adminZ CI)…”I give interpretive assessments by reading them a story and asking questions / having them read a story and answer questions / etc. etc.
2) grading: most kids pass bc they demonstrate understanding in some way. even tho my CI classes are messy and contaminated with too much english. kids who fail are the kids who do not come to class. kids who get a D are kids who miss a lot of class thru extended bathroom breaks and/ or phone use and/or not shutting the F up. the different between an A student and a C student is the consistency of their engagement, assessed with ISA / ISR or whatever you call the interpersonal skills. I “document” this weekly (in an ideal world, getting better at it) by typing some numberZ into the machine under my ISA category. I vary whether I enter them as formative or summative. I really don’t think about it so maybe I need to justify…but I def. put them in as summative when it is the end of a marking period, just to give it more of a boost (80% summative vs 20% formative). I am shooting blindly here just trying to survive my first year in this school. Mental health mental health mental health.
3) data: we are required to submit our “benchmark data” at each quarter. This one cracks me up. First quarter I was shivering in my cowboy boots bc it seemed so daunting. Confession: my “benchmark assessments” are nonexistent as a separate “big assessment” like all the other classes. I just used one of my usual activities and called it a benchmark retroactively. The kids were not even aware. “We had a benchmark?” “When was it?” I just read them a story and had them retell in English. Used a 1-2-3 rubric. 0= didn’t do it 1= understood a few random words 2= got part of the story line 3=got most of the story line 4= got the whole story line in detail. The rubric and assessment I typed up after the fact bc we had to submit it, so I pimped it up to sound very official. In reality I went thru my roster and put in numbers 1-4 for each kid. A few times I did “interpersonal benchmark” which I did announce to them right there on the spot…only so they would shut the F up and follow rule number 2! It worked. So I throw that in there sometimes bc otherwise they would never hear any Spanish.
In summary at some point I will be accused of “grade inflation.” But I have the advantage of being the only Spanish teacher at the high school, and in fact in the whole district bc the middle school only has French. So I will keep doing this until I get caught. Which might be next year, since we are doing all the prep for REACCREDITATION. UGH. So a lot of energy is now going into UNIT PLANS –which must all use the same template, all across the school. UGH. ALL OUR UNITS MUST BE SUBMITTED SEPTEMBER 1. UGH UGH UGH. But I will follow this thread for more ammo on how to talk about it, define it etc. Because it is the right thing to do. But PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I would love to hear how others assign the evil A-B-C-D????
I got a little called out in a “Quality Performance Assessment” peer review session a couple months ago. Ppl totally “got” what I do BUT they had all the usual questions “are you preparing them for college?” “what if they leave the district” blah blah. AND especially “this doesn’t really line up with the school wide rubrics.” So I am working on changing the school wide ones to align with SLA research BUT one sticky thing is my French colleague bc she is an eclectic tchr who is very popular and who forces a TON of output AND who openly criticizes her students “seriously??? you are in French 2!!! the tu form of etre!!!! it’s right up there on the poster! you should not be asking me about that!!!!.” So not sure how to manage this one bc I don’t want to alienate her as she’s a fierce supporter of me and has been super positive and enthusiastic when she has observed my classes. This is probably bc I am the first Spanish teacher the kids have liked, and the first one in 5 years who will be renewing my contract.
Off the top of my head…can I just define “formative” as everything I do daily? And then “summative” is where I see them trending at the end of each quarter? Would that make sense in my system? The problem with this, for how I see most kids now, is that if everything were formative, they would not follow the rules / ISA etc. because “it’s just formative.” Like, they weigh whether they will even participate based on whether it’s formative or summative. So I am often tempted to call everything summative, but that would likely attract undue parent / admin attention???? Thoughts????
Sorry for the long ramble without having read all the previous comments. Will get on that this weekend!
“assessment: is pretty much what Claire describes, although having her describe it gives me more confidence to state what I do without fear.”
Yeah! That’s what I was hoping for…to give already amazing educators the tools to defend their superior assessment and instruction.
jen said:
…we don’t compare a 2 year old to an 8 year old and give the older child an A because he “knows more language.” We don’t even compare a 2 year old to our neighbor’s 2 year old and give one of them an A because they said “mama” first….
Hee hee!
…I usually remain polite and reserved and point out “the process is the assessment” and I break it down for them because grown ups often need everything to be explained….
As per:
…mon dessin ne représentait pas un chapeau. Il représentait un serpent boa qui digérait un éléphant. J’ai alors dessiné l’intérieur du serpent boa, afin que les grandes personnes puissent comprendre. Elles ont toujours besoin d’explications…. (Le Petit Prince, Premier Chapitre)
…my drawing didn’t represent a hat. It represented a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. So I drew the inside of the snake, so grown ups could understand. They always need everything explained….