We can’t forget the beauty of the three locations. What do they provide? First, continuity – they keep the story from getting too wide, too big. The argument against stories that are too big is that, even if CI is happening, it can be overhwhelming and so is best avoided. We want to have stories that are simple.
The human mind loves order. Many fairy tales occur in threes, notably the Three Little Pigs, in which language is repeated brilliantly through three locations for young children. Each time the familiar phrase is repeated in a new location, there is a moment of happy recognition of the returning phrase, and so there is no overwhelming language activity and the message is easy to remain focused on.
Just once, try doing a story through three locations with extremely simple vocabulary when you are first learning how to do stories. Pare each location down. Limit the vocabulary activity. Watch how much more your students are able to follow along. Have the actor go through all three locations using very simple language. You will learn something when you do that.
The Problem with CI
Jeffrey Sachs was asked what the difference between people in Norway and in the U.S. was. He responded that people in Norway are happy and
