Let me start by showing you just how easy it is to incorporate visual imagery into your lesson plan. Take the
information your students must memorize and work together with them to create a silly story with it. I once met
a very animated teacher and conference presenter, Jon Pearson (www.createlearning.com). Jon taught the 13
colonies in less than five minutes by having his audience memorize a ridiculous story—in pictures that
everyone created in their minds—of a Jersey cow named Georgia, on top of the Empire State Building. Can
you “see” New Jersey, Georgia and New York in this story? The tale went on to include all 13 original American
colonies. After each line we repeated, we were told to create an image in our mind’s eye and to make it as big
and silly as we could:
There’s a cow named Georgia (Georgia)
It’s a Jersey cow (New Jersey)
She’s sitting on top of the Empire State Building (New York)
She’s singing a couple of Christmas carols (North and South Carolina)
Under her arm is a Virginia ham (Virginia and New Hampshire)
The cow is wearing a pair of yellow underwear (Rhymes with Delaware)
In its hoof is a pencil (Pennsylvania)
The cow is making a Connect-the-dots drawing (Connecticut)
Of Marilyn Monroe (Maryland)
Walking down a road (Rhode Island)
Going to mass (Massachusetts)
information your students must memorize and work together with them to create a silly story with it. I once met
a very animated teacher and conference presenter, Jon Pearson (www.createlearning.com). Jon taught the 13
colonies in less than five minutes by having his audience memorize a ridiculous story—in pictures that
everyone created in their minds—of a Jersey cow named Georgia, on top of the Empire State Building. Can
you “see” New Jersey, Georgia and New York in this story? The tale went on to include all 13 original American
colonies. After each line we repeated, we were told to create an image in our mind’s eye and to make it as big
and silly as we could:
There’s a cow named Georgia (Georgia)
It’s a Jersey cow (New Jersey)
She’s sitting on top of the Empire State Building (New York)
She’s singing a couple of Christmas carols (North and South Carolina)
Under her arm is a Virginia ham (Virginia and New Hampshire)
The cow is wearing a pair of yellow underwear (Rhymes with Delaware)
In its hoof is a pencil (Pennsylvania)
The cow is making a Connect-the-dots drawing (Connecticut)
Of Marilyn Monroe (Maryland)
Walking down a road (Rhode Island)
Going to mass (Massachusetts)