One Word Images

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One of my favorite Comprehensible Input activities is the "One Word Image" also known as the OWI. It is an amazing way to get kids to really get involved in the language and have them quickly pick up vocabulary because it has been produced in a way that is meaningful to them.

So what is an OWI?


An OWI is an image that is created by input from the students. In my class, we have a class artist. This is someone who likes drawing but can also pay attention to what we are saying in class and create a really awesome doodle based on what the class comes up with. The student artist does this at the back of the class with an easel and we don't reveal the OWI until the next day (to peak anticipation!)

One thing I like about OWIs is that we can target specific vocabulary if we need to. Let's use my Hour 7 Spanish 1 class for example. We created "Becky" the blue and yellow watermelon who was bigger than the Eiffel Tower. I wish I had a picture because she was awesome. She had 4 arms and 2 legs and really really big eyes. What my students didn't realize is that I was secretly targeting the comparative structures "Más _________ que" and "Menos ____________ que". I also utilize my "Profe 2" who is a student that helps guide the class suggestions into meaningful and funny creations.

My script looked a bit like this  (in the target language)

  • Okay class, we need an object. Okay a cow, chicken or a watermelon. Profe 2, Cow, chicken or watermelon? Wow ok! Watermelon! Okay class, What is the watermelon's name? Becky? Linda? Bianca? Profe 2? Oh wow! Becky! Becky the watermelon. Class, what color is Becky? Is she normal colors or special colors? Special colors! Ok! How many special colors? 2 or 3? 2! Becky is 2 special colors. Which special colors? Yellow, green, blue, pink. Profe 2? Okay! Becky is yellow and blue. Class, is Becky more blue than yellow or more yellow than blue? Oh! She's more blue than yellow! So she is less yellow than blue. Great! Okay class. Is Becky super large or microscopic? Oh she's super large! Wow! She's super large! Is she larger than the school? No? Yes? Profe 2 is Becky larger than the school? Class! Profe 2 says yes! She is larger than the school. Is she larger than the Eiffel tower? No? Yes? Profe 2? Wow! Class! Profe 2 says that Becky is larger than the Eiffel Tower! How incredible! Okay class. Becky is larger than the Eiffel tower. Class. Is Becky smaller than the Eiffel tower? No! She is not smaller than the Eiffel tower she is bigger than the Eiffel tower! Class, is Becky bigger than the Burj Khalifa? No? Wow! Okay! So, Becky is bigger than the Eiffel tower but smaller than the Burj Khalifa. Class, how many arms does becky have? 5? 2? 4? 3? Oh wow! Profe 2, how many arms does Becky have? 4! Wow! Becky has 4 arms. Class, does Becky have more arms than a person or less arms than a person? Right! She has more arms than a person. 
The class artist continues drawing as we finish up our details about the number of legs, eyes, mouths, etc. We reveal the OWI the next day and then have lots of extension activities with this creation. We can even use this creation to form a class specific assessment.  Later on this week, I'll dive into using the OWI as an assessment for Criterion C / Communicating in response to spoken and/or written and/or visual text. 


Hasta pronto, 

Señora K 

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