Invisibles - Who, What, Where, When, How

The Invisibles. It kind of sounds like a weird sports team that is probably the biggest underdog you've ever seen... in reality, it is has become one of my "go to" plans for just about everything.

Who

Firstly, I must give a shout out and credit due to Ben Slavic and Tina Hargaden for creating the Invisibles. You should head over to Facebook and check out their group CI Liftoff (also available on Instagram where I follow them), and you can check out Ben Slavic's website: www.benslavic.com

I'm going to go ahead and also ask their forgiveness for a few things:

1. I am not fully untargeted. :)
2. I may not get everything perfect. If I miss something, please leave a comment so I can update and get it right.

What

An image from a Latin II student.
We were working with fantastical
creatures and unique body parts
and stories. 

To put it briefly, Invisibles are (essentially) student creations of characters that don't really exist in the physical world. Ben Slavic writes that there are a few iterations of these in the original process:

1. One Word Image creation (all class)
2. Invisibles stories from the OWI
3. Kids are invited to create their own individually created characters
4. More stories come from the newly created images.

One thing is key, however, the invisible must be fully created. For the original process, this means that they have a bio/backstory and a problem needing to be solved. (1)

Where

According to Ben and Tina's original plan, as I understand it, this is both a whole class thing (steps 1-2, 4) and an individually based thing (step 3). For me, this is a.... 

• whole class thing (although I don't do this often)
• a group thing
• an individual thing
• a sub thing

When

That's one of the things I love about the Invisibles... it is completely workable into any lesson and plan. It is often one of my go tos for sub plans because it gives me lots of good material to use when I get back, and I often do!

This student added a "like" of their
Invisible. This Invisible likes to eat
hot wings. 

One thing I will say is that if this is done in the lower levels, you may have to provide some lexical support for them as they create, if you are asking them to also work with the language. This may be in vocabulary and translation support. This is an activity that I will do with my ones this year, but not until a little later after we've gotten more vocabulary under our belts. 

How

If this is your first encounter with the invisibles. I strongly recommend you check out Ben Slavic and Tina Hargaden's work. They are the original creators of the texts involving the Invisibles. There is lots of discussion on this on the Facebook group CI Liftoff and on Ben Slavic's website as well. 

As for the how, I've done this a few ways and I really like the variety I can get from it. Below are some of my variations on doing the Invisibles.

Before I share, please allow me to remind us that I am not fully untargeted. You will see elements of both some of my targets and the untargeted-ness (if you will) that is the nature of the Invisibles.

Variation 1: completely individual

This may be good for lower levels and is GREAT for a day when you are worn out or for a sub day:

1. students are given a document that walks them through choosing aspects that you might be targeting, like:
1. body parts, number of body parts, colours, shapes, places, names, etc. 
2. After students decide the details, they draw a detailed image of their invisible and label everything as they had decided it. 
3. optional have students use the building sheet from step 1 to write a few sentences describing their Invisible. 

Variation 2: Individual + Group

This works much like the previous one, but for step 3, have them get with a partner and choose 1 image to write about. They can work together to create a description and, in higher levels also provide:

• back story in TL
• problem
• full problem and story (solved)

Variation 3: individual-ish + Group

1. Students are given a document that asks them to choose 1 thing about their Invisible.
2. Students trade papers.
3. Students choose a second thing, on a new document. 
4. Students trade papers.
5. Process continues until all aspects of Invisible are chosen. 
6. Students get their paper back and illustrate the Invisible. 
7. Students get with a partner and together pick one to write a story about/describe. 

I like this for a day when I need a break and also, if I have a sub I know will do it the way intended, I might leave this for a sub. Doing it this way takes the entire class, for sure, and provides some truly unique images. 

Follow-Up

One of the BIGGEST pay offs for me and my kids with the Invisibles is what I do after. Sometimes we will create a story, but I admit that I am not that great at, nor do I have the skill to follow through and remember them so well. Rather, I like to use Invisibles with a picture description follow up. Here is my general process. 

1. Choose 3-5 images that are clear and unique and write descriptions of them. 
2. I read the descriptions 3 times, slowly, to my students who listen and attempt to draw the image. 
1. 1st time - listen only
2. 2nd-3rd time - draw and edit drawing
3. I project the image. We check our work and discuss. 

I love this. It can take an entire period and the students LOVE seeing their work on the screen. I like

watching them listen and draw. Sometimes they'll figure out it is their image and get excited. It is the best. 

The discussion can range from the very concrete (what's in the image) to the abstract and imaginary. It is a great discussion, gets more reps in, and is enjoyable by all. 

How are you doing Invisibles (if at all)? I'd love to hear about it! Comment below. 

(1) credit to Ben Slavic's post on Invisibles.