The innovative use of a visual cueing device, or rods, in a second language class to represent the parts of speech and the grammatical structure of a sentence is explained and illustrated. The advantages found in it are that individual structures are not learned as isolated elements but rather as parts of a larger system, and that there is more student-generated production because the technique allows the teacher to use few verbal cues. The use of the technique for teaching the verb "to be" is described and charted, as well as its use for illustrating clauses. (MSE)