small amounts of info at a time

i try to make art interesting and fun. Sometimes there is a ton of information I have to give to the students- some very important and some more or less support information. I have a lesson I teach on the Renaissance period. We have to cover several concepts at one time. I have a wonderful book- not a true text book- but a book that breaks the information down into understandable sections. I read a lot to my students, mainly because I think they will listen to me  before they would read for themselves. Most everything I teach is cross curricular and We have some very fascinating discussions over what I have read. It take several days to read the lesson, but I at least know that if I do not over fill their heads with too much at one time, they are more likely to retain the information. The students  have time to learn from history and learn art techniques at the same time.