Chapter 10: 25 Ways to Fill “Odd” Moments
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22.
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elate action verbs to the course.
Divide the class into groups of five or six. Give each group a key word (an action verb) related
to the course. If you are teaching poetry, such a word might be “scan”; biology: “dissect”;
supervision: “direct.” Give one word to the leader of the group and ask her to tell her group
what the word is.
Then instruct the entire class to close their eyes. Ask, “What do you see in your mind’s eye when
you hear your word? If your first thought is not course-related, choose a second thought or
vision.” Have them record their visions.
Ask the group leader to call on each person in her group and find out what thoughts or images
came to mind as group members heard the word. Then call on the group leader to tell you the
range of visions.
If there are wide gaps or discrepancies in people’s comprehension of this word, you may need to
re-teach it so that everyone is reading from the same metaphorical sheet of music.
Example for a Literature class: If someone in the “scan” group saw a pair of feet stepping on
a sidewalk, that vision suggests comprehension or relevance, because scanning is the process of
determining how many “feet” are in a line of poetry. But if all they “saw” was a grocery
checkout line with a clerk scanning bar codes on products, that student probably did not grasp
the meaning of the word in its poetic sense.
Brainteaser:
This true story appeared recently in many newspapers. The incident took place
in Connecticut. Can you figure out the circumstances?
A man was watching television when he saw an advertisement offering a
shirt to the first 100 viewers who phoned in. He called the number given,
stated his size, and provided such relevant information as his name,
address, and so on. He was assured that he would receive the shirt in a few
days. He did. He also received notification that he had committed a federal
crime and that there was a $2,000 penalty—even though his action was
perfectly legal and the call was perfectly legal.
Answer: The ad could be seen only by those who were illegally tapping into cable circuits without paying for them. The
whole thing was a trap.
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