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Start-Up Activity
Challenge students to think of something that there isn't a word for. You will probably get a bunch of blank stares. How can a person think of something that has no words? Then present students with these words and definitions, and ask students how many have experienced what is described.
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Opia: The intensity of eye-to-eye contact, which feels both invasive and vulnerable (During the job interview, the opia was unbearable.)
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Monachopsis: Feeling chronically out of place (As I sat at the downtown bus stop, I was overcome by monachopsis.)
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Anecdoche: When everyone is talking but nobody is listening (The student council meeting overflowed with anecdoche.)
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Thinking on the stairs: Thinking of the perfect comeback when it is too late to use it (I smiled at the thought but realized I was just thinking on the stairs.)
Ask students which of these terms they are likely to remember and use in conversation. Then ask them if the term makes them suddenly more aware of the situation or feeling that it describes.
Of course it does. We can't think about things we don't have words for. That's why vocabulary is so important. It gives us the raw material for thought. The more words we know, the more accurately and completely we can think.
Think About It
“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
—Dr. Seuss
Start-Up Activity
Challenge students to think of something that there isn't a word for. You will probably get a bunch of blank stares. How can a person think of something that has no words? Then present students with these words and definitions, and ask students how many have experienced what is described.
-
Opia: The intensity of eye-to-eye contact, which feels both invasive and vulnerable (During the job interview, the opia was unbearable.)
-
Monachopsis: Feeling chronically out of place (As I sat at the downtown bus stop, I was overcome by monachopsis.)
-
Anecdoche: When everyone is talking but nobody is listening (The student council meeting overflowed with anecdoche.)
-
Thinking on the stairs: Thinking of the perfect comeback when it is too late to use it (I smiled at the thought but realized I was just thinking on the stairs.)
Ask students which of these terms they are likely to remember and use in conversation. Then ask them if the term makes them suddenly more aware of the situation or feeling that it describes.
Of course it does. We can't think about things we don't have words for. That's why vocabulary is so important. It gives us the raw material for thought. The more words we know, the more accurately and completely we can think.
Think About It
“Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!”
—Dr. Seuss