Author Archives: knlistman

Visualizing conversation

Posted on October 22, 2013 by knlistman

Imagine you are creating an everyday conversation of a fairly happy couple lunching at an outdoor café. The idea is to make it sound ordinary but still drop in some clues about the problems looming just beyond the horizon. However, … Continue reading →

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Transformations

Posted on October 19, 2013 by knlistman

For a recent assignment, students were to examine an advertisement. Questions led them to look at the visuals: subject of emphasis, originality of image, the placement of objects, type of people pictured. Then, they examined techniques such as use of  … Continue reading →

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The complexity conundrum

Posted on October 18, 2013 by knlistman

While working with the development of a secondary language arts and literature curriculum, I had a co-worker say “If you don’t live by the 6 + 1 trait writing model, we are not going to get along.” At the time … Continue reading →

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The lesson of the limes

Posted on October 17, 2013 by knlistman

“I’m so degraded, I owe at least a dozen limes.” Amy confesses. She is basically in a pickle, or perhaps more correctly out of pickles, pickled limes that is. She is deep into the fad of bringing limes to school … Continue reading →

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Allusions and airs

Posted on October 16, 2013 by knlistman

Imagine you are discussing a current government situation with a friend. You mention an insight you learned about behind-the-scenes working of government while in our capitol. Perhaps you briefly mention that when George Bush explained this the first time, you … Continue reading →

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Figures of seeing

Posted on October 15, 2013 by knlistman

Reading ancient literature is difficult not just because of archaic words, but also ambiguous figures of speech that attempted to help the reader see the image and not just hear the words. Translate an early English text, such as Beowulf … Continue reading →

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Word of media

Posted on October 11, 2013 by knlistman

Recently we had to evacuate the school due to a gas leak. Students were jammed up against the back fence of a subdivision across from the school. Fire trucks roared past, lights flashing and phones were raised in the air … Continue reading →

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The school of social networking

Posted on October 10, 2013 by knlistman

With students glued to Facebook rather than paying attention in class, teachers begin to wonder if they could teach better using a social network instead. Social media and e-learning may be useful, but Facebook is by no means universal. The … Continue reading →

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Vibrant verbs

Posted on October 9, 2013 by knlistman

Writers can throw around the terms used to describe interesting language – sensory images, unusual syntax, well-developed descriptions, and vibrant verbs. But incorporating these into writing and preserving the flow is a challenge. Recently I worked with some nascent writers trying to … Continue reading →

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How to rant like a literature professor

Posted on October 8, 2013 by knlistman

“That was the year I came to class at the start of the new semester and found only one student to sign up for Drama from Aeschylus to O’Neill.” Do you know who Aeschylus or O’Neill were?  I assume you … Continue reading →

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