Your grandma makes it — it’s warm. You sleep with it. Answer: a quilt This is a really old famous writer. Answer: William Shakespeare It’s Friday! It’s a candybar!Answer: Payday It’s coming out of your nose. “Boogers! Snot!” Yes — another word for what’s happening . . . . Answer: Drip (hilarious laughter) Just skip it! Answer: Armpit Thing in the sky. WhenContinue reading “Taboo: The answers”
Category Archives: teaching
Taboo
This week I have my students playing Taboo. The exercise serves a number of functions, actually: 1) It helps them form bonds within their newly-created workshop groups; 2) it allows them to practice description by finding alternate ways of describing things or ideas, since they have to avoid the obvious descriptive terms on the cards;Continue reading “Taboo”
Passive voice
I don’t lecture on passive voice with the same frequency or fervor as I did back when I taught technical/professional writing, but it’s still a sticking point for me, and I like to point it out when I see it. My favorite example remains the Reagan line during the Iran Contras of the `80s: “MistakesContinue reading “Passive voice”
An assignment for me
My students are busily typing away at an assignment I’ve given them. Which surprises me. Ordinarily, when I bring my classes to a computer lab, I have to all but beat students away from IM, Facebook, YouTube, or any of the other distractions I, too, would ordinarily have open in side windows. But either they’reContinue reading “An assignment for me”
“The Bullet Surprise,” courtesy of “beta amphetamine”
My friend Beth Ann Fennelly has a new book of of poetry out, Unmentionables, which I’ve been salivating for since I finished her nonfiction book Great with Child a year ago. I haven’t ordered it yet, but I’ve been thinking about the book, so to whet my yearning I’ve picked up an old favorite, herContinue reading ““The Bullet Surprise,” courtesy of “beta amphetamine””
New journey, no map
I’ve been neglecting this blog nearly all summer. That doesn’t mean I’ve been neglecting my writing, of course: I’ve written reviews of the books I’ve read, I’ve typed up my journals from my trip to Scotland (and written a 20,000-word photodocumentary of the trip for friends and family), I’ve worked on stories and even startedContinue reading “New journey, no map”
My eyes, they are strained
I’ve been going through my students’ online discussion posts this semester, looking at the statistics, and I think I’m about ready to collapse. So far this semester, I’ve written 276 discussion posts. Many of them are short replies to questions or comments on other posts, but several have been lengthy essays. But that’s not theContinue reading “My eyes, they are strained”
Typos
I ought to put this on a stamp and keep it on my desk, so I can just slap it on a paper whenever I find cause: “Typos are very important to all written form. It gives the reader something to look for so they aren’t distracted by the total lack of content in yourContinue reading “Typos”
San Francisco and Pop Culture
As I did in New York, I decided to write blog entries about my conference in San Francisco, so my students can see what I’m up to at these conferences (this one over Spring Break no less!). But this time around, my conference hotel is not offering free wireless, so I’m having to write theseContinue reading “San Francisco and Pop Culture”
Compassion from students
Last Thursday, when I read the first news reports of the shooting at Northern Illinois University — less than 150 miles from my campus here in Wisconsin — I started considering ways in which to address the situation with my students. My initial impulse was to dedicate the next class period to discussing the shootingsContinue reading “Compassion from students”
Samuel Snoek-Brown 