The Top Phrases in the English Language!

Screen Shot of Words from GG – go to Wordle.net, type your web site URL and watch the magic!

This is something I started just for fun.  Can you think of others???

The Single Best Word:     Yes!

The Two Best Two-Word Phrases:              I’m sorry.               Snow Day!

The Three Best Three-Word Phrases:        I love you.   You were right.  This is delicious!

The Four Best Four-Word Phrases:

Want to come in?
It’s on the house!
You look so young.
Let’s do that again!

The Five Best Five-Word Phrases:

Come to dinner with me.
Have a great Summer Break.
There’s no charge for this.
You are going to Hollywood! (as exclaimed by the Idol judges)
You make me so happy!

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Brilliant Brainstorming!

Clashing personalities or overblown egos often stand in the way of a productive meeting (or as my district identifies it – Professional Learning Communities).  Whether you are meeting with a larger or smaller group, the better ideas often seem to occur after the meeting is held.  How can we improve upon this?!

 

I read about this discussion-generating method in the current issue of Psychology Today (one of the 17 magazines I subscribe to!) and thought I’d bring it back to my PLC at the next session.  It worked!!!  It proved a more honest, productive way to generate thoughts.

Here it is (courtesy of Psychology Today) ~

I.   Write ~ Everyone sits down with a different colored pen and a piece of paper.  Each person writes an idea on the paper and passes his/her paper to the right.  EVERYONE IS MORE ACCOUNTABLE IF THEY HAVE THEIR OWN COLOR – BRILLIANT!! 

II.  React ~ Read the idea (silently) on the paper you just received, then add your own idea.  If you can’t think of something, just pass it along to keep the creative juices flowing.

III. Review ~ When a paper has about five ideas, retire it to the center of the group.  Everyone now analyzes them.  Because everyone’s ideas are all out there, there’s a need for a more systematic consideration of each idea.

IV.  Select ~ Everyone makes a list of their favorite ideas.  In my groups case, we are a small enough group that we just orally identified the favorites.  For a larger group, writing down the favorites may be more productive and honest.

“When the group is committed, they are usually surprised with what they achieve.”  (Heslin)

Bonus to Educators:  This can work as a classroom strategy as well, as a means to generate discussions or initiate background knowledge!!

Try it at your next meeting!!! 

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Have You Ever Been Cubed??

Shhhhh . . . Keep this a secret . . . Don’t tell a soul about this post . . . Read on only if you are ready to be enlightened, tickled and shocked.  

Begin if you dare! 

WARNING:  For maximum validity, enlightenment, and fun, do NOT read down to the bottom until you have completed the exercise in its entirety!!!

 

 

 

This is the tone you will encounter when you open the book The Cube . . . Keep the Secret.  It is a self-awareness game I play with my students on the day before a holiday.  I’ve been using this book for many years now, and I’ve yet to encounter a class in which the students are not in awe of its accuracy.  When we’re done with the game, I ask the students to write either a one-page analysis of their findings from the game or a descriptive piece illustrating their landscape.  Never is there a complaint for this assignment.  I also have fun with this at family gatherings!!

• Readers are asked to picture a desert landscape.  In the desert landscape are five specific elements:  a cube, a ladder, a horse, a storm and flowers.  The idea is to write down and describe the very first image of each that arrives in your head to achieve the most accurate results.  Each element represents something about the reader – therein lies the secret.  I’ve always been good at keeping secrets so I’m going to make you wait until you have the book itself in your hot little hands to find out what each represents.

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Reasons the Newspaper Won’t Die

 Many newspapers faced their demise this year but I’m hopeful that we can still count on tucking the folded black and white newsprint under our arm as we scurry off, on catching a glimpse of the cover stories as we wait in the dentist’s office, and on spreading out the paper on a leisure Sunday morning.  It would be a great loss if we lost this important form of media. 

Top 10 Reasons for Reading a Newspaper*

1. My newspaper has never crashed, gone down, or flashed animated ads at me.

2. Anywhere I travel, my newspaper goes with me. I don’t need a laptop or a wireless connection or a PDA.

3. I can read my newspaper while standing, while eating, while riding a train, but not while driving my car . . . which is just as well since I should be paying attention to the road.

4. If I read a story I like, I can tear it out and save it, and not have to pay to read it 30 days later.

5. I don’t have to sign in or customize or register or remember passwords to read my newspaper. And I often enjoy articles in my newspaper on topics I wouldn’t normally think I’d be interested in.

6. My newspaper has high-resolution pictures and type on large pages that load almost instantly, making it easy to browse and enjoy.

7. My newspaper is cheap, recycable and easy to replace. If it’s lost or stolen, it’s no big deal.

8. My newspaper is not made of unrecyclable toxic materials.

9. If my newspaper makes a mistake, the correction is posted with an explanation. It’s not sneakily applied to the original story after I’ve read it.

10. I can read my newspaper sitting outside on a nice day in the sun, even if a breeze is blowing, because I know how to fold a newspaper.

11.  My newspaper is never late.  I can always count on it in the early morning hours.

12.  My newspaper has something for everyone:  cover stories, editorials, sports, entertainment, health, etc. 

*Adapted from Kelly Gallagher’s Reading Reasons

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Get Into the Spirit!

This week is Homecoming Spirit Week at my school.  This is one of my favorite weeks of the year!

 

MONDAY:   Roll Out Of Bed Day

 

 

 

TUESDAY:  Tie-Dye Tuesday

 

Yes, I bought these jeans like this!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEDNESDAY:  Wacky Wednesday

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THURSDAY:  Go Green Day

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Being Your Belief

Our beliefs drive our actions.  Grading Girl believes there are some juicy beliefs that each of us would like to hold about ourselves.   Here’s a step-by-step process to create and embody them.

I just completed this with my Speech Communications class.  The only way to be a truly effective communicator is to understand and believe in yourself ~

Being Your Belief!!!

 

1. Think of a belief you want to have about yourself.

2. Create a sentence that affirms that belief.  Start with either of these two phrases:

I can . . .

I am . . .

3.  Now say to yourself:  “When I am at my best, I can/am (fill in with your belief).”

4.  Now think of someone who has that belief about herself (himself) or acts as if she believes something similar about herself.  For example, if you want to be more critical, Simon Cowell might be a good role model.  If you want to be more sophisticated, Julie Andrews might be a good role model.  Of course, thinking of someone you know personally who has this belief works just as well . . . if not better.

5.  Pay attention to how your role model stands, moves, breathes and acts.

 6. Stand like that yourself – mimic the posture.  You’ll be surprised how much this helps!!

7. Say the belief to yourself over and over in your head . . . listen to that little voice in your head.

8. Say your new belief out loud.  It will really make it a truism.

9. Continue this process until you ARE what you believe.  The more you do this, the more your body takes on the cell memories of the belief and the more it appears as if it is ture.  Then one day it just is!!!

 

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Color Your World!

There’s something to this.  I was shopping in Francesca’s boutique, flipping through Michele Bernhardt’s Colorstrology book, and discovered that my personal color is Jaffa Orange.  There is something to this because the cotton tank I already had in my hand to purchase matched the color exactly.   Hmmm . . . Colorstrology tells us that our birthday carries a numerological value and meaning.  That value corresponds to a color palette from which we can draw just as we do with the month in which we were born.  Wearing, decorating and surrounding ourselveswith this specific color is supposed to bring out our true selves, our best selves.  We are not to confuse our personal color with our favorite color – Bernhardt says that our favorite color can change as we evolve or change our surroundings.  Our personal color, on the other hand, remains constant.

This fun book rests on my coffee table.  There is a page for every day of the year.  There are even color swatches in the back to take with you when shopping for your color.  In addition, each color has its PANTONE® Color identification to help find the perfect match.  I like the suggestions Bernhardt gives for using your personal color.  Grading Girl gives Colorstrology an A+ for an interesting alternative to traditional zodiac and astrology readings.

I’d say this is pretty accurate . . .

My Personal Color ~ JAFFA ORANGE

Analytical, Responsible, Sensitive

If you were born on this day:  “You love to use your mind.  Your ability to analyze problems and situations is exceptional.  You never really know just how good or talented you are due to your yearning for perfection.  Many of you cover your sensitivity with facts and a composed exterior.  You actually have a very sensitive spirt that needs to be nurtured and recognized.” (Bernhardt)

Colorstrology says that wearing or surrounding myself “with Jaffa Orange helps you live life more freely by integrating your intellect with your emotions and your passion with self-control.” (Bernhardt)

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How Well Do You Listen?!?

We spend about 70% of our waking day practicing one of the four forms of communication.  Within that 70%, we spend 9% writing (bloggers may have a higher percentage!), 16% reading something, 30% speaking, and 45% listening.  It is ironic that the communication skill we utilize the most is the skill least taught in school.  While we certainly may not need as much classroom time on listening as the other three, listening tips would benefit all aspects of students’ lives.  Here’s a discussion I hold early in the year with my speech classes.  Let me know what your thoughts are on this ~

Do you get irritated when people interrupt?  Or are you the one doing most of the interrupting?  Studies show that there may be significant differences between the sexes when it comes to stopping a speaker in mid-sentence.  Do you agree?

When a man and a woman are talking, for example, researchers say the man makes about 96 percent of the interruptions.  Men appear to have a few other gender-specific habits.  Some researchers say that men, for instance, have been taught since childhood to become problem solvers.  As a result, men tend to enter a conversation too quickly, and usually with a ready answer.  They fail to draw out the speaker with questions or to listen for more information before jumping to a conclusion.  Do you think these are generalized stereotypes or is there merit to this?

Deborah Tannen, author of a popular book on conversational styles called You Just Don’t Understand, states that most women use “rapport talk” as a way of establishing connections and relationships.  From childhood, she writes, women tend to listen for things they have in common with others.  Men, on the other hand, use “report talk” to preserve their independence and maintain status.  They do this primarily by showing knowledge and skill, and by holding center stage through storytelling or joking.  From childhood, men learn to use talking as a way to get and keep attention.  Consequently, they have a harder time learning to be good listeners.  Hmmm . . . more food for thought.

Regardless of gender differences, Grading Girl contemplates what can distort our listening skills ~

Filters That Can Distort Our Listening:

Education
Age

Biases

Attitude (pessimist or optimist)

Religion

Family

Experience

Emotions

Physical Condition

Morals

A good listener will . . .

Provide encouragement

Ask for explanations

Paraphrase the message

Summarize the message

Use non-verbal feedback

Now it’s time to look at yourself?  Do you listen or do you just hear?  Take GG’s little quiz to rate yourself as a listener ~

Answer “always,” “almost always,” “sometimes,” “almost never,” and “never”

~ Do you keep an open mind about the person speaking, and do you listen objectively?

~ Do you think about what is being said and how you might use this information in the future?

~ Do you concentrate on the speaker’s message and not on personal habits such as poor enunciation, nervous gestures, or poor grooming?

~ Do you find yourself interrupting others?

~ Do you tune out from time to time and daydream?

~ Do you tune out to think of what you are going to say next?

~ Do you look directly into the speaker’s eyes and tune out what is happening around you?

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Late Night Letters . . .

Dear Mom,
Thank you for the beautiful day today.  Shop-til-we-drop downtown day was fun and I genuinely enjoyed your company. I am very lucky to have you as my mother.

Dear College BFF,
I’m sorry we’ve only been able to text each other back and forth lately.  Even though our schedules have not meshed in the last few months, I know that when we do get together, it’ll be like we just saw each other yesterday.

Dear Trader Joe’s Cashier,
Your statement about “everything in moderation – even moderation” stuck with me.  Thanks for the smile!

Dear Man in the Blue Shirt at the Play this Evening,
You really shouldn’t have continuously stared at me when you were sitting right next to your wife.  I feel for her.

Dear Future Boyfriend,
Ummm, could you hurry it up already?

Dear Mac,
Don’t tell PC, but I’m already getting along better with you.  Please be patient with me as I learn all that is special about you and push your wrong buttons from time to time.  You make GG look extra sharp!

Dear Bed,
I hope you will help me get a deep, good night’s sleep that I very much need.  You seem awfully big lately.

Dear Thunder,
Please keep your distance tonight.  You know I never liked you, but you probably get that a lot.

Dear Daughter,
I’m thinking about you and hope you are safely tucked in your bed having pleasant, pleasant dreams.

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First Lines offer First Impressions

The first lines of books are profound.  Either they provide a foreshadow of the events to ensue, a poignant statement to digest, a comedic crack to grab attention, or a startling statistic or fact to open with.  Go ahead . . . open to the first pages of some of the books you own and you’ll see.  Even the non-fiction reads seem to offer a fun first line.  Here are just a few examples. . . do you have some?

A Few First Lines in Literature

~ “It was a pleasure to burn.“  Fahrenheit 451

~ “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.” Catcher in the Rye

~ “The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship.” Stiff

~ “Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.“  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

~ “I felt like I was trapped in one of those terrifying nightmares, the one where you have to run, run till your lungs burst, but you can’t make your body move fast enough.” New Moon

~ “It’s hard to be left behind.” The Time Traveler’s Wife (I can hardly wait until the movie adaptation comes out!!!)

~ “A man’s alter ego is nothing more than his favorite image of himself.” Catch Me if You Can

You get the idea . . . I could go on and on.  Each line is so characteristic of each book’s particular theme.  Each line grabs our attention.  Each line makes us think.

In the book I am currently reading, Jodi Picoult’s Handle with Care, not only is the first line compelling  but the first paragraph carries through the plot’s theme in a poetic way.  Here is GG’s mix of Picoult’s words:

Things break all the time.

Glass and dishes and fingernails.

You can break a record, a contract, a dollar.

You can even break the ice.

There are coffee breaks and lunch breaks.

Day breaks, waves break, voices break.

Silence and fever breaks.

Chains can be broken.

Relationships break.

Promises break.

Hearts break.

Things break all the time.

Yes, things do break but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing at all.  When something breaks, we pick up the pieces and create something new! Period.  Looking back at what I typed, I see an ice cream sundae formed by the layout of the words.  Clever that it turned out that way.  That’s what I see.

Stay tuned for a future post in which GG reviews Handle with Care.

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