As you can guess, I am a mime.

2. As you can guess, I am a mime.

3. Silence is my specialty.

4. (Oh, the irony.)

5. I am not sure I can do this all period (much to your dismay).

6. And I am certain mimes don’t use PowerPoint either.

7. Therefore, I am not a very good mime. Don’t ask me to put myself in a box or pretend to eat.

8. The best I can do is make funny faces…

9. and give dirty looks to <insert naughty student’s name here>.

10. Sometimes, however, I think we talk too much and forget to listen.

11. Or say too much when the right words—though fewer-- would say even more.

12. Mark Twain said, “The difference between the almost right word and the right word….

13. …is the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

14. So when you DO speak, choose your words wisely.

15. and when you write, don’t say “nothing in 500 words.”

16. Read the poem “Quiet World.”

17. Take out A blank piece of paper and write your name at the top. Title it “Quiet World”

18. Without talking, free write for 5 mins about what it would be like to live in that world.

19. Time’s up!

20. Now,

21. Silently trade papers with someone at your table and let them read your words.

22. Time’s up! Get your own paper back.

23. Here’s another thought….

24. Have you ever experienced something and words could simply not convey it adequately? Or maybe there just isn’t a word for it….

29. “How strangely do we diminish a thing as soon as we try to express it in words” (Maurice Maeterlinck)

30. Douglas Adams (author of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) wrote two books: • The Meaning of Liff • The Deeper Meaning of Liff: A Dictionary of Things There Aren't Any Words for Yet--But There Ought to Be

31. Liff(lif) n. A common object or experience for which no word yet exists. Adams created words to fill these “gaps” in our language. All of the words are actually place names, taken mostly from locations in the UK, but also from the rest of the planet. These place names are matched with meanings that don't yet have words of their own, usually with very humorous results.

32. Here are some examples. (Would the people take turns reading these for us, please? We will start with table 3 and move on.)

33. DUNINO (n.): Someone who always wants to do whatever you want to do. • CLUNES(pl. n.): People who just won't go. • SPURGER (n.): One who in answer to the question 'How are you?' actually tells you. • BAUGHERST (n.): That kind of large fierce ugly woman who owns a small fierce ugly dog. • RHYMNEY (n.): That part of a song lyric which you suddenly discover you've been mishearing for years.

34. Farnham (n.): The feeling you get at about four o'clock in the afternoon when you haven't got enough done. • Fritham (n.): A paragraph that you get stuck on in a book. The more you read it, the less it means to you. • Kabwum (n.): The cutesy humming noise you make as you go to kiss someone on the cheek.

35. ELBONICS (n) The actions of two people maneuvering for an armrest in a cinema. • ELECELLERATION (n) The mistaken notion that the more often, or the harder, you press an elevator button, the faster it will arrive. • DUFTON (n.): The last page of a document that you always leave face down in the photocopier or printer and have to go and retrieve later (maybe your EE???) • SKIBBEREEN (n.): The noise made by a sunburned thigh leaving a plastic chair.

36. SCONSER (n) A person who looks around when talking to you, to see if there's anyone more interesting around. • SHOEBURYNESS (n) The vague uncomfortable feeling you get when sitting on a seat which is still warm from somebody else's bottom. • (from a past IB student): HAYSMITH (n.) that uncomfortable feeling you get when Mr. Smith makes a joke that goes over your head.

37. Oh my gosh! I could do this all day!

38. But now it’s your turn! (Admit it, you knew it was coming.)

39. On your paper, attempt to create your OWN liffs. Provide part of speech and definition.

40. GRAMARAMANIA (N): that anxious feeling you get when your teacher puts you on the spot and expects great and creative things in five minutes. • OPICAD (N): the leftover grey pencil residue left on a paper after one furiously tries to erase a mistake

41. Let’s share! Yes, that means you!

42. One more little bit of trivia:

43. It is a myth that women speak more words than men. • One study claimed that women speak 13,000 more words per day than men. • However, this has been debunked: on average, women speak 16,215 words per day and men speak 15,669 words per day, not a statistically significant difference.

44. Sometimes, we use the same words over and over again. Maybe it’s out of laziness. Maybe because we are in a hurry. But variety is the spice of life, they say.

45. Write eight sentences about Death of a Salesman. But, lest you think it is that simple…

46. You may not repeat ANY words between sentences. (Even articles, prepositions, pronouns, character names, etc) • Your sentences must be eight words or longer. • Number your sentences. • They do not need to be in a paragraph form. • You can change the form of previously used words, but no repeats. Nada. Nil. None. • You must write complete sentences, not fragments! • This is not group work, but you can check each other. • If you do it, you get an five points EC on your grammar test from last week!

47. Do this on your paper now. I will collect what you have at the end of the period 

48. Have a great weekend!