So Much Dead Space: Creating Store Windows Alive with Promise

I am a nerdy American researcher. No one has ever thought of me as fashionable. ________

I do know about is shops and shopping. I’ve always been good at watching ________ .

Because I grew up with a terrible stutter and was not comfortable talking, I learned ________

observe as a way of understanding social rules. I’ve turned this coping mechanism ________

a profession. What I have done for the past twenty-five years is research ________

behavior: I simply walk around malls and shopping streets and figure out what ________

people to buy things. What makes someone stop and look at a store window? ________

makes someone go into a store? What makes someone buy ________ ?

As I stroll around, I look closely at store windows, since they are an essential part ________

the shopping experience. In his delightful book Made in America, Bill Bryson ________

about the history of stores and shopping in America. He describes the big ________

windows that were an important feature of most retail stores in the past century. When________

look out my office window in New York City, I see many of those windows. They ________

the same today as they were some 120 years ________ .

A century ago, people took the time to stop and look into store windows. I imagine ________

walking along slowly, stopping at a tall window, and peering through the glass to see ________

latest fashions and newest products. Today, strolling, window-shopping pedestrians ________

an old-fashioned concept. Most people look straight ahead and walk with a ________ ,

determined gait. Everyone seems to be in a hurry. They walk a lot faster now than ________

did in the old ________ .

Throughout modern times, different factors have changed the way pedestrians walk ________

busy urban areas. One of the most significant of these factors is traffic lights. William

H. Whyte, the American author and urbanist, wrote about the pattern and movement ________

pedestrians on the sidewalk. He observed that because traffic lights are timed for ________

speed of cars, people pile up on street corners as they wait for the light to ________ .

When the light changes, that “pile” of people will cross and stay crowded together ________

they continue down the street. Behind them, there will be a “gap” of fewer people, ________

then another crowd will form when the traffic light changes again. This creates a ________

of crowds and gaps on urban shopping ________ .

So Much Dead Space: Creating Store Windows Alive with Promise

I am a nerdy American researcher. No one has ever thought of me as fashionable. What

I do know about is shops and shopping. I’ve always been good at watching people.

Because I grew up with a terrible stutter and was not comfortable talking, I learned to

observe as a way of understanding social rules. I’ve turned this coping mechanism into

a profession. What I have done for the past twenty-five years is research shopping

behavior: I simply walk around malls and shopping streets and figure out what motivates

people to buy things. What makes someone stop and look at a store window? What

makes someone go into a store? What makes someone buy something?

As I stroll around, I look closely at store windows, since they are an essential part of

the shopping experience. In his delightful book Made in America, Bill Bryson writes

about the history of stores and shopping in America. He describes the big store

windows that were an important feature of most retail stores in the past century. When I 

look out my office window in New York City, I see many of those windows. They remain

the same today as they were some 120 years ago.

A century ago, people took the time to stop and look into store windows. I imagine them

walking along slowly, stopping at a tall window, and peering through the glass to see the

latest fashions and newest products. Today, strolling, window-shopping pedestrians are

an old-fashioned concept. Most people look straight ahead and walk with a quick,

determined gait. Everyone seems to be in a hurry. They walk a lot faster now than they

did in the old days.

Throughout modern times, different factors have changed the way pedestrians walk in

busy urban areas. One of the most significant of these factors is traffic lights. William

H. Whyte, the American author and urbanist, wrote about the pattern and movement of

pedestrians on the sidewalk. He observed that because traffic lights are timed for the

speed of cars, people pile up on street corners as they wait for the light to change.

When the light changes, that “pile” of people will cross and stay crowded together as

they continue down the street. Behind them, there will be a “gap” of fewer people, but

then another crowd will form when the traffic light changes again. This creates a pattern

of crowds and gaps on urban shopping streets.

Faulty printer

Outline: Students write down missing words / phrases

Time: 5-10 minutes

Focus: Sentence analysis + predicting

Preparation

Tell students a story about how the printer malfunctioned and you ended up with multiple copies of text with the final 2cm of text missing in each line (to the left or right of the text). Students work together to predict / guess what the missing words are.

Variation: Give students a strip of paper each (2cm wide, 20 cm long?). They put it on their partner's text (vertically). Partner has to figure out what’s under the paper.