thefriendlymoth

Life, Summarized

I found this in my classroom a while back: “They kept on fighting for four hours intell they looked at each orther and giggeld and in the end they got marreid and they ate grapes for the rest of there lives. and then they had to go get glasces.” Which pretty much sums it up.Continue reading “Life, Summarized”

Teaching Great Poetry to Children: Gerard Manley Hopkins

Gerard Manley Hopkins is pretty much my favorite poet. That’s kind of a silly thing to say, since having a favorite poet is like having a favorite food, and how could I choose between ice-cream and fresh blueberries and the perfect hamburger and my boyfriend’s tom kha soup? Poetry is delicious in at least asContinue reading “Teaching Great Poetry to Children: Gerard Manley Hopkins”

Epic Runes

Did you know that English wasn’t always written in the Roman alphabet? It was originally written in runes, like other old Germanic languages. Then for a long time it could be written in either script. Manuscripts were usually written in the Roman alphabet, while inscriptions were done in runes, which are a type of writingContinue reading “Epic Runes”

Writing to Music

Once or twice a year, I bring my mp3 player into class, and we write to music. We write to things like Tchaikovsky, Bach, Buena Vista Social Club, Edith Piaf, fiddle tunes, Tuvan throat singing, and a seven year old’s piano compositions. I avoid English lyrics, just to let everyone’s imaginations be free of aContinue reading “Writing to Music”