My two classes have been having a friendly competition. Each class has been collecting homonyms of the sounds-the-same-but-spelled-differently-and-means-different-things variety. We set the end of February as the end of the official competition, but neither class wants to stop collecting. As of now, the Carnation class has around 155 homonyms, while the Seattle class was aroundContinue reading “Homonyms: Fun Four Yew Two”
Category Archives: Language
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”
James Bond and the Past Perfect: teaching grammar through poems
As I was organizing things for the first class of the year yesterday, I found a gem from the archives. We had been learning about the past perfect tense and how weird it is to try to write in it in any extended way. Instead of just blabbing at the kids about this, I hadContinue reading “James Bond and the Past Perfect: teaching grammar through poems”
Frog Hollow School 