Tag Archives: American culture

Chinook Jargon

Posted on May 3, 2016 by

Continuing in our explorations of translation, my class has been playing around with Chinook Jargon. Chinook Jargon is the trade language of the Northwest, a pidgin of English, French, and several Salish languages. It was widely spoken through the 1800’s, … Continue reading →

Posted in Language, Poetry, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Ancestor Interviews

Posted on November 3, 2014 by

Every family has stories. Every fall, with a nod to Halloween and Day of the Dead, we go out and learn some of them. I ask my students to go home and talk to one of their relatives — preferably … Continue reading →

Posted in Storytelling | Tagged , , , , , , , ,

Writing our own Canon

Posted on May 20, 2014 by

Well, our puppet show performances came off well last week. What I mean by that is not that it was perfect by adult standards, but that the students felt really good about it. They enjoyed it and worked with a … Continue reading →

Posted in Literature, Playwriting, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , ,

Letters for Change

Posted on April 21, 2014 by

Writing is at its essence communication. However, unlike much communication, writing can cross barriers of time and space and society. Most of us will never sit down for a chat with the president, but we can send him a letter, which … Continue reading →

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