English is missing a word. (Well, probably many words.) However, this is a really useful word: it’s a gender-neutral singular pronoun for people. In the good-old-boy days, they just said “he” but that’s not cool anymore, nor should it be. “It” is gender-neutral, but also implies a lack of humanity. “He or she” is correctContinue reading “Ze is awesome: adventures with gender-neutral pronouns”
Tag Archives: American culture
Some Opposites — a Frog Hollow Crankie
After a steep technical learning curve, I have a Frog Hollow Crankie* for you all. This is one we made to the poem “Some Opposites” by Richard Wilbur. We memorized this poem, and had a great time with it. It’s got a great rhythm, which helps make it easy to memorize, and it’s funny toContinue reading “Some Opposites — a Frog Hollow Crankie”
Crankies
For the past few years, I’ve been making crankies with my classes. Crankies (so named because you crank them) are scrolling pictures that usually accompany a song, story, or poem. They are a traditional Appalachian art form, but have cousins in many times and places. There are miniature ones — my friend made one outContinue reading “Crankies”
You Say Tomayto, I Say Tomahto: An Intro to American Dialects
This week we are learning about dialects in Frog Hollow, American dialects in particular. We started by talking about how many different words there are for the same thing, and how people from different places speak English differently, and how they are all “right.” Then we took a class survey. I asked them a wholeContinue reading “You Say Tomayto, I Say Tomahto: An Intro to American Dialects”
FROG HOLLOW SCHOOL 