Literacy Speaks Volumes

Photo courtesy of PianoTeacherNOLA Music in the Classroom~all of the studies show you should. But, I've not had much success with it. I've used classical, jazz, contemporary, pop...and a mixture of world music. I've played it as kids are entering the room and as they're exiting. I've played it during writing time and during reading time. Most of the time it just seems like such a distraction. The students get so into the music that they can't stay on task. They see it as a time to just act silly. Am I doing it wrong? The only bit of success that I see is when I want the students to write to a specific musical prompt. Any suggestions fellow teachers?  Click here for an article related to this topic.

Having just returned from Ireland for our family holiday, I'm still high on everything Irish (except Irish food, but that's another blog). So enjoy the photo montage above of Ireland from my front porch and check out this Goodreads list of the Best Irish Literature of All Time. Melissa Reese Etheridge

Ireland is the land where everyone seems to have "the gift of gab." For a wordsmith like me, it was the perfect place. One of the sites that we visited was the Thoor Ballylee Yeats Centre.  Yeats was a famous poet who was born in 1865 (the end of our American Civil War) and died in 1934. He was/is one of Ireland's most famous poets. He is one of the poets who helped create the Irish Literary Revival (think of it as similar to the Harlem Renaissance). He was also one of the poets who created the Abbey Theatre (National Theatre of Ireland) in Dublin. Yeats loved Irish folklore and occult. His poems are full of allusive imagery and symbolic structures. The photos in the slideshow were taken in Gort, Ireland at his last home in Ireland. The following lines are from "The Second Coming": Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, T

One of the most difficult parts of creating an original is creating it. I've got a long list of ideas. I just need to sit down and make it. Creating the product is much like sitting down and writing. I just have to do it. I spend my time making lists and working out the details for the creation. Today, I created a Prezi presentation for the beginning of the school year. I do plan on using it next year. I would also like to create a Prezi that explains my grading policy and a grade sheet. I'm in the process of creating a Prezi that explains my syllabus for the nine weeks. I can't forget to use my Corel software to create images. I was really impressed with the Etsy selection of clipart for use on my products. That is an avenue that I will need to explore.I need to find some products that represent the three strands of Language, Reading, and Writing. I look forward to exploring that avenue. Well, that is enough brainstorming for one night. Melissa Reese Etheridge