W3_Reading

The Link Between Music and Literacy

Chappell, J. (2008). The Link Between Music and Literacy. Teaching Music, 15(5), 46. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

The connection between music and literacy is rather strong, according to Chappell. Educators are working to establish this link and have highlighted some of the parallels between the two disciplines. Dee Hansen, author of “The Music and Literacy Connection, as quoted by Chappell says, “Literacy means to read and write. But beyond that, it’s comprehending symbols and interpreting visual and auditory images, not limited to reading words.” He continues by offering the similarities, “Most basic skills used in text reading, or decoding—the breaking of the visual code of symbols into sounds—find parallels in musical reading. Instrumentalists and vocalists read music symbols. In choral music, one must additionally read text or lyrics as they correspond to the musical symbols.”

There are stages of learning, each of which has elements of both reading and music:

• Phonological awareness (the ability to discriminate between sounds, like high vs. low or loud vs. soft)
• Phonemic awareness (understanding the smallest units of language and sound)
• Sight identification (recognizing high-utility words or common music symbols by glancing at them)
• Orthographic awareness (the use of letters and other symbols in a writing system or musical language)
• Cueing systems awareness (the context of the phrases or sentences and musical setting
• Fluency (clear expression of ideas, effortless music performance)

Although music can obviously act as an intervention the caution is that music is a discipline of its own and should not be solely used as a “music-helps-you-do-English-and-math-better philosophy.”

Structured English Immersion in the Music Classroom: Music Instruction for Crossing Borders

Cooper, S., & Grimm-Anderson, S. (2007). Structured English Immersion (SEI) in the Music Classroom: Music Instruction for Crossing Borders. General Music Today, 20(2), 20-24. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

This article dealt strictly with students whose primary language is not English; however, many of the same elements used to teach these students carry over to the learning we want to take place in our literacy classes.

The question that Cooper and Grimm-Anderson answer is, “How do music teachers and other arts specialists address this dilemma [educating those who struggling with the English language]?”

The following are some key points of advice from these authors:

• Incorporate visuals
• Students will first work to understand what is being said before they will acquire the ability to speak the new language
• Create a low-risk environment
• Incorporate word walls and living walls
• Understand that the first step to learning a language is listening
• Utilize finger plays
• Use pictures to accompany phrases
• Make sure to allow ample wait time
• Review key concepts and vocabulary consistently

Making Music, Reaching Readers

D'Agrosa, E. (2008). Making Music, Reaching Readers. General Music Today, 21(2), 6-10. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

The arts enhance learning. This is the simply the premise of D’Agrosa’s article. Eric Jensen is quoted by D’Agrosa as saying, The arts “enhance and motivate other learning. The systems they nourish, which include our integrated sensory, attentional, cognitive, emotional, and other motor capacities, are, in fact, the driving forces behind all other learning.” So how does this work? D’Agrosa argues that it can only happen if the classroom educator and the music educator collaborate intentionally. The following are some suggestions for this to work:

• Give time, energy and creativity
• Understand the vocabulary of each discipline
• Learn how the skills of each discipline are connected
• Develop an intentional plan of delivery for each of the skills

Components of Reading & their Musical Connections

• Phonological awareness is “a multilevel skill of breaking down words into smaller units.” In music, students could identify and create oral rhymes, with one such example being, “Twinkle, twinkle little star.”
• Awareness of Phonemes is understanding the smallest units of sound. The music teacher can aid in this by looking at nonsense sounds and vocal exploration activities.
• Syllabification is obviously understanding that words are broken down into syllables, which is taught in the music classroom through the reading of rhythms. An example that is suggested is one of Eric Carle’s books called, “Today is Monday.” For instance, the reading teacher could read the book and have students brainstorm foods that could be eaten on any day of the week. Then, the music teacher could take those words and create a rhyme before having the students perform them with movement and non-pitched instruments.
• Fluency is simply the ability to read a text correctly and quickly. Also, this normally includes reading it effortlessly and with expression. Reading and singing through “Miss Mary Mack” with a sense of fluidity would be a connection for the music teacher.
• Vocabulary refers to words we know to communicate. The intentional connection is to demonstrate vocabulary knowledge through active participation.
• Comprehension is simply understanding what is read. For the music teacher, create context and help students construct meaning for the songs that they sing.

Literacy and Art in the Music Class

Kenney, S. (2009). Literacy and Art in the Music Class. General Music Today, 22(3), 25-28. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

In this article, the author had a chance to visit some elementary music schools in Moscow, Russia. There were two enlightening strategies that these schools were utilizing. First, there was a strong music and art connection. In fact, time was given to students to illustrate songs that they learned in music class or masterpieces were paired up with a song. For example, “Clap your Hands,” was linked with Van Gogh’s painting, “Two Hands.” The second discovery was what they called a “book basket.” Each student was given a blank book (simply an 8 ½ by 11 inch paper folded into 8 rectangles) where they could create a picture for each phrase of the song. Further, the words of the song were printed in the book. This allowed the students to connect music with their printed word and illustrations.

All visuals contained in this blog were obtained from www.flickr.com/creativecommons/ with Attribution License in Creative Commons