Utilizing Music to Help Teach Literacy
Based on a Workshop Presented through Young Audiences of Pennsylvania
By Lou Walinsky
Philadelphia, PA
February, 2011
It is widely recognized that our brains are divided into two hemispheres - commonly referred to as right side/left side - and each tends to control different functions. The right hemisphere plays more of a role in holistic and intuitive functions as well as in processing musical stimuli and developing artistic abilities. The left hemisphere plays a more active role in analytical, verbal, and logical areas (Wikipedia: Lateralization of brain function).
It is also widely recognized that many people, starting from a very early age, experience a strong connection to music. By presenting analytical and logical literacy tasks in a musical format, teachers are able to utilize the functions of both sides of the brain, and thereby generate greater interest and motivation on the part of the student. Reading - other aspects of literacy - becomes, in today’s terms, a Whole Brain Activity.
Virtually any component of literacy can be put into a musical format, from learning simple syllables, initial consonants, and short and long vowel sounds to learning texts of poems, stories - both fiction and nonfiction. The activities that result from this pairing of music and literacy-related topics are very much in keeping with the Pennsylvania State Education Standards, both for teaching reading, writing, speaking, and listening, as well as for teaching music. For instance, while working with a song or an orchestrated text, a classroom teacher can teach students to:
"Use knowledge of phonics, word analysis (e.g., root words, prefixes and suffixes), syllabication, picture and context clues to decode and understand
new words during reading." (Learning to Read Independently, Grade 3, Pa. State Academic Standards for Reading, Writing, Speaking, and Listening, #1.1);
"Distinguish between essential and nonessential information across a variety of texts, identifying stereotypes and exaggeration where present." (Reading Critically in All Content Areas, Grade 5, Pa. Standards RWSL #1.2);
"Analyze the effect of various literary devices, including Sound techniques (e.g., rhyme, rhythm, meter, alliteration) and Figurative language (e.g., personification, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, allusion)." (Reading, Analyzing and Interpreting Literature. Grade 8, Pa. Standards RWSL #1.3).
Likewise, with the same materials, a music teacher can teach his/her students to:
"Know and demonstrate how arts can communicate experiences, stories or emotions through the production of works in the arts." (Production, Performance, and
Exhibition of Dance, Music, Theater, and Visual Arts, Grade 5, Pa. State Academic
Standards for the Arts and Humanities, #9.1);
"Explain the historical, cultural and social context of an individual work in the arts." (Historical and Cultural Contexts, Grade 8, Ps. Standards A&H #9.2);
"Know that works in the arts can be described by using the arts elements, principles and concepts." (Critical Response, Pa. Standards A&H #9.3).
Songs Relevant to Children
Teaching songs is, of course, an integral part of what music teachers regularly do, and something that classroom teachers can include as part of their reading program as well. Clearly the more engaging and relevant the song is to the student, the greater the student’s motivation will be to learn the song.
In order to be most effective with respect to literacy, students need to see the lyrics of songs while they listen to and/or sing the music. Songs from any musical genre with appropriate lyrics and positive messages for children can be used. These can also include raps that meet these requirements. It is important to discuss Artistic License in songs that do not use standard English and/or correct grammar, and to put these in the context of exceptions to the rules. To help add richness to learning songs, some students can also be asked to accompany the music and lyrics by playing percussion instruments, acting, dancing, or using an art medium. Here are some examples:
Billy the Bully by Justin Roberts, C 2002 Not Naptime (CD)
Billy was a bully and he beat up all the boys, and he bopped ‘em and he banged ‘em
And he throwed ‘em into toys.
Wasn’t one of us ever got a minute of rest. Billy’s always bopping us and banging us in the chest,
And knocking us in the head and poking us in the eye.
Billy was a bully and he beat up all the guys.
He bullied one by one by one by one….
Margaret was a meany and she messed with all the girls.
And she’d taunt ‘em and she’d tease ‘em, and she’d hurt ‘em with her words.
She was so unkind, kind of like Billy with curls.
Margaret was a meany and she messed with all the girls.
She’d tease ‘em one by one by one by one….
Then the smallest girl in the smallest grade, someone hardly known named Sally McCabe,
She’d seen it all, she’d seen enough. So she stood on the table at the noontime lunch
And she raised her finger in the air to say that bullying was so last year.
"And Margaret, yes you hear me right.
And Billy, I know I’m only half your height, but I don’t want to fight."
Then Billy the Bully and Margaret the Mean
Couldn’t believe what they’d heard, couldn’t believe what they’d seen.
Billy laughed to see such a small thing
Trying to beat the biggest bully and the meanest Margaret Mean.
But then one by one by one by one
It started one by one by one by one
It happened one by one by one by one….
Sing Me The Story Of Your Day by John Forster & Tom Chapin C 2003
"Making Good Noise" (CD)
Sing me the story of your day,
Of the coming and the going, of another day of growing,
And what you learned along the way, Sing me the story of your day.
Sing me the story of your day,
A surprising smile that warmed you, an idea that transformed you,
Show me the game you learned to play. Sing me the story of your day.
When you face a fear, when you deserve a cheer, I’ve got two ears to lend you.
Sing me the story of your day.
A triumphant tale of wonder, or of rugs pulled out from under.
Sometimes a blue sky turns to gray. Sing me the story of your day.
When you need me near, I’ll always be right here to listen and defend you.
Sing me the worries of your day.
Can we solve them now? I doubt it, but it helps to talk about it.
And we might find that it’s okay,
Sing me the story of your day. Sing me the story of your day.
Vacation Time is Here by Lou Walinsky C 1995
Even though we like ________ School, and we think that the teachers are really cool,
Just like the other kids in the nation, we’re glad we’re going on vacation.
Chorus: ______ School, ______ School, Vacation Time is here, Oh Yeah!
______School, _______ School, Vacation Time is here, Halleluyah!
Our friends and our sisters, our cousins and our brothers,
All day long we’ll be flockin’ together - just like those birds of a feather.
Chorus
Movies, skating, watching TV, reading a book might be for me,
Dancing, writing, singing a song, going to a party with your friends along.
Chorus
New Year’s Eve is coming soon, people outside, howlin’ at the moon,
Getting ready, getting in gear, hoping for a brand new, wonderful year.
Chorus
What a Wonderful World by George Weiss & Bob Thiele C 1967
I see trees of green, red roses too. I see them bloom for me and you.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
I see skies of blue and clouds of white, the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
The colors of the rainbow, so pretty in the sky are also on the faces of people going by.
I see friends shakin’ hands sayin’ "How do you do?" They’re really saying "I love you."
I hear babies cryin’, I watch them grow. They’ll learn more than I’ll ever know.
And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Yes I think to myself, what a wonderful world.
Summertime by George & Ira Gershwin C 1935
Summertime, and the livin' is easy,
Fish are jumpin’ and the cotton is high,
Your daddy's rich and your mamma's good lookin',
So hush little baby don't you cry.
One of these mornings you're going to rise up singing,
Then you'll spread your wings and you'll take to the sky,
But till that morning there's a 'nothing can harm you,
With daddy and mamma standing by.
Songs that Teach Specific Skills
Songs can be created to teach specific skills that students are working on in their literacy related studies. These skills would be targeted through coordination with the classroom and/or reading teacher(s). With this team strategy, music is seen as an integral part of a school-wide effort to improve literacy. An example of such an approach would be to create a song with a blues format to teach beginning consonant sounds. Each one of the following lines would take up an entire verse of a 12 measure standard blues song:
Be bey ba bo boo;
Me mey ma mo moo;
Te tey ta to to.
Another example would be to use a format like moving stepwise down a scale to teach specific rhyming words (Since many songs already have rhyming words - like Hush Little Baby, Put Your Finger in the Air, Mr. Froggie Went a Courtin’, What a Wonderful World, etc. – one would create a new song only when specific words need to be taught.). Here is a simple example of randomly chosen vocabulary words:
Do - Everytime I see
Ti - Blue birds on a tree.
La - It reminds me
Sol - That I am free.
Fa - I know how to sing
Me - As gloriously as a king,
Re - While I learn,
Do - And the seasons turn.
Orchestrating Text
Percussion instruments and vocal sounds can be used to enhance sentences, phrases, poems, and stories. As above, drama, dance, and art can also be incorporated with this endeavor.
This type of orchestration takes two basic forms:
1. Orchestrating rhythmic accompaniment of the words, as in the Orff-Schulwerk* technic. Here is a traditional and a contemporary example of texts that would be orchestrated according to their rhythmical make up:
Chairs to Mend Traditional
Chairs to mend, old chairs to mend.
Mack - e - ral, fresh mack - e - ral, Any
Old rags? Any old rags?
Don’t Say Boo! By Jim Solomon C 1988
oooooooooooooo ooooooooooooo
Sh! Sh! Sh! Sh! Don’t say another word! Sh! Sh! Sh! Sh! Don’t say another word!
Ghosts float - ing in the sky, Some low some high,
Some may smile and wink at you, Do you know what others do?
oooooooooooooo ooooooooooooo
Sh! Sh! Sh! Sh! Don’t say another word! Sh! Sh! Sh! Sh! Don’t say Boo!
* "Orff Schulwerk is a way to teach and learn music. It is based on things children like to do: sing, chant rhymes, clap, dance, and keep a beat on anything near at hand. These instincts are directed into learning music by hearing and making music first, then reading and writing it later. This is the same way we all learned our language." From American Orff-Schulwek Association.
2. Orchestrating Musical Accompaniment to Texts. Here are examples of poems and a short story with vivid imagery that lend themselves easily to orchestration with percussion instruments and vocal sounds to enhance the meaning of the words:
King Liebel by Lieselotte Schwarz C 1966
I am King Liebel.
I live in Onion Castle.
The Queen is my sweetheart.
The children’s names are Cabbage and Turnip.
A tin soldier guards the castle.
I have a haughty white steed.
In the morning the drummer beats rat-a-tat-tat.
The rooster crows loudly that the night is over.
In the tower lives Mogel the Magician.
He bewitches a black bird and a white onion.
If you don’t believe it, read the story once again.
3 Poems from "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein C 1974
1. Rain
I opened my eyes And looked up at the rain,
And it dripped in my head
And flowed into my brain,
And all that I hear as I lie in my bed
Is the slishity-slosh of the rain in my head.
I step very softly, I walk very slow,
I can’t do a handstand – I might overflow,
So pardon the wild crazy thing I just said –
I’m just not the same since there’s rain in my head.
2. Tree House
A tree house, a free house,
A secret you and me house,
A high up in the leafy branches
Cozy as can be house.
A street house, a neat house,
Be sure and wipe your feet house
Is not my kind of house at all -
Let’s go live in a tree house.
3. The Yipiyuk
In the swamplands long ago, Where the weeds and mudglumps grow,
A Yipiyuk bit on my toe…Exactly why I do not know.
I kicked and cried And hollered "Oh" – The Yipiyuk would not let go.
I whispered to him soft and low – The Yipiyuk would not let go.
I shouted "Stop," "Desist" and "Whoa" –
The Yipiyuk would not let go.
Yes, that was sixteen years ago, and the Yipiyuk still won’t let go.
The snow may fall, The winds may blow – The Yipiyuk will not let go.
The snow may melt, The grass may grow – The Yipiyuk will not let go.
I drag him ‘round each place I go, This Yipiyuk that won’t let go.
And now my child at last you know
Exactly why I walk so slow.
The Legend of the Stonecutter – (from an old Russian folk tale)
The stonecutter was cutting stone in his quarry.
Suddenly he heard the shouts of runners: "Down on your knees! Down on your knees! The king is coming!" A white elephant appeared and on its back rode a mighty king.
The Stonecutter fell on his knees and thought, "The king can’t even see me. Here I am, bowing to an elephant. Poor me, even an elephant has a better life. I wish I were that elephant!" And instantly, the stonecutter became the elephant, stalking very proudly with the king on its back.
Suddenly the king spilled his hot tea on the back of the stonecutter-elephant. "Ouch! I wish I were the king instead," he thought. At the same moment, he became the king, riding the white elephant and enjoying his power and his tea.
The sun was a nuisance, shining straight into the kingly eyes, and the stonecutter-king thought: "The sun is stronger than I am. I wish I were the sun." And a new sun rose over the world.
And its rays beat down upon the earth. The earth was very hot, and steam rose from it and grew into a cloud, and the cloud overshadowed the sun. "I wish I were that cloud!" the stonecutter-sun said angrily. And now, a brand new cloud spread across the sky.
Suddenly there was an enormous wind and the wind rushed at the cloud and tore at it, and the stonecutter-cloud said: "I wish I were the wind!" And he became the wind, howling, ripping off roofs, and people’s hats, racing faster and faster.
Until it bumped into a rock, and was dashed to pieces. "I wish…." howled the stonecutter-wind, but it was no longer the wind, it was the rock. Its head was high up in the clouds, and the people bustling down below were too far away to notice. The rock did not see the stonecutter with a heavy pickaxe in his big hands. The man swung the pickaxe and struck at the rock.
"Human beings are the strongest of all." moaned the rock. "I wish I were a stonecutter." And once again he became a man who was a stone cutter working in his quarry.