The Connection Between Poetry and Music

Overview

Featured Resources

From Theory to Practice

 

OVERVIEW

Music helps children develop rhythmic intelligence and notice rhythm in language, which are important skills in learning how to read and developing fluency as readers. In this lesson, students listen to poems read aloud, and they discuss the rhythm and sound of poetry. Students then perform poems using musical instruments to emphasize cadence. Using online tools, they learn about line breaks and the way these affect the rhythm of a poem. Finally, students write poems they believe will be enhanced by music and perform them for the class.

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FEATURED RESOURCES

Line Break Explorer: Students can use this interactive to discover why a poet chose to break lines in certain places.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Towell, J.H. (1999). Motivating students through music and literature. The Reading Teacher, 53(4), 284–287.

• Music exposes children to rhyme, rhythm, and repetition, which are the some of the same skills needed to learn to read.
  
  
• Because poetry has cadence, rhythm, and rhyme, music may be used to complement it.
  
  
• Music may benefit children with learning difficulties.
  
  
• The language of music is understood by all cultures. All cultures use music to communicate, and the sounds and rhythms of music cross cultural boundaries.

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