Read a Song: Using Song Lyrics for Reading and Writing

Overview

From Theory to Practice

OVERVIEW

Singing is a favorite pastime for many people and is part of popular culture. In this lesson, students make the connection that the words sung in a song are part of a book that can be read. They explore this connection through children's song storybooks and interactive websites. Students complete a project by writing new lyrics to a familiar song and creating illustrations related to the lyrics. During the lesson students engage in various levels of reading and writing activities.

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FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE

Smith, J.A. (2000). Singing and songwriting support early literacy instruction. The Reading Teacher, 53(8), 646–649.

Musical activities can enhance a wide variety of literacy learning experiences including letter names and sounds, phonemic awareness, print conventions, background knowledge and vocabulary, and word identification.

Labbo, L.D. (2006). Five Internet sites too good to miss. The Reading Teacher, 59(8), 810–812.

Well-designed websites that are appropriate for young children create unique opportunities for developing and practicing basic and computer-related literacy skills.

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