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Special STEM Section
The connections between songs, poems, and learning to read are abundant. And they are FUN! Let’s jump in and explore a few of my favorites.
Learning to Read is Like Making Pancakes!
Learning to read is like making pancakes! First, you need to get all the ingredients. (Obviously, you can’t make pancakes if you do not have the ingredients). Then you take the ingredients out, mix them together, cook them up, and make delicious pancakes.
Learning to read is not that different. A child gathers their “reading” ingredients from all the meaningful reading, singing, and interactive talking opportunities they experience. The more the better. These “reading” ingredients include word knowledge, print familiarity, sentence usage, spoken fluency, expression, a love of books and reading, and so much more.
These wonderful language experiences begin at birth and evolve as our children grow from a baby to toddler, to preschooler, to an early elementary student. Once a child has their “reading” ingredients they can begin to apply them to reading. They can start to decode. They can derive meaning from words and sentences.
The joyful songs and nursery rhymes you share with your children are actually forming the building blocks of reading. Did you realize that as you sing a classic song such as “Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star” you are teaching your children descriptive words, syntax, imagery, size concepts, tone, expressiveness, fluency, and so much more?
Why Do Football Players Take Ballet?
Have you heard that many football players take ballet classes? Clearly, they do not intend to audition for The Nutcracker. They are learning balance and fluid motions. The football players know that the same skills they learn in ballet class will be applied when they are on the football field. This just makes sense.
When a child engages in rhythmic nursery rhymes and expressive songs, they are learning fluency skills. These same skills transfer to reading. So, it just makes sense to fill our children’s daily routine with joyful language. Simple songs, nursery rhymes, and silly poems are ready-made to make this possible.
Books Must Be More Fun Than iPads.
Books and reading must be more fun than iPads. I’m not kidding. The world has changed around us. We need to wake up. Fifty years ago, books had very little competition for a child’s attention. It was often a book or nothing. All that has changed.
Today, children are bombarded with highly entertaining digital stimulation. This stuff is everywhere and powerful. Twenty-five years ago, as a new teacher, I was deeply concerned about the effects of television on reading. Now, as a writer and literacy advocate, I am terrified by the potential outcomes of increasing levels of screen time and decreasing levels of reading real books.
We can definitely make books more fun than iPads for beginning readers. The key is interactivity and engagement. Let’s infuse early literacy material with songs and poetry. Let’s sing our books. Let’s dance our books. Let’s engage in laughter and wordplay with our books. Let’s do this together. Joyful interactive fun with parents, teachers, and friends, totally beats iPads, video games, and whatever other electronic stimulation comes next. Books must win. Books can win!
Engagement is the Magic Elixir of Learning
Here is where things get interesting and super groovy. The very same techniques that help make books more fun also enhance their learning power! In other words, in many circumstances, the more fun the more learning! How groovy is that?
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How Songs and Poems Help Your Children to Read
by
Eric Litwin
This is a reprint of an article that first appeared in the Fall edition of The Missouri Reader.
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