Yesterday, or maybe the day before, I decided to go for a ride. A fresh layer of snow on the ground was complemented by a cloudless sky and a high, bright sun - a perfect opportunity to take the sleigh out. One horse or two? One would be plenty on a day with no deadlines. I fixed a short string of bells onto his bobbed tail knowing my lean and lank friend would enjoy the jingling accompaniment to the clip-clop cadence of his hooves.
Before long we made a stop at my sweetie-pie's house (her name is Fannie) to inquire about her interest in joining me for a ride through the fields. She didn't hesitate at the offer and soon was seated by my side. We dashed off through the snow, laughing all the way - our spirits were as bright as the sun. Those spirits soured quickly, though, thanks to the bob-tailed beast pulling our open sleigh; we had barely crossed the midpoint of the field when he got into a deep drift and managed to flip us on our side while getting himself free from the snow. Miss Fannie Bright was extremely perturbed, every part of my being was now wet and cold, and my sleigh sported a bent runner. What seemed a perfect afternoon had quickly drowned in misfortune.
Recognize the story? It's a slightly less rhythmic version of "Jingle Bells". Each year when the calendar flips to December I start teaching this song to whatever primary-aged students I happen to be working with. Nearly every kid I've ever met can sing the chorus to this song and recite an alternate version or two. But very few kids know even parts of one verse, and most (especially the boys) are horrified to learn it's kind of a love song.
Song lyrics are a terrific, and underused, source of reading material. When I was a real teacher I used music in a variety of ways - to establish a calm atmosphere, when learning spelling words, for counting patterns - but didn't begin to use lyrics until the end of my classroom career. Jingle Bells was the first song I used, and I chose it simply because I knew the kids would know the tune. When I really studied the lyrics, though, I realized the song had a lot of potential for teachable moments. So I started studying other Christmas songs, then other common kids songs, and folk songs.....and realized there were a lot of reasons to use song lyrics to teach reading, including:
**Vocabulary development - Our language today is so bland and boring (and redundant). Songs that have been around for generations contain a vast collection of words that can enrich a student's vocabulary without presenting a vocabulary lesson.
**Identifying story elements - Some songs' lyrics describe setting (Silver Bells), some characters (Nuttin' for Christmas). Some songs tell an entire story (Ballad of Davy Crockett) while some just make us feel good (Feelin' Groovy).
**Improved phrasing - Fluent readers understand the rhythms and patterns found in the written word, even words absent of music. By exposing all readers to song lyrics we can provide an opportunity to practice reading in phrases rather than sentences....which are built from phrases. As kids improve their ability to read in phrases they will improve their sentence reading as well.
**Singing can be fun - We beat kids over the head with books (not literally....usually) to the point of some kids hating the sight of a book. But how often do we set aside the books in favor of a sheet of lyrics? And when we do, what happens to students' energy levels? It's been my experience that most kids get extremely engaged with reading when they are given the chance to learn a song. Sure, some kids don't like to sing....but some kids don't like to read, either. Some kids don't like anything...just like some adults. But given the opportunity, I believe most kids will find songs to be a wonderful escape from the book-after-book-after-book drudgery of most classrooms.
Now, I know what many of you teachers are thinking:
But I can't sing! Well, no, you probably can't. Neither can I. And neither can the kids. Students are terrible singers, which is yet another reason to use songs to teach reading - you can finally be a singing star!! Surround yourself with twenty lousy singers and you'll feel like an American Idol!
If you've never explored reading instruction through the use of song now is a great time to start. Kids are familiar with many Christmas tunes but not always as familiar with the lyrics. Both lyrics and music are easy to find with an Internet search. Print off some lyrics, study the story they tell and identify some key vocabulary, and then go have some fun with your students while you secretly create better readers.
