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ABC Music & Me

The impact of music on language and early literacy: a research summary in support of Kindermusik's ABC Music & Me

"The Impact of Music on Language & Early Literacy” - A Research Summary in Support of Kindermusik’s ABC Music & Me"

Summary

Scientific research supports the use of music in early literacy instruction and also provides evidence for the positive impact of music instruction on early literacy skills. Specifically, scientists have found evidence that music instruction can improve phonemic awareness, verbal memory, and vocabulary, leading scientists to conjecture that improvements in brain functioning related to these areas are the source of correlation between music ability and reading comprehension test scores.

Evidence supports the use of music and music instruction for all children, and suggests that music may have specific positive impact on children who are English language learners and children with reading and other disabilities. As researcher Gromko (2005) concludes, "The implication for schools is that music instruction, while valable for liberationg the artistic and musical potential of every child, may significantly enhance children’s language literacy as well"

Areas of Benefits Supported by these Studies / Research

Reading Comprehension

ABCMM helps teachers engage young children in language- and literacy-rich musical activities. These include playful instruction in foundational music skills and instrument exploration, which research suggests, are correlated with later success in reading comprehension.

Using literature that evokes musical, movement, language, expressive and dramatic responses, children in ABCMM internalizes vocabulary when they act, play, and create actively.

Verbal Memory

Verbal Memory is a catchall phrase used to refer to memory for words and verbal information – Wikipedia
Verbal memory is necessary to learn, recall and retain words.

Research found that learning to play a musical instrument enhances the brain’s ability to remember words. ABCMM engages children in active music-making with a variety of musical instruments in class and through at home activities.

Listening Skills

defined by ability to focus on auditory input and listen actively

Each unit of ABCMM gives children not only the opportunity to listen actively to music (moving, miming, responding to musical nuances), but also includes focused listening activities using music, non-musical sounds, and language.

Classroom routines help develop focus and attention, as well as following directions.

Read-aloud stories and songs give children opportunities to practice listening to extended discourse

ABCMM engages children in listening to a wide variety of sounds, music, timbre and fostering a keen sense of associating words with the identification of sounds. This develops listening skills alongside the language skill & verbal memory.

English Vocabulary Acquisition and Comprehension

ABCMM’s rich repertoire of read-aloud stories and songs that include new vocabulary words.

Stories are accompanied by illustrations that open up opportunities for more vocabulary building.

(Children experience these words in active engagement of the mind, body and spirit, which further consolidates the grasp and memory of these new words)

In each unit of “Move & Groove”, words essential to the unit’s theme are included on picture cards along with recommended instruction for English language learners (ELL).

Phonological and Phonemic Awareness

Definitions
  • Phonological awareness is a broad skill that includes identifying and manipulating units of oral language – parts such as words, syllables, and onsets and rimes. Children who have phonological awareness are able to identify and make oral rhymes, can clap out the number of syllables in a word, and can recognize words with the same initial sounds like money and mother
  • Phonemic awareness refers to the specific ability to focus on and manipulate individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. Acquiring phonemic awareness is important because it is the foundation for spelling and word recognition skills. Phonemic awareness is one of the best predictors of how well children will learn to read during the first 2 years of school instruction.
www.readingrockets.org

Songs with rhyming lyrics help children build phonological awareness.

In the younger level ABCMM, kids are exposed to rhyming songs.

In the older level, students receive explanations of rhyming and actively engage in generating words that rhyme.

ABCMM’s active music making and kinesthetic movement activities that help young children learn to discriminate differences between tonal and rhythmic patterns and musical sections, and equipping them with age appropriate visual symbols to associate their perceptions -- all contribute to Auditory Processing, phonemic, and phonological awareness.

Early Writing & Print Awareness

Definition: Print awareness is understanding the print is organized in a particular way – eg knowing that English print is read from left to right and top to bottom. It is knowing that words consist of letters and that spaces appear between words. Print awareness is a child’s earliest introduction to literacy. – www.readingrockets.org

ABCMM materials help teachers create a print-rich classroom environment. Each ABCMM unit includes a story and song lyrics that can be used to call children’s attention to concepts of print. Older children are encouraged and facilitated in independent and home based writing activities through the ABCMM home materials.

In the “Move & Groove” level, the focus on musical notation helps children understand that sound can be represented by printed symbols, an understanding that may transfer to building print awareness for language.

Children with Disabilities – in connection with B & C above

  • Dyslexia and reading disabilities
  • Language Learning Impairments
  • Developmental delays
  • Language Deficits
  • Communication Disorders
  • Physical Disabilities
  • Autism

For Dyslexic children, activities that develop rhythm (including listening, copying and producing steady beat, rhythm patterns using body, voice and instruments benefits brain functioning that leads to improvements in language and literacy skills

For children with developmental delays and language deficits, ABCMM activities promote nonverbal communication and motor skills, aid in increasing communicative responsiveness via the rich musical means open to them

ABCMM provides an effective mainstreaming environment for language-disabled children by virtue of the rich socially interactive musical activities with peers

ABCMM includes a special guide specifically addressing children with special needs. This guide includes information to the educator about how to use music in an inclusive classroom, and how to adapt the activities for even greater success with children who have special needs

For children with autism, ABCMM encourages vocal behavior and nonmusical speech production. This, according to research, aids communicative behaviors.

Family Involvement – parent-child book reading at home

ABCMM’s monthly magazine with fun and literacy-based activities and a story for reading aloud in English, and an instrument for playing music at home, are all compelling tools to engage parents and caregivers at home.

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