Music and Literacy

Let's talk about music and literacy!

In a previous post, we discussed the relationship between music and reading and how that relationship is processed in the brain.  The same part of the brain that is used to process reading is used to process music so activating your students' brains through music will strengthen their reading skills.

We have listed here a few songs that can be used to strengthen your beginning readers' literacy skills. 

Old McDonald Had Some Vowels

Click here for FREE Old McDonald Vowel Cards!

I Like to Eat Apples and Bananas

Click here for Apples and Bananas Vowel Cards!

When the Letters Come Marching In

Click here for Funny Alphabet Characters!

One Elephant Went Out to Play

Click Here for Elephant Letters!

Follow our Teachers Pay Teachers store for our latest musical resources!

My Music and Movement Class

Fall Music for Your Young Students!

Fall is here!  That means colorful leaves, squirrels scampering for acorns, scarecrows, warm sweaters and apples!

We've put together a list of a few of our favorite Fall songs and poems.  We hope you and your kiddos like them, too!

Falling Leaves

by My Music and Movement Class

   

The autumn winds blow, the leaves start to fall.
There are so many that I can’t catch them all!
Red, orange, yellow, brown.
The wind blows again and more come falling down!

Shoo Crow, Don’t Bother Me

sung to the tune of Shoo Fly, Don’t Bother Me

  

Shoo crow, don’t bother me.

Shoo crow, don’t bother me.

Shoo crow, don’t bother me

‘Cuz I have a face that’s (emotion).

Sing the song and fill in a variety of emotions (i.e. scary, sad, happy, angry).

Grey Squirrel

  

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel! (bounce up and down on the words)

Swish your bushy tail! (shake an imaginary tail)

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel! 

Swish your bushy tail!

Put a nut between your toes (touch your toes),

Wrinkle up your little nose! (poke your nose)

Grey squirrel, grey squirrel!

Swish your bushy tail!

Applesauce and Cinnamon

sung to the tune of Peanut Butter and Jelly

Applesauce making sequence cards are available

here!

All of these songs (plus printables!) and more are included in our 

Fall Music Compilation!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

She has a red shaker in her hand!

This is also a fun way to learn friends' names!

How To Have a Great Circle Time

Let's talk about how to make an amazing Circle Time in your early childhood classroom!  An effective Circle Time at the beginning of the day sets the tone for the rest of the day.  So make it great!

Greet Your Students!

There are many "hello" or "welcome" songs are out there and we have used many of them, but this one always resurfaces as a favorite.

Count Classmates

If your class is small, this is a great chance to practice counting.  Have the students get out their "counting finger" (pointer finger) and count their classmates to see how many are here.

Routines

Routines are important to young children; they love the predictability of a routine and feel empowered when they know what to expect.  Great routine activities include talking about the weather, reviewing the days of the week and months of the year, and talking about the seasons of the year and what season it is now.

WEATHER

Click here for the FREE weather song!
Click here for the weather poster!


DAYS OF THE WEEK

Days of the Week Song
(to the tune of Clementine)

There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.
There are seven days, there are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday

Click here for the poster and bulletin board cards!

MONTHS OF THE YEAR

Click here for song, poster, and bulletin board cards!

SEASONS OF THE YEAR

Click here for full-page posters!

Learning Activities

Then, if attention permits, end with one or two learning activities.  Here are a few ideas.  And, remember, that it's OK  - and actually a really good idea - to let the kiddos get up and move during these.

Click here for letter elephants!

Click here for letter cards!

Click here for vowel cards!

Click here for free rhyming cards!

Transition

If the students transition to free play or stations after Circle Time, this little rhyme can help with planning and verbal skills.

Bibbidi bobbidi boo!

What are you going to do?

(Point a magic wand at each child and have him tell 

you where he is going to play!)

Music

Playing music is a great way to help students transition to a new activity.  It serves as a cue of what is going to happen and of the behavior that is expected of them.

Transition Songs

Click here for this free song list with QR codes!

And don't forget to have fun!

Using Music to Teach Beginning Consonant Sounds

My background is in Early Childhood Special Education and I started my career in Early Intervention, often teaching sweet toddlers how to talk and communicate.  I found that using music to teach and practice beginning consonant sounds was an amazing teaching tool.

I've put together some Beginning Consonant Song Cards you can download for free from our Teachers Pay Teachers store.  So far "B" and "H" are available, but more will be posted soon so follow our store and snag them as soon as they're up!

Learning the "B" Sound With Music

Learning the "H" Sound With Music

To most effectively use these cards to assist with speech and language development, use these tips:

🎵Sing much slower than you're used to.

🎵Be animated!

🎵Let the child choose the song by holding up two picture cards to choose from.  Ask, "Do you want bus or bee?"  The child can make a choice using the communication level she is working on: eye gaze, pointing, baby sign, any vocalization, beginning sound, word, etc.

🎵Pause before each target word and let the child complete the phrase.  

"Row, row, row your _________."

🎵Repeat many times to maximize learning!

How to Use QR Codes to Bring Music to Your Classroom

So what's a QR code anyway?  In a nutshell, a QR code is a machine-readable code that is linked to a URL (or to other information).  When read by a QR scanner, the device is then sent to the stored URL.  QR scanners can be downloaded for free from an app store.

Now let's talk about how you can use QR codes in your classroom, specifically how to use them to bring music into your room.

Download my free list of Transition Songs to get started.  While teaching, have your QR scanner ready and when it's time to transition to a new activity, scan the QR code of your song of choice and you will be directed to a YouTube page of the song.  Then play it for your students - it's as easy as that!  It saves you the time you would use to search for the song yourself or to put in a CD and locate the song.

Musical QR codes can be used in countless ways in the classroom but here are a few ideas: 

during circle time (Months of the Year),

for a break during instruction for a quick wiggle song (Shake Your Sillies Out),

as background holiday music (The Monster Mash), 

transitions (Clean Up, Clean Up),

Classical music for working (Four Seasons), 

to enhance your lessons (The Shape Song).

If you think musical QR codes can enhance YOUR classroom, visit my Teachers Pay Teachers Store and take at look at my QR code compilations!

Happy scanning!

Music, Rhyming and Reading

That's a powerful statement, isn't it?

We also know that exposure to rhyming words is a key part in preparing pre-readers for reading and strengthens the beginning skills of early readers.  So when young learners hear rhyming words in music their reading brains are being exercised tremendously!

Mother Goose rhymes are common way to introduce rhyming skills, but did you know that all of the popular Mother Goose rhymes have been set to music? 

Here is an example:

And here is a link to the song on YouTube:

Sing a Song of Sixpence

These melodies are generally not copyrighted and, therefore, can be found with a quick search on the Internet.  (Make sure you use the phrase "sheet music" in your search if you are looking for actual written music.)  We have also found them in books at my local library.

We decided to take the magic of rhyming words a step further and bring in a visual component by creating Rhyming Cards.  This Sing of Song of Sixpence set is available for FREE in my store.  Download it and see how it works for you!  

Sing a Song of Sixpence Rhyming Cards

My preschool students have loved using rhyming cards for lots of different songs.  These cards are also available in our Music and Movement Teachers Pay Teachers Store.

Here are a few more available for purchase:

Down by the Bay

The Ants Go Marching

Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear

Over in the Meadow

Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush

Happy singing, happy rhyming, happy reading!