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Giving a Voice and Beat to

Picture Books for All Young


Children:
The Lyrics, Literacy, and
Language of Sing A-Long
Books
Introduction
Picture books have long since been used in early childhood
classrooms as an introduction to literacy, language, book
handling skills, print skills, and visual literacy. In
education, there are specific elements a book must meet to
be deemed as a quality piece of literature. Creating a space
for motivated reading and active participation can be a task,
but one intervention that is used is the implementation is
music. Music within an early childhood classroom can be
used for transitions, can be used to develop language skills,
motor skills, and social skills. Engagement in music taps
into the whole childs development. There are elements that
also makes songs quality and engaging for young children.
By combining elements of early literacy and music, this
study will explore why sing a long books are equally as
effective as picture books, and essentially help language
development and literacy skills.
Preschool Language

Milestones
Preschoolers that are 3-4 years of age typically should be
able to complete the following language milestones:

Understand most of what is said, follow directions (at least


two steps)

Recognize when words rhyme

Speak in sentences of four or more words

Say or sing familiar songs or nursery rhymes

Use most speech sounds

Speak clearly Stranberry, K. (2017). Understand language


development in preschoolers. Getting Ready to
Read. Retrieved from
http://www.getreadytoread.org/early-learning-
childhood-basics/early-childhood/understanding-
language-development-in-preschoolers.
Preschool Reading
Milestones
Preschool reading milestones, according to PBS, are as
follows:
Young children begin to recognize familiar words
(environmental print)
Learn that stories have specific elements and
structure
May pretend to read
Become aware that the world is filled with letters

PBS. (2015). Preschooler reading milestones. PBS Parents.


Retrieved from
http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-
language/reading-milestones/preschooler-language-
development-milestones/preschooler-reading/ (2015).
NAEYC and DAP
Through NAEYCs website, preschooler are outlined by the
following characteristics:

-thrive on new materials, roles, ideas, activities, pretend


play

-take interest in feelings and are starting to be better at


expressing their emotions and identify those of others

- make important cognitive gains that invite them to


represent their world in pretend play, symbols, objects,
drawings, and words

- development in language skills


NAEYC. (2017) DAP with preschoolers. NAEYC.
Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/dap/preschoolers
Language Development
Language development is comprised of phonological awareness,
semantics, syntax, discourse, reading and writing.

In a study done by Dickenson, McCabe,& et. al, CLA is studied t o


determine if this approach to language development is more effective
compared to phonological sensitivity approach.

CLA is defined as the comprehensive language approach, variety of


oral language skills are critical in emergent literacy and continue to play
vital roles in subsequent reading achievement.

PSA focused on vocabulary as the foundation for phonological


sensitivity, wheras CLA is the combination of all elements of literacy
and language.
Dickenson, D., McCabe, A., Anstasopoulos, L., Peisner-Feinber, E.S. (2003).
The comprehensive language approach to early literacy: the interrelationships
among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print knowledge among
preschool aged children. Journal of educational psychology. American
Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.465. Retrieved
from:
https://cpin.us/sites/default/files/fcab_resources/fcab_res_langlit/fcab_ll_b
g/language_approach_to_early_literacy.pdf
Language Development

continued
From Dickensons research, scientists claim the following:

Combining phonological awareness training with instruction in lettersound knowledge


has more powerful effects on subsequent literacy achievement than phonological
awareness training alone (Bus & van (Jzendoorn, 1999; Schneider, Roth, & Ennemoser,
2000).

Dialogic shared reading is especially effective in enhancing childrens oral-language


skills (see Whitehurst & Lonigan, 2001, for review). Studies of the language children
use when pretending to read carry multiple subtle indications of their awareness and
growing control of language patterns (vocabulary, syntax, and discourse markers)
found in books.

Dickenson, D., McCabe, A., Anstasopoulos, L.,


Peisner-Feinber, E.S. (2003). The comprehensive
language approach to early literacy: the
interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological
sensitivity, and print knowledge among preschool aged
children. Journal of educational psychology. American
Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/0022-
0663.95.3.465. Retrieved from:
https://cpin.us/sites/default/files/fcab_resources/fcab
_res_langlit/fcab_ll_bg/language_approach_to_early_li
teracy.pdf
Essentials of Early
Literacy Instruction
NAEYC
This article from NAEYC outlines teaching strategies for preschool
literacy:
Rich teacher talk
Storybook reading
Phonological awareness actvities
Alphabet activities
Support emergent reading and writing
Shared reading experiences
Integrated and focused content activities
Roskos,K., Christie,J., Richgels, D. (2003).
The essentials of early literacy instruction.
National Association of the Development of
Young Children. Retrieved from
https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/20030
3/Essentials.pdf
Dialogic Reading
Dialogic reading works. Children who have been read to dialogically are substantially ahead of children who have been
read to traditionally on tests of language development. Children can jump ahead by several months in just a few weeks of
dialogic reading.

Picture books are essential for young children. They provide vocabulary, structure, meaning of print, story
sequences, can keep attention and are typically pleasurable. This article states how Preschoolers need food,
shelter, love; they also need the nourishment of books.

Reading frequently is important to literacy development, but also the manner in which we read is equally as
crucial. In Dialogic Reading, the following seeps are taken:

Prompts the child to say something about the book,

Evaluates the child's response,

Expands the child's response by rephrasing and adding information to it, and

Repeats the prompt to make sure the child has learned from the expansion.

Whitehurst, G.J. (2009). Dialogic reading:an effective way to read to


preschoolers. Reading Rockets. Retrieved from:
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/dialogic-reading-effective-way-read-
preschoolers.
Dialogic Reading
In addition to particular prompts, this type of reading
also follows specific prompts for young readers. They
are as follows:

Completion prompts

Recall prompts

Open-ended prompts

Wh- prompts

Distancing prompts Whitehurst, G.J. (2009). Dialogic reading:an


effective way to read to preschoolers. Reading
Rockets. Retrieved from:
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/dialogic-
reading-effective-way-read-preschoolers.
Learning the Language

of Picture Books
One of the first picture books to come into print was
Beatrix Potters The Tale of Peter Rabbit (1902). Picture
books contain two important elements that help readers
process information: text and images. Gill explains how a
significant aspect of enjoying picture books is discovering
how the illustrations and text work together. Some tips
both teachers and parents can implement while reading
picture books with young children are to point to
illustrations, commenting on details about the text or
pictures, see if the children can predict what may happen,
and use a variety of texts to broaden students experience.
Some discussions that you can facilitate with the readers
are how the words and pictures work together (or against)
one another, analyzing the illustrations, how color is a
factor, as well as how the print is laid out, and the medium
the illustrator uses.
Gill, S.R. (2015). Learning the language of
picture books. NAEYC Young Children. Vol 2, no 3.
What makes a picture
book quality?
1. Style and Language

2. Character

3.Plot

4.Pacing

5. Setting

6. Tension
Tunnell,M., Jacobs,J., Young,T., Bryan,G. (2016).
Childrens literature, briefly. Boston, MA: Pearson.
Qualities
7. Mood

8. Tone

9. Point of View

10. Theme

11. Accuracy

12. Illustrations

13. Design and Layout


Tunnell,M., Jacobs,J., Young,T., Bryan,G.
(2016). Childrens literature, briefly. Boston,
MA: Pearson.
How to recognize a well
written book
The Right Words
Precise vocabulary
Figurative language
Dialogue
Music in Language***
Understatement

Tunnell,M., Jacobs,J., Young,T., Bryan,G.


(2016). Childrens literature, briefly. Boston, MA:
Pearson .
Music in Language
In Childrens Literature, Briefly, the authors further
explain music in language. They state,

Varied sentence length is another feature that appeals to


the ear. In natural speech patterns, sentences are of
different lengths. These diverse sentences add variety to
the language, creating balance, interest, and appeal.

Tunnell,M., Jacobs,J., Young,T., Bryan,G. (2016). Childrens literature, briefly


Boston, MA: Pearson.
Categories of Picture

books
This text also outlines different types of picture books, however, sing along books are
not included.

ABC Books

Counting

Concept/Informational Books

Participation Books

Wordless

Predictable

Engineered Books

Poetry

Tunnell,M., Jacobs,J.,
Young,T., Bryan,G. (2016).
Childrens literature, briefly.
Boston, MA: Pearson.
Elements of a Song
MELODY
Pitch, notes, phrase, contour, interval

HARMONY
chords

KEY
Notes within the same scale, major/minor

METRE
Pulse of the song (4/4 time), accenting certain beats

RHYTHM
How time is applied to music
DSLM
DSLM is Development of Speech and Language
training through music.

Although typically used for children with speech


language impairments, the elements can be applied to
effectiveness of songs for early childhood.

Focus on target words/phrases, meter and rhythm


varied, simple structure, limited amount of
vocabulary, and elements of song must be DAP!

This includes songs being within a specific pitch range,


adjacent intervals, and repetitive melodic contour.

Lim, H. (2011). Developmental speech-language training through


music for children with autism spectrum disorders: theory and clinical
application. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
DSLM
Music is composed of many separate yet interconnected
components, such as pitch, melody, rhythm, harmony, form,
text, sound quality, and dynamics. The musical patterns in
songs for DSLM consist of a variety of elements organized in
such a way so as to facilitate the perceptual process and
anticipation of information.

-Hayoung Lim

Lim, H. (2011). Developmental speech-language training through music for children with
autism spectrum disorders: theory and clinical application. London: Jessica Kingsley
Publishers.
Songs in the Heads
Music and its Means in Childrens Lives

We need not to look very far to recognize the extent in


which music is linked with stories, plots, plays and shows.

In the section Some music helps the stories along in this text,
the author describes how music adds emotion and an
additional element to visuals. They suggest experimenting
with turning off the sound from famous movies, like Lion
King. The author also states how storybooks can be the
launch to childrens imaginative musical play. Children are
much more active than passive in nature. What better way
to engage students and enrich their literacy development by
tying in musicality?
Campbell, P.S. (2010). Songs in their heads: music and its meaning in
childrens lives. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Singing and Songwriting

Activities
Meta analysis of arts education research studies suggest that
music activities in particular are strongly associated with
nonmusical curricular outcomes.

Using letter names and sounds- abcs with visuals

Phonological awareness-changing vowels to


manipulate sounds (apples and bananas, ooples and
banoonoos).

Print Conventions- music version of Language


Experience Approach (rewriting lyrics, having
students rewrite as well)
Smith, J. (2000). Singing and songwriting support early literacy instruction.
Teaching Reading. Vol 53, No 8. Retrieved from
http://www.storytimesongs.com/files/Singing_and_Literacy.pdf.
Singing and Songwriting

activities
Background Knowledge- choosing songs that involve
content knowledge, rewriting songs to make applicable to
content concepts

Word ID- adaptation of shared reading, viewing lyrics as a


whole group, model reading, spelling patterns or word
patterns

An important consideration is to balance teaching of print


concepts against maintaining literary integrity of the piece.
Instead, focus on some print features to increase student
attention and to participate in both song and reading.
Smith, J. (2000). Singing and songwriting support early literacy
instruction. Teaching Reading. Vol 53, No 8. Retrieved from
http://www.storytimesongs.com/files/Singing_and_Literacy.pdf.
Sing Along Books
Typically, sing along books that are in print now are
already songs (Ex. Frosty the Snowman, Happy by
Pharrell, What a Wonderful World by Louis
Armstrong), or are accompanied by CDs.

There is little research done specifically on sing along


books. However, by keeping the elements of literacy,
music, and song writing, teachers and parents can
bring alive song books already in print or create their
own.
Creating Your Own Sing

Along Book
Keeping in mind the elements of song writing and early literature
writing, a good song book will include:

Repetition

Characters

Precise vocabulary

Rhythm

Figurative language

Meter

As well as HOW the book is read to young readers (emphasis,


prosody, modeling, meter)
Involvement in Music
Making and Reading
Here are techniques that can help engage listeners into the text:

Call and Response (reader says A, listener says B)

Echoing (reader says A, listener says A)

Fill in the blank (have listeners create lyrics/words as they go along)

Fill in the End word

Rewrite popular songs

Create movement to songs

Add instrumentation to song books to bring them alive (adding


sound effects)
Next steps
To observe students from Art, Movement, and Music
class present their sing along books to the preschool
students at the CDC.

Determine what interventions were effective? What


ones were the students engaged in, and why? What
elements did the reader, or the book, have?

Were the songs original, or rewritten versions of


songs?

What variables had negative effects on the readings?


References
Campbell, P.S. (2010). Songs in their heads: music and its meaning in childrens lives. New York, NY: Oxford
University Press.

Dickenson, D., McCabe, A., Anstasopoulos, L., Peisner-Feinber, E.S. (2003). The comprehensive language
approach to early literacy: the interrelationships among vocabulary, phonological sensitivity, and print
knowledge among preschool aged children. Journal of educational psychology. American Psychological
Association. DOI: 10.1037/0022-0663.95.3.465. Retrieved from:
https://cpin.us/sites/default/files/fcab_resources/fcab_res_langlit/fcab_ll_bg/language_approach_to_early
_literacy.pdf

Gill, S.R. (2015). Learning the language of picture books. NAEYC Young Children, 2 (3).

Lim, H. (2011). Developmental speech-language training through music for children with autism spectrum
disorders: theory and clinical application. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.

NAEYC. (2017) DAP with preschoolers. NAEYC. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/dap/preschoolers

PBS. (2015). Preschooler reading milestones. PBS Parents. Retrieved from


http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/reading-language/reading-milestones/preschooler-language-
development-milestones/preschooler-reading/ (2015).
References
Roskos,K., Christie,J., Richgels, D. (2003). The essentials of early literacy
instruction. National Association of the Development of Young Children.
Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/files/yc/file/200303/Essentials.pdf

Smith, J. (2000). Singing and songwriting support early literacy instruction.


Teaching Reading. Vol 53, No 8. Retrieved from
http://www.storytimesongs.com/files/Singing_and_Literacy.pdf.

Stranberry, K. (2017). Understand language development in preschoolers.


Getting Ready to Read. Retrieved from http://www.getreadytoread.org/early-
learning-childhood-basics/early-childhood/under

Tunnell,M., Jacobs,J., Young,T., Bryan,G. (2016). Childrens literature, briefly.


Boston, MA: Pearson.

Whitehurst, G.J. (2009). Dialogic reading:an effective way to read to


preschoolers. Reading Rockets. Retrieved from:
http://www.readingrockets.org/article/dialogic-reading-effective-way-read-
preschoolers.

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