In many schools around the country, programs in the arts are overlooked by reading and math instruction due to the pressures to raise scores on standardized tests. As an early childhood teacher, I use many songs to help my students remember concepts and even the daily routines. Most of the time the songs are paired with dances or body movements, which motivates the children and meets the needs of a variety of learners. Children, especially those of younger ages extremely enjoy musical experiences and I think it is important to account for this unique reader factor.
Howard Gardner listed musical intelligence as one of his original seven intelligences. Musical intelligence is defined as "skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms" (Smith, 2008). Interestingly, under the description of musical intelligence from Howard Gardner and Multiple Intelligences, Smith goes on to say, "according to Howard Gardner musical intelligence runs in an almost structural parallel to linguistic intelligence."
Winner of The Wall Street Journal Technology Innovation Award in 2007, TUNEin to Reading is a reading intervention for struggling readers designed to improve fluency. The program is utilized in grades 3 through 12. Its goal is to engage students in developing fluency while repeated reading and singing of song lyrics. This "unconventional approach to fluency development" (Florida Center for Research Reading) also incorporates computer technology. First, the software assesses students' instructional reading level through the use of cloze tests. Next, students chose a song and silently read the lyrics on the computer screen three times while listening to the melody. Then, students record the song at least three times, each time trying to improve their fluency. A score is assigned after each performance, which makes it somewhat of a game.
A study on 7th and 8th grade students in a West Central Florida middle school yielded that treatment groups receiving 30 minutes of TUNEin to Reading intervention over 9 weeks experienced a 1.37 grade level gain in instructional reading level while the control group showed little change in reading level. Other results of the program are listed in Music Program Improves Reading Fluency including great gains by 3rd and 4th grade students at Churchville Elementary School in Harford County, Maryland.
Strengths of TUNEin to Reading include a strong research base for repeated reading, the motivation and engagement that is often lacking in conventional reading instruction and easy-to-navigate software. Additionally, students are engaging in explicit and systematic instruction while practicing to read and sing words in a meaningful context. Professional development for staff is also offered at a separate cost from the program, nevertheless, there is official training for the program which reviews the research behind it. One weakness of the program is that word accuracy is not addressed, but can easily be strengthened with teacher modeling and pre-teaching of difficult words. Shared singing is another recommendation to improve word accuracy. More information about the program can be found at the TUNEin to Reading product website.
TUNEin to Reading seems like an effective reading fluency intervention, as it allows struggling readers to utilize their musical intelligence and technology to improve their weaknesses. This program provides a fun, meaningful and interdisciplinary way for students to overcome their reading challenges and is inherently motivating through the use of headphones, a microphone and recording. Education is taking a turn to interdisciplinary instruction and this is one way in which our students can greatly benefit from it.
References
Electronic Learning Products (2010). Tunein to reading. Electronic Learning Products. Retrieved from
http://www.elpcorp.com/content.cfm?page_id=187
Florida Center for Reading Research. Tune in to Reading [PDF document]. Retrieved from
http://www.fcrr.org/FCRRReports/PDF/TuneReading.pdf
Pytel, B. (2010). Music program improves reading fluency. Suite101. Retrieved from
http://www.suite101.com/content/music-program-improves-reading-fluency-a226690
Smith, M. K. (2008). Howard Gardner and multiple intelligences. The Encyclopedia of Informal
Education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm
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