How Music Can Be Used To Improve Literacy Skills

Today, teachers across the country are working tirelessly to find ways in which to help students improve their literacy skills. There are many books and articles out there with strategies on how to teach students to identify letters, how to read, speak and write. However, one strategy that is being overlooked by many educators is that of music. Many people see music as a “special” activity where the students go to sing and learn about music. Although, music has been viewed as a separate class, music is an art that is loved and enjoyed by many and when used as a way to improve literacy skills will benefit students by improving their reading, writing and fluency skills.
The act of reading is one of the most important tools that students learn while they are in school. There are specialists, teachers and schools across the country that are dedicated to ensuring that their students learn to read. Yet, there are still students out there who are struggling to decode words. In many classes, teachers can have students at all reading …show more content…
Many people do not realize this, but the early songs that children listen to play a very important role in a student’s language development. According to Donovan and Pascale (2012), “Simple nursery rhymes and singing games are the foundational building blocks that set fluency of language in place” (p.60). When teachers are instructed to teach students new words and sounds it can be sometimes overwhelming, especially when you have an entire class to teach. However, when the students enjoy listening to songs, they will enjoy learning about those songs. In fact, they will sometimes even want to sing-along to those songs. When the teacher sings the words to the students and the students repeat those words back, they are in fact, expanding their vocabulary and improving their language