Art Form: Music
Supplies Needed
Maybe Something Beautiful book
Vocabulary
Steady Beat - an ongoing, steady, repetitive pulse
Rhythm - long and short sounds
Tempo - speed of the beat
Instructions
1. Read the book. Select a page in the book to reread. This time, read the page one word at a time with short pauses between each word (kind of robotically). Ask
your child how that sounded. Reread the page, but this time, read it rhythmically, finding a natural, sing-song flow. Ask your child how it sounded that time. Which way sounds better? Which way is more interesting? Which way is easier to understand? Explain that speaking words rhythmically can make them come alive and easier to remember!
2. Look at the page that includes the words “As the man drew pictures on the bricks,” (it’s soon after Mira paints on the wall). Tap a steady beat: pat your legs, then clap your hands. Fit the words of the first sentence over 4 steady beats.
3. Do the same for the next 2 sentences (“Soon Mr. Sax joined in”).
4. Read the first 3 sentences on the page rhythmically while you tap a steady beat.
5. Now try repeating some of these phrases at different tempos. Try it faster and slower.
6. Read the story adding your rhythmic speech in the right places.
About
The REimagining and Accelerating Literacy through Arts Integration (REALAI) grant supports the literacy achievement of 3,200 students and 170 teachers, media specialists, and literacy coaches across six schools in Georgia and South Carolina.
In addition to professional learning for educators, this project contributes significantly to school library collections through the purchase of developmentally appropriate and culturally relevant books.
This grant also includes parent events to provide families with access to books and other content about how to support their child’s reading development.