Music

Music is a big component of our classroom, especially when it comes to literacy. Since my room has the younger preschoolers, music is an important way to expose children to language, alphabetics, and vocabulary. Singing and dancing is an important part of an early childhood classroom. By singing songs, we get the students to manipulate sounds, change sounds, and think about words. This helps them prepare for the future grades in which they have to learn to read and write.


We sing songs such as the ABC's, BINGO, Willoughby Wallaby Woo, Miss Mary Mack, etc. We also have someone come in every other week to sing and play the guitar with the children and he helps promote literacy through music.

According to Laura Woodall and Brenda Ziembroski, "The successful acquisition of reading and writing in early childhood depends on a solid background in oral language skills. What better way to gain knowledge and confidence in oral language than through music? Oral language is an interactive and social process, and music is a natural way for children to experience rich language in a pleasurable way."
http://www.songsforteaching.com/lb/literacymusic.htm