PLA Blog

 I attended the ALSC-sponsored program “Lyrics to Literacy” on Monday, June 26. This program caught my eye by the description: “Through song, story, rhythm and chant, learn techniques to develop early literacy skills. Participants will learn how to enhance self-esteem, strengthen reading readiness, language development and promote brain growth.” Doesn’t that sound fun?

I wasn’t able to stay for the entire program, but I was able to grab the handouts and learn a few songs. This program was presented by Debbie Clement and Carole Peterson, two singer/songwriter/performers. Some highlights:

Carole’s 7 Terrific Techniques For Using Active Music:

1. Eye Contact
2. Encouraging Nods and Smiles
3. EXPLAIN: Give clear instructions and expectations BEFORE activity begins, AND how as it ends!
4. Tempo - slow the song down to teach it, turn off the boombox
5. Be prepared - Have all materials ready and tapes cued
6. Use props, visuals, and manipulatives
7. Pace - vary the activity level, and bring excitement down to end session

Debbie’s Directions:

1. Have fun! Enjoy! Smile! Laugh!
2. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. (4x)
3. Follow your rituals and recipes.
4. Be willing to take a risk.
5. Begin slowly. Play with the speed.
6. Choose a comfortable key/pitch.
7. Animate and exaggerate your face.
8. Watch the children for clues/ideas.
9. Remember rule #1 at all times: have fun!

I don’t want to post the song lyrics (possible copyright issues, since the songs are all originals), but more information can be found on their individual websites:

Carole Peterson - http://www.macaronisoup.com/ (Music CDs - good for storytimes!)

Debbie Clement - http://www.rainbowswithinreach.com/ (Music CDs and more - check out those cute shaker eggs!) and http://kweezletown.com/ (the site isn’t fully up yet)

Tags: ALA2006, conferences, library programming, New Orleans, PLA Blog, professional development

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 5th, 2006 at 1:25 pm and is filed under PLA Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.