~available this summer~
For Pre-K and K children
Developed by teachers, with teachers, for teachers and parents
After three years of development and pilot testing with PreK and K teachers, we are excited to present the A Song a Day curriculum! The easy-to-follow lessons stimulate excitement and joy for both children and adults (see testimonials below).
The 50 fun, short lessons are carefully sequenced to ensure that children develop auditory processing, auditory memory, phonological awareness, and beat syncronization—all correlated with proficient reading later on.
No prior music training needed
How to Use
Optional: pre-and post-assess with the Musical Fitness Assessment.
Prepare the Printables: both images and manipulatives.
Link to the Online Resources.
Teach one 15-minute lesson every day. Start with the first lesson in
Level 1 and end with the last lesson in Level 10. (Sometimes, children will not want to stop an activity. It’s okay to keep doing it and continue the lesson the next day. It is also okay to repeat a lesson.)
Pre-Reading Skills (in order of development)
1. Repeat or echo spoken and sung phrases by rote
2. Memorize rhythmic poems and songs
3. Keep a steady beat starting with patting the lap with both hands.
4. Clap rhythms—all of the syllables of words—while singing a song
5. Alternate between keeping the beat and clapping the rhythm of a song
6. Use the speaking voice expressively, moderating pitch (prosody)
7. Identify and produce rhyming words
8. Distinguish between different sounds
9. Identify higher and lower pitches
10. Match pitches with the voice (middle C and above)
11. Sing in tune
12. Inner hear a song (while silent) while patting a steady beat on the lap
13. Alternate between inner hearing and singing out loud
14. Pat the steady beat on visual symbols, such as hearts: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
15. Clap rhythms of words with visual symbols for syllables over the beat
16. Sing letter names and letter sounds
17. Sing letter names and letter sounds while matching to their visual symbols
What is special about A Song a Day?
It is the only curriculum specifically sequenced to use singing and music-making to develop young brains for reading.
Is A Song a Day research-based? Evidence-based?
Yes, it is research-based because it is rooted in current research that has revealed that the way that brains process and remember sound is highly correlated with reading achievement, and that singing and music-making help to develop it.
Yes, it is evidence-based because it was piloted by 18 PreK and 6 K teachers and 122 students, modified using their feedback, and tested for effectiveness.
Pilot Study of A Song a Day
PreK & K children improved their pre-reading music skills after practicing 15 minutes/day for 10 weeks. The results were statistically significant.
What do teachers say?
“I loved it!”
“I was always the student/teacher who thought I couldn't sing and was intimidated by the prospect of doing so. This program helped me grow in my own confidence and enjoyment of singing.”
“It was so joyful!”
“There were so many times throughout the day that one student would be humming or singing one of the songs to themselves (during math, recess, lunch, transitions...) and the whole class would end up joining in singing.”
“Music is amazing!”
“I absolutely loved the songs in this program...a few months in I found myself singing them for transitions. Students starting asking if we could sing specific songs as well. I can happily say by the end of the school year I was singing throughout the day in my room.”
“He was often the most engaged…”
“I have a student who was often resistant to lessons and knew that he was below grade level--so it was a negative spiral. The Song a Day lessons felt like the opposite of that for both him and I! He was often the most engaged and able to recount the songs.”
“…excited about participating…”
“One of my students…has severe Autism spectrum behaviors. Other times of the day he was often yelling or physically harming other children. During these lessons he was excited about participating and would be engaged rather distracting himself and others. He was really the most engaged of the group.”