The Early Reading and Music Partnership

The Early Reading and Music Partnership
Use music strategies and activities to support and ehance early language skill development across the Big Six components of reading instruction, connecting these mutally supportive cognitive processes.

By Dr Lorri Beveridge

Reading is widely regarded as the most fundamental academic skill, the linchpin of academic success. It is important that educators continually adapt, innovate and follow contemporary research to improve students’ chances of early success. This book gives teachers the tools to explore a beneficial, but often under-explored element of learning to read: music. Learning early reading and music are potentially joyful and reciprocal processes.

The early reading and music partnership provides a vital overview of what we now know about neuromusicology – the recent scientific research that supports the view that learning music, engaging in song, and learning to read are complementary and mutually supportive cognitive processes. With a generous approach to sharing classroom strategies and activities (all mapped to the Australian Curriculum), this book is every teacher’s essential guide to building lessons across English and The Arts: Music. These strategies and activities support and enhance the early language skills that are critical to establish with young readers, and ensure greater success as they begin the journey of learning to read.

The book pairs English and music learning with quality literature texts for F–2 classrooms, providing teaching units that will support teachers in developing students’ phonemic awareness, phonics, oral reading fluency, vocabulary, comprehension and oral language. The book is packed with teacher resources to support early reading and writing acquisition, all tried and tested in schools across Australia. With its rich selection of activities, strategies, songs and curriculum-linked music activities, this is a practical book to keep in the classroom and refer to regularly for sustained student success in early childhood and the first years of schooling.

Why purchase this book?

  • The opening chapter provides a clearly accessible explainer of the critical components of teaching early reading.
  • A detailed chapter connecting early reading and music lesson activities with both Australian Curriculum content descriptors and NSW syllabus learning outcomes.
  • An extensive online resources portal (coming soon at www.petaa.edu.au/music ) with audio, video, visual and written examples of songs, chants, dances, poems and more, all covered and explained in the book.
  • Numerous examples of quality texts are provided, with examples of how to use them, in a primary classroom setting, to teach literacy, English and music.

Intended audience

  • Pre-service teachers
  • Classroom teachers F - 2
  • Early childhood educators

    • Please note this page is for purchase of the print book. To purchase the eBook please follow this link.

    Supporting resources for this book can be accessed here.
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