In Kindergarten, children begin the process of reading.

One of the important

benchmarks of any Kindergarten curriculum is ability to recognize and spell sight words.

Spelling these sight words seems to be a bigger challenge for most students. However,

William E. Phillips and Jay Fengs research document states, Spelling and reading

build and rely on the same mental representation of a word. Knowing the spelling of a

word makes the representation of it sturdy and accessible for fluent reading (2012, p.

1). As part of my schools Kindergarten curriculum, my students are required to spell

and recognize Dolchs Pre-Primer and Primer sets of sight words. Being able to spell

and recognize these words result in a child being able to read a leveled passage

fluently. According to Dolch (1948), as stated in Kathy J. Hoyts research paper, sight

words make up 50% to 75% of all texts (2014, p. 4). With this large of a percentile of

sight words present in texts and the importance of these words, it is my belief, along

with the authors above and below, that teachers should provide their students with

lessons that are engaging and require students to actively participate throughout the

lesson.

According to Heidi Butkus, author and creator of the Heidi Songs program,

research shows us that in order to get the best learning outcomes possible, children

need to simultaneously use as many of their senses as they can when they practice

(2015, p. 1). Using multisensory aids in the classroom will provide ones students with

the best learning outcomes, no matter the learning-style works best for a particular

student. Gardners Multiple Intelligence Theory suggests that all students learn best

through a specific outlet (auditory, spatial, kinesthetic, visual, logical, etc.). Regardless

of what learning outlet works best for a group of students, Butkus states, when teaching
a new word, children should ideally see it, say it, hear it, and do it- all at the same time

(2015, p.1).

One significant multisensory approach to teach sight word recognition and

spelling is through music and movement. John A. Smith, the author of The Reading

Teacher article, Singing and Songwriting Support Early Literacy Instruction, proclaims

that music activities can enhance students academic performance, social skills, and

content learning (2000, p. 646). When students sing songs, the lyrics remain in the

childs memory forever, therefore, allowing the students to recall the lyrics at a later

time. Kathy J. Hoyts research on the use of music and movement in the classroom to

teach sight word recognition is a significant article in the development of the present

paper. Hoyt (2014) states, When early educators infuse music into their literacy

instruction, they promote active learning which helps students develop their memory,

recall, phonemic awareness, and most importantly their engagement in their learning

(p. 8). The use of memorable tunes and movements helps teachers provide their

students with a way to learn new words in a familiar jingle form.

Richard D. Waltons research on using music and movement to teach pre-

reading skills and word reading in Kindergarten provided the present paper with

considerate material on the importance of using memorable tunes and movements to

teach new word recognition. Walton states, having children sing songs while viewing

printed words may strengthen the phonological and text connections in long-term

memory, and so act as a memory aid when children were asked later to read the words

(2014, p. 55). When students hear, say, see, and do a new word all at the same time,

the retention rate of that word can be anywhere between 70% to a 100% (Butkus, 2015,
p. 1). According to Butkus, the use of music and movement methods to teach sights

word spelling and recognition can help enhance learning comprehension and

memorization for all levels of students (Butkus, 2015, p.2). Similarly, William E. Phillips

and Jay Fengs research document states that the actual application of multisensory

methods that involve auditory, visual, and kinesthetic interactions all have shown

improvements in reading skills, word recognition, and have shown increases in student

achievement (p. 13).

 References

Butkus, H. (2015). Research & Classroom Statistics. Retrieved October 2, 2016 from

http://www.heidisongs.com/pages/research

Hoyt, K. J. (2014). Music and Movement: Effect on Kindergarten Sight Word

Recognition for Struggling Readers. Retrieved October 3, 2016, from

http://contentdm.exchange.viterbo.edu/cdm/ref/collection/src/id/50336

Phillips, W. E., & Feng, J. (2012). Methods for Sight Word Recognition in Kindergarten:

Traditional Flashcard Method vs. Multisensory Approach. Retrieved October 2,

2016, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-

remote.galib.uga.edu/eds/detail/detail?vid=14&sid=25a91ab6-3078-4b4c-ab48-

8edcec8c73de@sessionmgr104&hid=122&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmU=#

AN=ED536732&db=eric

Smith, J. A. (2000, May). Singing and songwriting support early literacy instruction. The

Reading Teacher, 53(8), 646-649. Retrieved October 2, 2016, from

http://www.jstor.org.proxy-remote.galib.uga.edu/stable/20204857?

seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Walton, P. D. (2014, September). Using Singing and Movement to Teach Pre-reading

Skills and Word Reading to Kindergarten Children: An Exploratory Study.

Language and Literacy: A Canadian Educational E-Journal, 16(3), 54-77.

Retrieved October 3, 2016, from Using Singing and Movement to Teach Pre-

reading Skills and Word Reading to Kindergarten Children: An Exploratory Study.