Story Time with Ms. Jo

Ms. Jo will read a children's book with pictures, singing short melodies to go along with the text. Students will participate by echoing sight words. For example: in "There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly", there is a part that says "I don't know WHY she swallowed the FLY!" - Ms. Jo will improvise a melody to go along with "I don't know WHY she swallowed the FLY" holding up flashcards that say WHY and FLY - asking students to sing the sight word with the teacher when they see the flash card raised. 
Class begins with a simple hello song, where students sing their names, following a melodic pattern set by the teacher. 
After the greeting, Ms. Jo will read a storybook with pictures, having already chosen specific sight words and vocabulary words for the students to recall. The sight words and vocabulary are practiced using melodic repetition. Students will have a participation role in the class by echoing back the melodic patterns from their teacher. 
Students will have a short review at the end of the story, repeating back melodic lines that exercise the vocabulary acquired during the story. 
The class ends with a short goodbye song, using call and response participation improvised by Ms. Jo.
Many students who are learning to read, struggle with remembering letter cluster sounds (phonics). Music exercises the neural pathway used for reading and speech. Thus, singing parts of a story and memorizing vocabulary with music is a great way to solidify phonics knowledge with young learners.