Musical Storytelling with Children’s Literature

• Emily Church
• Posted 2/1/21
• 0 comments

Incorporating stories, picture books, and literature into my music lessons is one of my favorite ways to engage students.  Listening is an important skill. However, allowing students to move and interact with a piece of literature brings the book to life!  

Creating interactive read-aloud works both when teaching in-person and in virtual learning. What is an Interactive Read-Aloud?  Actively engaging with a story by adding movement, singing, or instruments to critical moments in the narrative. Additionally, you can tailor each read-aloud to meet the National Music Standards; Create, Perform, or Respond. The two read-aloud styles I use frequently are the Movement Read-Aloud and Rondo Read-Aloud.  

Steps to Create Interactive Movement Read-Aloud Stories

Bringing a story to life using movement, songs, and chants are my favorite type of read-aloud. 

1. Use various activities, including a mix of activities including prop routines, improvisational movement, singing or instruments, and body percussion. 
2. Choose active and vital moments in the story to enrich with musical activities. 
3. Create a spreadsheet to help you brainstorm 
   – Snowmen At Night by Caralyn Buehner.   
   – Down the left column – list important phrases from the book 
   – Across the top – list musical activities to enhance the story.  
   – Brainstorm  
   – Fill in ideas 
   – Choose a balanced set of ideas that will work the best for each section of the book. 
   – Check to ensure that the activities used to reinforce the standards currently being taught in music class. 
4. Link music or videos directly to the spreadsheet to help keep yourself organized. 

Snowmen At Night Spreadsheet

Hint: Adjust activities within the spreadsheet to use the same story with different grade levels, and when inspiration strikes – add your new ideas to the same spreadsheet to stay organized.

Creating Rondo Read-Aloud Stories

Turn a chant or song inspired by the book into a student composition opportunity. I use this type of read-aloud with students in second grade and above.   

1. Identify the main idea of the story. 
2. Create a chant or song related to the stories that students will sing to repeat every few pages. 
3. Create instrumental parts or body percussion to accompany the song or chant. 
4. The song/chant will become the A section in the student Rondo Composition. 
5. Read the story with the added chant.  
6. Student Composition Component: 
   – Review the main idea and other high points within the story. 
   – Create a list of ideas for students to choose from. 
   – Students collaborate in groups to create a poem or couplet related to the story. 
   – These compositions will become the other sections in the rondo form. 
   – Add accompaniment parts to student composition.  HINT: Use Chrome Music Lab if you are online – or classroom instruments for in-person teaching.  
7. Perform   

Creating poems allows students to internalize the book’s message and focus on their takeaways from the story. Additionally, students love to share their work and have pride in their compositions. Two of my favorite Rondo Read-Alouds are “Rock What Ya Got” by Samantha Berger and I Promise by Lebron James. Both have beautiful messages.  

Adapt to Virtual Learning

Adapting a read-aloud project into a virtual learning experience is a beautiful way to engage students online. Through experimentation, I have found these helpful tips.  

Take pictures of each page and project them as a slide show on your screen.   

• A slide show is an excellent alternative if you do not have a webcam or view the book while reading.  Additionally, students are guaranteed a clear view of the pictures in the story.  
• Note- DO NOT post in your learning platform or share with students. The slide show is just to create a smooth presentation of pages while reading.  Sharing this information online or with your students is a violation of copyright.  Make sure to delate when you have completed the lesson.  

Use an external speaker.

• Place the speaker next to your computer; this placement ensures that the teacher’s movement and sound are synchronized. 
• I avoid using my computer’s internal speakers because the sound and videos the students see frequently are out of sync. 
• External speakers limit the amount of lag time students experience, thus creating a better learning environment.  

Test the video before presenting the lesson to students.

• Set up a practice call/ meeting to play the video.  Practicing without students allows you to see how you look on the screen to students.  On my first attempt, I zoomed my camera in more than I thought, and I ended up having to do some routines on my knees so kids could see me.  

Turn A Read-Aloud into a Music Program

Expand your read-aloud and create outstanding programs.  These are just a few ways you can turn your class lessons into dynamic music programs. 

Read-alouds focusing on a curricular element, utilizing songs and activities students know and love while incorporating the National Standards. My students performed Snowmen at Night as a Winter Program, using many of the activities outlined in the spreadsheet above. Our focus element was “la.”  The audience LOVED it! The program also provided opportunities to feature students as readers, individual classes special activities.  

We also performed a read-aloud with the book Over in the Meadow for our spring program, including the Rockin’ Robin Plate Routine.  We learned the routine in the fall, used it in the winter with the story A Loud Winter’s Nap, and brought it back for the spring program.  Incorporating the routine with different books kept the routine fresh throughout the year, allowing students to practice without feeling the pressure of drilling a routine over and over.   

Check out my other two articles Winter Read-Aloud and Rondo Read-Aloud.  Each of these articles focuses on the specific books I mentioned above, including videos and Orff arrangements.   If you are ready to start planning your read-aloud, I have shared my spreadsheets with you. 

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