Make TBO Your Home Page| Subscribe To The Paper| Advertise With Us| Contact Us| Login| Edit Profile| Register
Highlands Today
Email
Print
Carrying A Tune To Better Reading
Middle School Students Sing To Improve Fluency
Kathy Waters
Middle school students Luis Rios, left, and Giovanni Gomez work with technology resource teacher Kim Douberley on the Tune In to Reading computer program on Tuesday at Hill-Gustat Middle School. The program helps students improve their reading fluency.
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: December 6, 2007
SEBRING — Singing nursery rhymes in kindergarten is fun. But these days, about 30 students from Hill-Gustat Middle School are harnessing the power of nursery rhymes to improve their reading fluency.
Hill-Gustat Middle School seventh-grader MacGuyver Gil, seventh-grader Giovani Gomez and eighth-grader Luiz Rios began their 40-minute class period Tuesday by signing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat."
Wearing headphones with an attached microphone, the students sing along with music to lyrics displayed on a computer screen.
"I can't do that part; that goes too high," Gil said.
Technology Resource Teacher Kim Douberley goads them along with encouragement.
"O.K., that was an improvement; you are getting better," she says.
It's a little bit like karaoke, except that a computer program is keeping score and the students are trying to improve their score.
The higher the score, the better is the reading fluency, Douberley explains.
After singing the song 15 to 20 times, the students not only know the words, they have built up a rhythm.
It's this rhythm that leads to better fluency and understanding of what is being read.
If you can't read a sentence fluently and have to struggle to pronounce each word and break it down into syllables, then you are not going to comprehend it, Douberley explains.
How It Works
The program the school is using is called "Tune In to Reading" computer program from Electronic Learning Products Inc. in Tampa.
The relative position of the lyrics on the screen, high or low, relates to the notes/pitch of the song.
A red horizontal line indicates the exact pitch of the note the students are trying to hit and a blue highlighted area about a halftone above and below the note show the scoring range.
As the students sing, a white line tracks their pitch, providing instant feedback. They do not earn points if they sing too far above or below the correct note or don't hold the note for the proper duration.
Students select a vocal range suitable for their voice, i.e. bass, baritone, tenor. After a metronome count off, background music plays in the appropriate key.
The three students sing the song repeatedly and check their score after each attempt. The screen shows their top three scores.
About 30 more students will use the program in the nine-week period after the holiday break. Sebring Middle School is also using the program.
Email
Print
ADVERTISEMENT
Advertisement
TBO.com - Tampa Bay Online ©2010 Media General Communications Holdings, LLC. A Media General company. Member Agreement | Privacy Statement | Work With Us
