The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat is committed to providing teachers with current research on instruction and learning. The opinions and conclusions contained in these monographs are, however, those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies, views, or directions of the Ontario Ministry of Education or The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. May 2009 Research Monograph # 19 Placing Music at the Centre of Literacy Instruction By Dr. Jonathan Bolduc and Dr. Carole Fleuret Faculty of Education University of Ottawa Overture From the time they enter preschool, all children have musical knowledge – they have preferences for certain kinds of music, some songs that they can sing and a basic understanding of rhythm and melody. Not only do musical activities cap- tivate young children, but there is also emerging evidence which suggests that they can be a complementary and powerful support for literacy instruction. 1,2 Through musical activities, young learners are encouraged to focus their attention on various aspects of the sound structure of language which helps them to improve their listening skills and to develop metacognitive and metalinguistic skills. In the process, they acquire learning strategies that help them to learn written language. This monograph begins with a survey of research which suggests that musical activities promote the development of auditory perception and phonological awareness as well as metacognitive and metalinguistic skills. It then presents four pedagogical interventions. By way of conclusion, it reiterates the importance of musical acitivities and music education in schools. Research on Music and Literacy The earliest research on music and literacy dates back to the 1950s. 3,4 Although there has been some interest in this field in the decades since then, research really began to develop in the 1980s. We review this literature below, highlighting six empirical studies which indicate that music has a positive effect on the development of the skills needed for phonological awareness, the recognition and decoding of words and the development of writing strategies. How can musical activities enhance early literacy development? Research Tells Us ● Musical actitivities that strengthen phonological awareness build word recognition/word decoding skills. ● Students who obtain higher scores on pitch tasks also obtain higher scores on phonological awareness tasks. ● Preschool and elementary programs that combine musical activities and literacy instruction improve student scores on reading and writing tasks. WHAT WORKS? Research into Practice A research-into-practice series produced by a partnership between The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat and the Ontario Association of Deans of Education JONATHAN BOLDUC has a Bachelor of Music and a Master of French Didactics from Université de Montréal, as well as a Doctorate of Music Education from Université Laval. He conducts research on the impact of music on learning at the preschool and elementary levels. He is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa and director of the Music and Literacy Research Lab. CAROLE FLEURET has a Bachelor of Orthopedagogy and a Master and Doctorate of French Didactics from Université de Montréal. She conducts research on literacy and the acquisition of first and second language writing skills. She is an assistant professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa. The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat