Detail of Assessments of Overall Project
Overall I found that the children who were in the group with the music were more enthusiastic and more motivated to learn than the children who were in the group without the music. The addition of the djembe drum was the greatest motivating factor. The children enjoyed the addition of the beat of the drum while reading. One-to-one correspondence was established between the beat of the drum and the words being read. The children looked forward to having their turn to play the drum while the others read the book. The drum was not a distracter to the reading. It enhanced the overall reading experience. It helped the children read together as a group (maintaining the unity of the group).
The singing and chanting was not as much of a motivating factor however. This was evidenced by one of the children in the music group who said "I don't like to sing, I just like music." Another child in the group added " I thought we were going to read books and sing songs not books." As time went by, the children became more comfortable with the singing and it seemed to naturally "blend in" to the overall experience.
The children in the group with the music did learn the sight words a little sooner than the children in the group without the music. I was surprised to find that the rate of learning the words was close. The addition of the music did not make a big difference in the time it took the children to learn the words. This was evidenced by referring to the line chart in the "Detail of Assessment of Student Progress". Children in both groups began to read the words after a few weeks exposure to the shared reading. Children in both groups made consistant progress over the duration of the project. Also, there were children in both groups who learned to read all of the words or most of the words.
The children who were reluctant to participate in the reading at first became much more interested and willing to participate when the drum was added to the experience. The music appeared to be the means of attracting the attention and interest of the children. As one of the students in the music group said "I can't read, I just like stories and I like music. I want to play the music. I want to play those big drums."
Daily interaction with the children as well as listening to their conversations provided a great deal of information to the observers. The conversations in the group with music showed the enthusiasm of the children. It was apparent that the children in this group were more eager to be involved in the experience than the children in the group without the music. Several djembe drums were used in the classroom. The drums were all different. They were different sizes and had different carvings on them. Each drum was very distinct and appealing in its own way. The children's conversations often included discussions about the drums. As one boy said "Those drums are cool. They are so cool to play. I want to learn how to play them for real." As another child said "I think it sounds like the drums talk. They read when we read the books. I like that." The conversations in the group without the music did not show that the children were reluctant to be involved in the reading experience, but that they wish they were a part of the group that had the addition of the music. One child commented that he was glad that the drums were in the classroom all the time so he could play them too. He added " All the kids have to have their turn to play the drums. That's fair. I like the drums too." One child who was not in the group with the music joined the after school drum program because as he said " Those things are so fun. I'm going to learn how to play them-even with the big kids." Concerning the group without the music, there did not appear to be resentment that they were being excluded from playing the drums since the drums were available in the classroom to all the children during "free play" as well as during indoor recess.
Observations of the children provided information on a variety of reading behaviors. Monthly assessments allowed the observers to gather data at regular intervals. The checklist was a convenient way to note changes in reading behaviors over time.
Product (performance) analysis was noted by weekly assessments of the children's ability to read the sight words. A checklist provided a quick, easy reference for the teacher and assistants who were assessing the children. Close monitoring of the children's performance throughout the project showed short term as well as long term gains in ability.
