Learning with Children’S Melodies/Aprende Con Melodías Infantiles

Book excerpt: The focus of Learning with Childrens Melodies/Aprende con Melodas Infantiles is to recognize the need to transition children of Hispanic heritage into an English-speaking school system by building a classroom culture that not only recognizes the bilingual reality of its students but uses the language difference of the students as a vehicle to create linguistic empowerment. Each of the lessons is based on childrens songs from various ethnic cultures that make up the United States of America, including Latin American traditional songs. Literacy is accomplished more rapidly if reading materials have cultural relevance. If the protagonists of a story are Hispanic, the Hispanic students will be more attentive to the lesson. In the first lesson song, Los Pollitos (the little chicks), there are personifications of children with attributes of all children. The embodiment of childlike personality traits into the little chicks catches the interest of students that are English-speaking and Spanish-speaking. Repetition of vocabulary learned in the morning circle and in the other learning centers throughout the day will increase retention. Happy learning to you and your class!