Visitors walking past Cook Elementary Fine Arts Magnet School”s Falcon Lab are likely to be serenaded by 23 young voices simultaneously singing 23 different songs.
Third- and fourth-grade students of Leah Mullins and Angela Pounders are among the first in the state to participate in Tune Into Reading, a computer literacy program with which students try to achieve high scores by singing along to various nursery rhymes and classic songs.
Points are earned through proper pronunciation and enunciation; students put on headsets, read on-screen lyrics three times and then sing, tracking their voices and pitch on computer screens.
Cook”s principal, Lois Kappler, first learned of the program while watching television”s Fox network.
Now, thanks to a grant from Omnova and state funding, three classes, each of 23 Cook students, are participating in a nine-week pilot program of Tune Into Reading.
The program — which is expected to boost children”s reading comprehension by one or two grade levels — ends the first week in May, but Mullins and Kappler already consider it a success.
“Anything learned in music goes into long-term memory,” Kappler explained. “We are pleased the children are so excited about it. They all love the idea it”s tied to music, so there”s a lot of interest there.”
“The kids love it,” said Mullins, noting the children “enjoy being exposed” to music. “I”ve had no behavior problems, since we started, probably because they”re very interested. They love to hear themselves sing back. The more their score builds, the more excited they get.”
And, “music,” Kappler maintains, “is like Velcro to the brain.”
On Wednesday afternoon, Kenya Robertson, 10, was very excited to show off his high score.
“I like singing,” Robertson, whose guardian is LaKenya Smith, said. “I like it because we get to pick our own songs and I like getting high scores.”
The program is teaching him “how to read and sing at the same time,” he added. “It”s my favorite thing to do and my second favorite thing is recess.”
“I love singing,” said Diamond Rogers, 9. “I just like singing (and) I”m learning words.”
Asked if she”s a good singer, Rogers, the daughter of Tiquellia Ledbetter, didn”t hesitate.
“Yes,” she responded. “I get it from my daddy.”
“It”s fun,” said Kelsey Allen, 9.
The daughter of Jennifer and Dave Allen, Kelsey Allen said she”s “learning how to read faster.”
“The words are the hardest part,” said Malik Henry, 10.
Henry, the son of Vashawndelia Henry, also said he”s a good singer.
An aspiring “animal catcher,” Coreyon Harris, 10, is focused on earning “points” and getting “more songs.”
“We get to sing when we come in,” Harris, the son of Valerie Harris, explained of why Tune Into Reading is his favorite class.
“It”s fun,” said Quaterrious Adkins, 8. “Because we get to record ourselves, then we get to make high scores. I”m learning to be a better reader.”
Adkins, the son of Rita Lawrence, said he wants to be a “choreographer” when he gets older, because “it”s fun.”
“What”s a choreographer?” asked Mullins.
“I don”t know,” he replied, sheepishly.
When Mullins told him a choreographer “makes dances,” Adkins smiled brightly.
“Break dancing!” he said, before putting his headphones on and returning to his song.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.