Abstract

    To determine the effect of a program of classroom study that includes non-instrumental music, movement, and play on the reading abilities of second-graders, a prospective crossover study was employed.  The study site was Jonata School, which is located in the Santa Ynez Valley, approximately 40 miles north of the city of Santa Barbara, California.  Jonata School has 657 students, 25 teachers, 6 full-time and 21 part time classified staff members, and one administrator.  Information from the California Department of Education website states that the student population consists of 63% white, 35% Hispanic and 2% "other" students."  Thirty-two percent of the students at the school receive Title I assistance and 20% of the students of the school are identified as English Language Learners (ELL) (http://goldmine.cde.ca.gov/).

    Four classes of second-graders were randomly divided into two groups. The reading abilities of students in both groups were assessed at the beginning of the study, and after each of the two intervention periods.  During the intervention period, one group received music instruction consisting of music, movement, and play designed to enhance reading skills. The second group received corresponding time in which they were given supplemental practice or instruction in reading.  Fifty-five students completed the study.  After receiving 8 weeks of the music intervention, phonemic reading test scores were increased by a mean of 7.5% ± 3.7 SE (95% CI 0 – 15.0) compared to the scores of the same students while receiving the control treatment, and this difference achieved borderline statistical significance (p=0.050).  In the initial 8-week period, the intervention group test scores increased by 11.1% ± 2.5 SE (95% CI 5.9 – 16.4), which was statistically significant (p<0.001), compared to the placebo group increase of 4.3% ± 3.2 SE (95% CI –2.3 – 10.8), which was not statistically significant (p=0.19).  Thus this study demonstrates that the addition of a non-instrumental program of music, movement, and play results in positive, quantitative, and statistically significant improvements in the reading scores of second-grade students.