Disney Princess Songs Comprehension Pack
For a number of years, both myself and John have been using music to aid and support the teaching of English in our classrooms. One of the best ways in which we feel music supports English is using it for Reading Comprehension. Songs are essentially lyrical poems, and so by deconstructing the lyrics, pupils are able to access and explore a wide range of language and develop core reading skills that will enable them to gain a deeper understanding behind some of their favourite tunes.
This pack will demonstrate this idea by looking at three popular songs from different Disney movies. All three are similar in that they fall into the “I want” type of song. All three are also empowering, with messages that will enable your learners to discuss and explore the wider themes being promoted. It is our strong belief that this helps develop the whole child and is an essential component when creating a broad and balanced curriculum.
The suggested questions and answers are by no means concrete, they are more about our interpretations of the lyrics. Please feel free to change, adapt and be open to accept children’s own views. Using a multi-skilled approach, we have decided to put the questions in order as they appear with the lyrics.
We have also linked the video clip from each film as these can support the text as you discuss it. We certainly see the power of Visual Literacy, which we feel is demonstrated clearly in this pack. However, it is important that we never forget that TEXT IS KING.
To define comprehension:
“Reading comprehension is a process in which readers construct meaning by interacting with text through the combination of prior knowledge and previous experience, information in the text, and the stance the reader takes in relationship to the text” (Pardo, 2004)
In this pack, we try to demonstrate how visuals can engage, support and give the text a context. It does not replace text.
For more examples of songs to use to support reading comprehension, visit Mr P’s ICT blog or for further training visit JohnMurrayCPD.co.uk