Children's reading comprehension and narrative recall in sung and spoken story contexts

A growing number of reading professionals have advocated teaching literacy through music and song; however, little research exists supporting such practices. The purpose of this study was to determine if sung story book readings would enhance story comprehension and narrative re-tellings in children with histories of speech and language delay. Thirty kindergarten and first grade children listened to story books read in either a sung or spoken voice and were then asked to retell stories and answer story comprehension questions. Findings revealed that story re-telling and comprehension scores did not differ between conditions; however, certain advantages associated with language expression and attentional focus were indicated in both conditions.