A Rhythmic View of Reading: From word recognition to reading comprehension

Article

One in five children leave primary school without being able to read. Based on her own research in schools, Marion Long has proposed a new rhythm-based scheme to improve reading amongst low-ability readers in primary schools following research that has linked a child's sense of rhythm to reading ability. In this scheme, children who can't clap in time to a simple piece of music are taught to stamp their feet in time to music for ten minutes a week. When this was trialled in schools, it improved children's reading comprehension.

A submission to IPPR's Britain's Got Brains competition.

One in five children leave primary school without being able to read. Based on her own research in schools, Marion Long has proposed a new rhythm-based scheme to improve reading amongst low-ability readers in primary schools following research that has linked a child's sense of rhythm to reading ability. In this scheme, children who can't clap in time to a simple piece of music are taught to stamp their feet in time to music for ten minutes a week. When this was trialled in schools, it improved children's reading comprehension.

Related items

  1. A stack of large shipping containers painted with the UK and EU flags

    Aligning for growth? The benefits of an EU-UK mutual recognition agreement

    Scoping the potential next frontier of a deepening relationship between the UK and the EU.
  2. A wind turbine stands in the middle of a field of solar panels on a sunny day

    The wiring behind rewiring the state: Energy devolution in England

    How the government can give local leaders the opportunities to lead energy transformation locally.
  3. Aerial views of Manchester skyline of new skyscrapers

    Devolution that delivers: Fiscal power for regional growth

    The UK is one of the most centralised countries in the developed world, and one of the most regionally unequal.