Steady Beat and Reading Fluency

Being able to feel and keep a steady beat is a critical skill needed to read fluently. But remember, the goal is not to read with a steady beat, it’s to use these steady beat techniques to instill an inner sense of timing within your child so that she is ready for a lifetime of reading.

Steady beat is a foundational concept in music. It’s the ongoing pulse, like a clock ticking or a heartbeat. Neuroscientists have found that steady beat and reading fluency are in the same part of the brain. An article about the findings at Northwestern University can be accessed by clicking here.

The “Joppity Learns Steady Beat” video, which can be found here, shows how clocks and metronomes keep a steady beat. If you hear music and want to tap your foot or snap your fingers, the music has a steady beat.

It’s not difficult to find the weak readers in a class, as they are often the kids having trouble keeping a steady beat. Occasionally, it’s a coordination issue, but more often than not, the child needs to gain that inner sense of timing. Practice and repetition of the activities can make a tremendous difference in your child’s reading fluency! The sections of the video that focus on this are the Che Che Kule chant, Joppity’s Jam, Beatnik’s poem and Silly Conducting. In addition you can have your child dance, sing and clap to the beat of any music that they like to listen to. If age-appropriate, encourage your child to try singing a song with a steady beat while jumping rope. Even reciting nursery rhymes can develop an inner sense of timing.

It’s been my experience that students often double, triple or even quadruple the number of words they can read per minute after participating in several steady beat workshops. In addition, their comprehension improves dramatically. I’ve worked with many students who were struggling with reading and couldn’t keep a steady beat, but with practice, they were able to start feeling the beat and their reading quickly improved.

Steady beat is often the secret ingredient that’s been missing!

That being said, please don’t push your child to read before they’re ready. Everyone develops at his or her own pace. These methods work best when they’re fun and not a chore. So, encourage your emerging readers to “play along” with the kids and puppets in the “Joppity” video. Then come up with your own games and activities to practice steady beat.

Questions? Comments: email MissBeth @ joppity.com