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Access to the THRASS Family SING-A-LONG songs that have been
heralded as an exciting new way of learning English, has
just been greatly improved in the USA, meaning that there is
now enormous potential for the songs, and the THRASS
synthetic phonics programme more widely, to be used to
improve literacy levels there.
Research in the USA has shown that, while 99 per cent of
people there over the age of 15 are able to write their name
and read some words, up to 50 per cent may be functionally
illiterate, a problem that is particularly severe among
people of Hispanic origin. This means that they are unable
to read well enough to understand a daily newspaper, a
simple letter or even the instructions for using products
that form part of everyday life. It also has enormous
implications for employers and social service programmes,
and is a contributing factor to poverty.
But the THRASS Family SING-A-LONG songs and the THRASS
synthetic phonics programme more widely could now be about
to change all this, as the SING-A-LONG songs have just been
made available for download in mp3 format in the USA from
the Children’s Music section of the Amazon mp3 website and
from the iTunes Music Store, making them far more accessible
to everyone.
The THRASS (Teaching Handwriting Reading And Spelling
Skills) synthetic phonics programme has been pioneered by
British Educational Psychologist Alan Davies and helps
learners to develop sound literacy skills by teaching them
about the 44 phonemes (speech sounds) of spoken English and
the 120 keygraphemes (spelling choices) of written English.
It has been heralded as a revolutionary approach to teaching
English that provides learners not just with handwriting,
reading and spelling skills but also with valuable life
skills training, and wherever it is used it surpasses all
expectations. Using THRASS in a balanced language curriculum
can more than double the normal rate of progress for
learning reading and spelling for learners of all ages and
abilities including dyslexics and those for whom English is
not their first language.
It is widely accepted that music, and in particular singing,
can have a wide range of benefits for children and also for
older learners, the most important of which in the context
of teaching literacy is that it can accelerate learning and
improve the memory.
Ever since they were launched at the beginning of 2008,
teachers and parents just haven’t been able to stop
'singing' the praises of the 44 SING-A-LONG songs, which
they can sing with children to explain the 44 sounds and 120
main spelling choices of English, as an exciting new way of
learning the language. The songs have memorable tunes in
different musical styles and dance rhythms from around the
world, such as African Round, Charleston, Hard Rock,
Hawaiian, Irish Dance, Jazz, Ragtime, Reggae, Twist and
Waltz, and wonderful imaginative titles such as “The moon
fell out of the sky”, “A great big gorilla” and “You don’t
get pandas in Africa”. They are real fun for both adults and
children, give everyone a lift and really motivate children
of all ages to learn.
Anyone who downloads the songs and listens to them will want
to move on and develop the SING-A-LONG system of learning
English, and there is a wide range of resources, including
fantastic interactive software, to help them do this. The
key resources are the 96-page THRASS SING-A-LONG Book and
the Interactive Book, and there is also a sheet music book,
a colouring book, an audio CD and a MOVE-A-LONG WITH
SING-A-LONG DVD.
The THRASS Family SING-A-LONG songs are an ideal
introduction to the THRASS programme and are used in
thousands of schools across Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle
East, the Caribbean and the USA. They are currently being
used with particular success to introduce THRASS to schools
in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
It is an indication of the significance of THRASS that in
South Africa it is sponsored by Absa Bank, a member of the
Barclays Group, through the THRASS Absa TalkTogether Project
– and also by Henkel Pritt. In addition, the two-day THRASS
Accredited Certificate is already a compulsory module for
Foundation Phase student teachers at six South African
universities.
The THRASS SING-A-LONG songs are available for download from
the Children’s Music section of iTunes on-line Music Stores
in the United States, UK and Europe, and from Amazon mp3 in
the United States. Amazon mp3 downloads can be played on any
mp3 player or computer and on iTunes.
The THRASS extensive picture-based training website for
schools and parents is at
www.thrass.co.uk/teaching.htm
For information about THRASS SING-A-LONG, including a
demonstration of the interactive book, visit
www.thrass.co.uk/sing-a-long.htm
For more information about mp3 downloads of the THRASS
Family SING-A-LONG songs from iTunes, and other
SING-A-LONG resources, visit www.thrass.co.uk/thrass_itunes.htm
For more information about mp3 downloads of the THRASS
Family SING-A-LONG songs from Amazon mp3, and other
SING-A-LONG resources, visit
www.thrass.co.uk/thrass_amazonmp3.htm
To see what can be achieved using SING-A-LONG and THRASS
resources, view the videostreams on
www.thrass.co.uk/holyrosary_limpopo.htm (South
Africa),
www.thrass.co.uk/wps08.htm (UK) and
www.thrass.co.uk/zimbabwe0309.htm (Zimbabwe).
Issued by:
THRASS UK News Media Centre
www.thrass.co.uk/nm.htm
Mike Meade, Media Director, +44 1829 741413 Mob: +44 7970
151 738
mikemeade@thrass.co.uk
Chris Griffiths, International Development, +30 266 203 1723
or or +44 151 324 5366
chrisgriffiths@thrass.co.uk
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