Havelock's singing spellers

Kathy Goforth calls herself the least musical member of a musical family.

Her kindergarten students at Arthur W. Edwards Elementary School in Havelock might argue that point.

Goforth helped create a compact disc of music that teaches students how to spell dozens of basic words.

"It really works for all of them," said Goforth, who has been teaching kindergarten for 10 years. "We started at zero. Nobody knew any words. Now, everyone is reading and reading at a good level, for coming in not reading."

Goforth said kindergartners are required to learn and spell 25 basic words before moving on to the first grade.

"The kids were struggling, so I just started singing the words to familiar tunes," she said of the teaching method she started four years ago. "They started learning faster than the other students."

The method includes basic words spelled out to familiar children's songs, such as "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" or "Mary had a Little Lamb." The students learn words such as "the," "under" and "about."

Goforth said other kindergarten teachers began approaching her about her methods, and she thought the best way to share it would be to create a CD of the songs.

She applied for and received a grant from the N.C. Alpha Delta Kappa international educators sorority to fund the project, and the CDs arrived at the school earlier this year.

"Music is a wonderful tool," Goforth said. "We all learned our ABCs by singing the song."

Goforth's students sing the songs and also get pieces of paper, each with one letter. They are then tasked with putting the pieces together to spell the words. Once they've accomplished that, they sing the song again as reinforcement.

Gorforth pointed out the method has worked especially well with a student for whom English is a second language because the student recognizes the tunes.

Goforth said her sister sings on the CD and her nephew plays the guitar. It was produced at a recording studio in Buffalo.

The CD, "For We Are Jolly Good Spellers," includes 48 words put to music, including the 25 basic words needed for kindergarten and other first-grade level words.

It costs $10, with proceeds going back to the sorority to fund teacher scholarships.

"Not only is it helping them read, it's helping others who want to be teachers," Goforth said.

She received 1,000 CDs and has sold about 250. The CDs are available at Arthur W. Edwards Elementary School, located off Catawba Road in the western part of Havelock. There is also an order form on the kindergarten page of the school's Web site at www.craven.k12.nc.us/AWE/aweindex.html.