Read Well, Think Well by Hal W. Lanse

Author:Hal W. Lanse
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: F+W Media, Inc.
Published: 2008-10-10T16:00:00+00:00

Rhythm, Rhyme, and Rap

Any time information is turned into a song or rap or is presented with rhyming words, it is easier to remember. Think about it. Which can you remember more easily, the preamble to the Constitution, which you probably learned in junior high, or the lyrics to any ten of your favorite songs from the eighth grade?

My son is constantly surprised when I start singing along with songs on the radio. That’s because so many of his songs are remakes of tunes that were popular when I was a teen. Even if I haven’t heard them in years, when the radio starts playing my old favorites the lyrics come right back to me.

Suppose you and your child used your creativity to create rhymes, songs, or raps as a way of remembering important information. It’s likely that he’ll recall that information easily. This is the way the brain works. It picks up information through perceiving patterns. Rhyme and rhythm follow such patterns and make learning easier.

Years ago, when I taught sixth-grade social studies, my students had to learn about one of the first sets of laws in history: Hammu-rabi’s Code. Most of the kids in my class remembered the basics of these laws because we recited this rap:

Not written on paper; not written on bone,

They were written on columns made of stone.

I tell no lies, I tell the truth,

It’s an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth,

Whatever you took, whatever you did,

You had to make it up; that’s the truth now kid.

So if you stole something small or even grand,

You’d soon be deprived of your own right hand.

If you killed with a sword or a club or a knife,

Hammurabi said you’d pay with your life.

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