LSP1501
Assessment 8
PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
Due 5 September 2025
,LSP1501
Assessment 8
PORTFOLIO Examination
Due 5 September 2025
SECTION A — MUSIC, DANCE & DRAMA (40 marks)
Activity 1.1
Question: Name two ways toddlers develop their musical skills according to
researchers. (2)
Answer:
Through caregiver-mediated musical interaction (singing and vocal play).
Researchers highlight that toddlers acquire sensitivity to melody, pitch contours, and
phrasing primarily through live, repetitive singing by caregivers. This nurtures vocal
imitation and early pitch discrimination.
Expert perspective: The social contingency of caregiver singing — for example, when
a caregiver immediately responds musically to a toddler’s vocalization — accelerates
neural entrainment to rhythm and speech prosody, laying the foundation for both music
and language acquisition.
Through movement–music coupling (rhythmic movement, clapping, bouncing).
When toddlers engage physically with music through clapping, swaying, or bouncing,
they strengthen beat perception and timing, which are crucial for rhythmic skills and
motor coordination.
Rare insight: Early rhythmic movement stimulates sensorimotor timing networks,
which not only support musical rhythm but also underpin later skills in language prosody
and sequencing in mathematics.
,Activity 1.2
Question: Discuss how music can support the development of other learning areas
such as numeracy and literacy, in the Foundation Phase. Provide examples from your
teaching experience or observations. (6)
Answer:
Music → Literacy (Phonological and Language Skills)
Mechanism: Songs naturally emphasize rhyme, rhythm, syllable boundaries, and
prosody. Their repetitive structure heightens phonemic awareness and strengthens
auditory discrimination.
Classroom example: A clapping-and-chanting activity can segment words into
syllables (e.g., clap three times for “but-ter-fly”), reinforcing the skills required for
phonological segmentation when reading.
Expert tip: Slowed-down songs with elongated initial consonants help struggling
learners perceive subtle phoneme contrasts that would otherwise be missed in normal
speech.
Music → Numeracy (Counting, Patterns, and Rhythm)
Mechanism: Musical rhythm corresponds to numerical sequencing and pattern
recognition. Time signatures naturally reflect grouping into twos, threes, and fours,
reinforcing mathematical concepts.
Classroom example: Skip counting by twos can be taught with a 2-beat chant and
accompanying steps (“one-two, one-two”). Learners anticipate the next beat, thereby
improving sequencing and subitizing skills.
, Rare classroom strategy: Introduce a “rhythm equation” activity: clap a 3-beat pattern
followed by a 2-beat pattern, then ask children to predict the total beats. This blends
music with addition and early problem-solving.
Cross-domain integration:
Singing a counting song with missing numbers encourages learners to supply the
missing value (numeracy and working memory). They can then illustrate that number of
objects (visual arts and fine motor skills). This multi-modal approach strengthens
retention across learning areas.
Assessment 8
PORTFOLIO EXAMINATION
Due 5 September 2025
,LSP1501
Assessment 8
PORTFOLIO Examination
Due 5 September 2025
SECTION A — MUSIC, DANCE & DRAMA (40 marks)
Activity 1.1
Question: Name two ways toddlers develop their musical skills according to
researchers. (2)
Answer:
Through caregiver-mediated musical interaction (singing and vocal play).
Researchers highlight that toddlers acquire sensitivity to melody, pitch contours, and
phrasing primarily through live, repetitive singing by caregivers. This nurtures vocal
imitation and early pitch discrimination.
Expert perspective: The social contingency of caregiver singing — for example, when
a caregiver immediately responds musically to a toddler’s vocalization — accelerates
neural entrainment to rhythm and speech prosody, laying the foundation for both music
and language acquisition.
Through movement–music coupling (rhythmic movement, clapping, bouncing).
When toddlers engage physically with music through clapping, swaying, or bouncing,
they strengthen beat perception and timing, which are crucial for rhythmic skills and
motor coordination.
Rare insight: Early rhythmic movement stimulates sensorimotor timing networks,
which not only support musical rhythm but also underpin later skills in language prosody
and sequencing in mathematics.
,Activity 1.2
Question: Discuss how music can support the development of other learning areas
such as numeracy and literacy, in the Foundation Phase. Provide examples from your
teaching experience or observations. (6)
Answer:
Music → Literacy (Phonological and Language Skills)
Mechanism: Songs naturally emphasize rhyme, rhythm, syllable boundaries, and
prosody. Their repetitive structure heightens phonemic awareness and strengthens
auditory discrimination.
Classroom example: A clapping-and-chanting activity can segment words into
syllables (e.g., clap three times for “but-ter-fly”), reinforcing the skills required for
phonological segmentation when reading.
Expert tip: Slowed-down songs with elongated initial consonants help struggling
learners perceive subtle phoneme contrasts that would otherwise be missed in normal
speech.
Music → Numeracy (Counting, Patterns, and Rhythm)
Mechanism: Musical rhythm corresponds to numerical sequencing and pattern
recognition. Time signatures naturally reflect grouping into twos, threes, and fours,
reinforcing mathematical concepts.
Classroom example: Skip counting by twos can be taught with a 2-beat chant and
accompanying steps (“one-two, one-two”). Learners anticipate the next beat, thereby
improving sequencing and subitizing skills.
, Rare classroom strategy: Introduce a “rhythm equation” activity: clap a 3-beat pattern
followed by a 2-beat pattern, then ask children to predict the total beats. This blends
music with addition and early problem-solving.
Cross-domain integration:
Singing a counting song with missing numbers encourages learners to supply the
missing value (numeracy and working memory). They can then illustrate that number of
objects (visual arts and fine motor skills). This multi-modal approach strengthens
retention across learning areas.
