Abstract
Eisner (1980), Gardner (1993), and Dewey (1934) promote a holistic education, which greatly impacts the need for arts education in the classroom. Research substantiates that the arts play a critical role in literacy development (Hansen et al., 2014). This project addresses the integration of music as a method to reinforce language and literacy development. Students can engage in reading, writing, speaking, and listening while also studying various genres of music. Music enables students to grow into critical learners while exposing them to a world of language skills, literacy connections, and a spectrum of global cultures. When music is used among core subjects, specifically English Language Arts (ELA), it functions as a medium for further academic development. It awakens the learner’s interests. Popular culture is explored as a genre that encourages students to connect their background knowledge with language arts knowledge. In this project, the handbook supports multimodal approaches to help educate primary grade students. The Beatles music is incorporated in the elementary language arts curriculum while addressing the needs of Common Core State Standards. Specific standards are highlighted to validate the impact that music has on language development. Multimodality and interdisciplinary learning techniques are demonstrated while employing music as a tool to promote language and literacy development.