Improve reading and literacy through Captioned Music Video!

SLS is a video captioning format intended to support reading acquisition and growth. 

SLS combines the popularity of Movies & Music with Karaoke-like subtitling technologies

                --- to create repetitive reading activities!

           The following is a shortened sample of how the format was used in my class/study:

>The video is on a large projector screen & we use stereo audio.

>Each student has an individualized script worksheet to complete.

>The video repeats as many times as needed to complete activity --typically 3 to 5 repeats.

>The entire activity takes 25 minutes per day and progresses through an entire musical over a 4 week period.

Please see lower section for an explanation of SLS as an educational tool.

(This is a shortened sample of class worksheet -- basic to SLS format is the idea of an 'engagement activity'. With classroom use this is a practical approach for a large group & can easily be modified to individual reading needs. Other 'engagement activities': Echo reading, Sing-a-longs, Learning to sing, Karaoke Performances, Making SLS/Karaoke Media)

Listen/watch video at least three times. Do the activity:

And if they _________

  As Lucifer ___________

The ___________

  The sword!

____________!

  In your multitudes

Scarce to be counted

  ____________ the darkness

With order and light

 You are the sentinels

What is mostly the pattern for the missing words?

1) Explain the reference to ‘Lucifer’?

2) Define ‘multitudes’

3) Define ‘sentinels’

Most of this site concerns using subtitled video in an educational setting.

However, there are several basic underlying principals that I would like you to keep in mind as you explore this site:
1) Subtitling can impact literacy and reading fluency across a very broad spectrum of the population; there is evidence that it is effective on any educational level and at any age. (See Kothari, D'Yedewalle & McCall research)

2) The more dynamic and accurate the subtitling the stronger the impact on literacy and language acquisition. The activities on this site can be done with the closed-captioned subtitling that is available on most television and DVD video and can be done with any media format -- however in my experience the more dynamic the source material and the better the quality of the subtitling and the stronger the presentation format -- the stronger the impact on reading growth.

3) Given just the results of Kothari's study: 
           all music video that targets children to young adults should include Open Dynamic Subtitling
                                                                                                            --(Karaoke style &  always on screen)
MTV, VH1 and similar programming generally does not have Closed Captioning.
SLS style subtitling would harness the strength of this media, and go a long way in increasing literacy in any broadcast language for relatively little cost.

4) Subtitling your media is a very powerful communication tool. There are many programs  that can easily add dynamic subtitling to audio or video medea presentations. Most of my classroom presentations were made using Karafun.

Same-Language-Subtitling (SLS) is the use of Synchronized Captioning of Musical Lyrics (or any text with an Audio/Video/ source) as a Repeated Reading activity. The basic reading activity involves students viewing a short subtitled presentation projected onscreen, while completing a response worksheet. To be really effective, the subtitling should have high quality synchronization of audio and text, and better yet, subtitling should change color in syllabic synchronization to audio model, and the text should be at a level to challenge students' language abilities.

Research        Make your own SLS activity      SLS Samples