You won't get any argument from me on the Mozart effect. However, I believe visual arts narratives hold the same power in building reading skills for many children as music does. As does rhythmic activity connected to phonetics, be it chanting or dancing or atheletic games. Arts based instruction in the primary years is the curriculum model Waldorf schools use, so they are a really good source of ideas.

PreK-1st grade or so is also the time when children learn languages best, so it is no coincidence that languages of the arts give them a strong start.

I am an elementary school librarian (PreK-6), so I see all types of learners in a pre-literacy setting. You have to mix it all up with the little ones for it to be effective.

And one final thing from me. I don't think it matters if it is hip hop or Mozart, Van Gogh or Grandma Moses. The one thing to help children become literate, especially kids who aren't native English speakers or who come from high poverty homes, is to instill a love of stories and books. You do that with ALL the tools available, and you can have great *eventual* success with those kids as competent readers.