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Book reading and vocabulary development: A systematic review
Abstract
This paper reviews high-quality empirical studies on book reading practices in early childhood that have resulted in increases in child vocabulary. The overarching purpose of this work is twofold: first, to tease apart the myriad ways in which effective book readings can be delivered; and second, to identify questions that remain about book reading and vocabulary learning. We examine various aspects of effective book readings, including the contexts in which the book reading was conducted, the words that were taught through the book reading, the dosage of reading that children received, and the outcome measures used. Findings reveal that six strategies—reading and re-reading texts, explicitly defining words, encouraging dialogue about book-related vocabulary through questions and discussion, re-telling, using props, and engaging children in post-reading activities—are consistently implemented across the studies; however, they are used in widely varying combinations. There is great variability across studies in the number of words taught, the criteria for word selection, and the measures used to assess word learning. Moreover, in many studies, children learn only a small proportion of the number of words taught. Finally, this review identifies critical remaining questions about how to optimize vocabulary learning through book reading that require systematic investigation in order to inform effective practice.
... I sitt ursprung var Högläsning med mer dialog en aktivitet mellan barn och förälder och utgick från barn som var cirka tre år gamla (Whitehurst et al., 1988). Metoden har dock visat sig vara framgångsrik i att utveckla barnens språk även i mindre grupper och i en pedagogisk miljö (Wasik et al., 2016). När bokläsningen genomförs i mindre grupper är det lämpligt att dessa inte blir för stora så alla barn kan komma till tals. ...
... Då böckerna ska läsas flera gånger och ha ett innehåll som kan skapa dialog, finns det några vägledande principer som styr valet av böcker (Wasik et al., 2016;Zucker et al., 2021). För det första, ska textmängden vara anpassad till målgruppen och inte vara för omfattande. ...
... Med tanke på avbildning i boken är det mest intuitivt att välja substantiv, och det finns även stöd för att det är den ordklass barnen lär sig lättast. Än så länge finns det inget entydigt svar från forskningen (Wasik et al., 2016) om även andra ordklasser bör ingå. Lämpliga målord är begrepp som förekommer mer i skrift än i tal och kan antingen användas i flera olika sammanhang eller är specifika till sin natur men användbara för barnen (Zucker et al., 2021). ...
Antologin Specialpedagogisk forskning och tidiga insatser innehåller tjugo kapitel som belyser det specialpedagogiska kunskapsområdet, med tonvikt på dess inkluderande praktiker och didaktiska tillämpningar. Kapitlen i denna antologi förklarar teoretiska ramverk, analyserar behov och tendenser, sammanfattar forskning och beskriver empiriska studier, där ett gemensamt tema är vad som stödjer barns utveckling och lärande. Ett särskilt fokus är på stimulerande aktiviteter för yngre barn, och för barn med funktionsnedsättning, oavsett deras ålder. De flesta av de fyrtiofyra medverkande författarna är forskare som är verksamma på olika lärosäten i Sverige och i USA. Två av de internationella medverkande är samarbetspartners som har bidragit att utveckla detta forskningsfält i vår kontext. Flera bidrag i antologin är knutna till Forskarskolan i specialpedagogik med inriktning tidiga insatser som finansieras av Vetenskapsrådet, där Stockholms universitet, Jönköping University, Linköpings universitet och Karolinska Institutet ingår. De specialpedagogiska insatserna som illustreras i antologin sträcker sig över ett brett spektrum av insatser med syfte att förändra, utveckla förmågor och förebygga svårigheter. I den första delen finns texter som ger definitioner av begrepp, presenterar teorier och sammanfattar forskningsresultat på ett övergripande sätt. Den andra delen av antologin innehåller femton kapitel med tillämpade studier, ibland med experimentell design, där olika program, verktyg och interventioner har testats. Gemensamt för dessa kapitel är att de utgår från avhandlingsstudier och andra empiriska studier med syfte att främja utveckling, lärande och delaktighet för olika grupper av barn och elever. Bidragen visar vilka innehåll som tidiga specialpedagogiska insatser, stöd och särskilt stöd kan ha i vår kontext och de är exempel på det växande forskningsfältet tillämpad specialpedagogik.
... Outside of the vocabulary specified for teaching within early reading programs, one of the most common approaches to vocabulary instruction consists of teachers selecting single words (e.g., 5-10) from a picturebook, which are then taught in the context of that picturebook (Beck et al., 2013;Shanahan, 2020). The vocabulary is chosen based on a teacher's judgement of whether it will aid comprehension and be transferable to students' wider reading needs (Wasik et al., 2016). This vocabulary is often referred to as 'Tier 2' vocabulary (Beck et al., 2013). ...
... Recent systematic reviews have shown limited evidence for both direct instruction (Cervetti et al., 2022) and indirect, incidental vocabulary learning approaches (Erbeli & Rice, 2021). Nonetheless, reading frequency, dialogic talk around picturebooks, and a rich home and school print-language environment positively relate to vocabulary growth (Hiebert, 2019;Wasik et al., 2016;Snow, 2021). In early reading instruction, while vocabulary is often prescribed within reading programs and aligned with accompanying texts, teachers also are encouraged to use picturebooks for vocabulary building (Beck et al., 2013;Shanahan, 2020). ...
... As noted, there is wide use of reading programs in early reading instruction (Graves et al., 2019), often with prescribed vocabulary targets. However, picturebooks remain an important print environment and typically constitute the initial 'bridge' from oral language to the print-based literacy of school (Hill, 2011;Wasik et al., 2016). Crawford et al. (2024) note the special role of "reading picturebooks in the early childhood classroom [which] promotes not only understanding, humor, and joy, but also builds the academic literacy skills necessary for success later in school" (p. 1). ...
Alongside reading programs, picturebooks are often used for vocabulary development in early literacy instruction. Teachers typically select individual words to teach based on whether they facilitate comprehension, occur frequently across texts, and are more concrete than abstract (with more concrete vocabulary favored when building core vocabulary). However, research has seen a growing emphasis on multi-word expressions (MWEs) and their fundamental role in language development. Consequently, they have been increasingly emphasized in curricula. This study analyzed a dataset of picturebooks for multi-word verbs, idioms, phrases, fixed expressions, and noun compounds. It further computed how concrete MWEs were. The rationale was that if MWEs were frequent in this print environment, relatively concrete and transferable to children's wider language needs, they would be similar in profile to (single) words recommended for instruction. This would support increased pedagogical attention alongside single words. Results indicate, however, that MWEs are infrequent and typically quite abstract in children's picturebooks. This finding opens a discussion as to whether MWEs need much systematic emphasis in early literacy and vocabulary instruction. Given limited instructional time and other priorities, this study concludes that focusing on single words without systematic incorporation of MWEs seems appropriate for early reading pedagogy.
... Los protocolos de repetición son todavía más eficaces porque su aportación se mantiene a largo plazo. Cuando se aprende una palabra, su memorización es prácticamente para siempre (Wasik et al., 2016). Además, esto conlleva un círculo virtuoso: el cerebro memoriza con mayor facilidad una información que puede asociarse con conocimientos ya almacenados previamente (Willingham, 2009), ya que se maximiza su funcionamiento al integrar los nuevos saberes en una red neuronal preexistente (Bein et al., 2020). ...
... -La lectura compartida es tanto más eficaz cuanto más se repite. Leerle una y otra vez el mismo libro al niño, lejos de resultar contraproducente, le permite a este interiorizar el acervo de riquezas lingüísticas y narrativas de cada obra (Biemeller et al., 2006), y mejora la memorización a largo plazo (Wasik et al., 2016). ...
... -Los hallazgos de este estudio destacan la gran importancia de la repetición y la interacción en el proceso de aprendizaje, tanto en el entrenamiento del modelo ChatGPT como en la educación infantil. Al igual que los algoritmos de aprendizaje por refuerzo de ChatGPT se benefician de la retroalimentación humana y la exposición repetida a los datos para mejorar su precisión y relevancia (Wasik et al., 2016), los niños también necesitan múltiples exposiciones y la interacción con sus padres y maestros para internalizar el lenguaje y mejorar su comprensión lectora. ...
Introducción: Este artículo revisa la relación entre el entrenamiento del modelo ChatGPT y las metodologías empleadas por parte de padres y maestros para enseñar a los niños la lectura experta, y fomentar, con ello, el pensamiento crítico y la creatividad. Metodología: Se realizó una revisión narrativa exhaustiva de la literatura científica, utilizando bases de datos académicas y libros de divulgación. Resultados: El entrenamiento de ChatGPT incluye la adquisición de datos, ajustes iterativos y aprendizaje por refuerzo con retroalimentación humana, lo cual es parecido a las técnicas de lectura compartida y repetitiva empleadas por padres. Se encontró que tanto en modelos de IA como en el aprendizaje infantil, la integración de nueva información en redes preexistentes es crucial para la retención y comprensión a largo plazo. Discusión: Los resultados muestran que las técnicas de aprendizaje utilizadas en ChatGPT pueden ofrecer estrategias valiosas para la educación infantil. La repetición y el feedback son fundamentales en ambos contextos, aunque existen diferencias significativas, como la falta de conciencia en los modelos de IA. Conclusiones: Las metodologías de entrenamiento de ChatGPT y las estrategias educativas infantiles comparten principios esenciales. Sin embargo, no son menospreciables las diferencias intrínsecas entre la inteligencia artificial y la inteligencia natural.
... A comprehensive overview study has been conducted by some researchers to observe the results of previous studies, evaluate the effectiveness of reading to preschool children, analyze various methods of reading to preschool children, and identify factors influencing reading to preschool children. For instance, previous comprehensive studies focused on specific aspects of reading to preschool children such as joint book reading (Bus et al., 1995), shared book reading (Dowdall et al., 2020;Lorio et al., 2022), interactive readaloud (Grøver et al., 2023;Lennox, 2013), shared interactive book reading (Towson et al., 2021), E-book reading (López-Escribano et al., 2021) or the effects of these reading methods on specific aspects such as emergent literacy skills (Bus et al., 1995;López-Escribano et al., 2021) language development (Dowdall et al., 2020;Lennox, 2013;Wasik et al., 2016) or the overall role of interactive reading with preschoolers (Grøver et al., 2023), or parent-child reading interventions (Lorio et al., 2022). This indicates that previous comprehensive studies only provided an overview of individual aspects of reading to preschool children without a systematic overview of the general issue of reading to preschool children. ...
... Our study evaluated the system in terms of the number of documents and the growth trends of studies on book reading for preschool children, the contributions of countries, journals, and authors in this field, the main topics addressed and resolved in studies on book reading for preschool children, the research samples used in these studies, and the main limitations of studies on book reading for preschool children. Our research findings differ from some recent system reviews (Dowdall et al., 2020;Grøver et al., 2023;López-Escribano et al., 2021;Lorio et al., 2022;Towson et al., 2021;Wasik et al., 2016). Our study differs from the system review (Lorio et al., 2022) in several key aspects: Our document search was conducted on the Scopus database, while the review by the authors was conducted on four databases (PubMed, ComDisDome, PsycINFO, and ERIC). ...
... The overview by this author group examined 12 studies on interventions, including opportunities for shared reading practice between parents and children aged from infancy to 3 years old. Our study differs from the comprehensive review by Barbara A. Wasik et al. (2016), which deeply analyzed 31 articles from academic databases such as Elsevier, ERIC, Google Scholar, Psych Info, PubMed, and Scopus to evaluate high-quality experimental studies on shared reading practices in preschool age children impacting vocabulary growth to provide effective practice information (Wasik et al., 2016). Our research findings also differ from the study by Vibeke Grøver and colleagues (2023). ...
... Research emphasises the critical role of adult-child interaction during book reading for vocabulary learning (Wasik et al., 2016). ...
... Educators could provide child-initiated activities, activity stations, art, music and play in small groups or dedicated whole class time (Chambers et al., 2016). Furthermore, parents and educators should engage in shared dialogic book reading (Wasik et al., 2016) and "start a reading routine early in children's development" to familiarise children with books and reading material generally (Mol & Bus, 2011, p.287). Further research incorporating longitudinal studies for children at risk is recommended (Dowdall, 2020 ...
... The meta-analyses suggest that reading routines, which are part of the child's leisure time activities, offer substantial advantages for oral language growth, reading comprehension and technical reading skills (Mol & Bus, 2011). Wasik et al. (2016) reviewed studies systematically which focused on book reading practices in early childhood that have resulted in increases in early vocabulary. Dowdall et al. ...
... It underscores the importance of evidence-based, culturally sensitive interventions in fostering language development among young learners. In doing so, it aims to empower educators, parents, and policymakers with the knowledge and tools necessary to support children's linguistic and cognitive growth, particularly within the unique context of Palestinian Arabic-speaking children (Wasik et al., 2016). ...
... Similarly, Simsek and Erdogan (2015) reported improvements in Turkish preschoolers' language development, attributing gains to the active engagement fostered by dialogic reading. Wasik et al. (2016) also observed that dialogic reading promotes vocabulary growth by encouraging children to articulate their thoughts and participate in discussions. ...
vocabulary development in Palestinian Arabic-speaking children, focusing on receptive
and productive vocabulary across different word types (mental vs. general, (Mental
words refer to abstract vocabulary, while general words are more concrete)) and age
groups: OLDER (n = 27, mean age = 66.2 months) and YOUNGER (n = 38, mean age =
55.1 months).
Methods. A total of 65 children participated in the study, where both reading
strategies were implemented, and vocabulary acquisition was measured before and
after the learning sessions. Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) were employed
to analyze receptive vocabulary, while Ordinal Logistic Mixed-effects models were used
for productive vocabulary.
Results. The results demonstrated significant improvements in receptive and productive
vocabulary, particularly among older children, with repeated reading showing greater
effectiveness. Mental words were more easily recognized than general words in
both groups, particularly in younger children, while older children showed significant
improvements across both word types after reading sessions.
Conclusions. The study contributes to the understanding of vocabulary acquisition
by challenging the assumption that general words are more accessible to learn than
abstract ones, particularly for younger children. It also highlights the importance of
type of reading the story and educational contexts in shaping language outcomes,
suggesting that vocabulary interventions must be tailored to developmental stages
and specific word types. These findings offer practical recommendations for educators,
highlighting the importance of tailoring reading strategies to developmental stages
and word types. They emphasize the need for flexible, age-sensitive strategies that
support language development in diverse linguistic environments by providing
actionable methods for improving vocabulary acquisition.
... Teachers interacting with children during interactive book reading (IBR) is a privileged context for supporting children's language development (Mol & Bus, 2011;Wasik et al., 2016), which underlies the development of later reading comprehension (Hjetland et al., 2020). Given its interactive nature, IBR has been found to have positive impacts on children's vocabulary knowledge (Flack et al., 2018;Wasik et al., 2016), inference skills (Dawes et al., 2019;McMahon-Morin et al., 2021), print knowledge (Mol et al., 2009;Piasta et al., 2012), and phonological awareness (Lefebvre et al., 2011). ...
... Teachers interacting with children during interactive book reading (IBR) is a privileged context for supporting children's language development (Mol & Bus, 2011;Wasik et al., 2016), which underlies the development of later reading comprehension (Hjetland et al., 2020). Given its interactive nature, IBR has been found to have positive impacts on children's vocabulary knowledge (Flack et al., 2018;Wasik et al., 2016), inference skills (Dawes et al., 2019;McMahon-Morin et al., 2021), print knowledge (Mol et al., 2009;Piasta et al., 2012), and phonological awareness (Lefebvre et al., 2011). To be effective in using IBR to propel children's language development, teachers must engage children in challenging activities by using academic language (Schleppegrell, 2010;van Kleeck, 2014), and be responsive to them by engaging in discussion and scaffolding their contributions (Barnes et al., 2017). ...
... Excluding Non-Instructional Talk and Book Text. We excluded non-instructional talk based on previous studies Curenton et al., 2008;Demir-Lira et al., 2019;Wasik et al., 2016). This type of talk, typically characterized by interruptions from another teacher or child (e.g., Yes, go to the bathroom) or redirection of an off-task child (e.g., Xavier, I'm not going to tell you again to put it down), which did not align with the instructional goal, were excluded from the analysis. ...
... This type of talk, typically characterized by interruptions from another teacher or child (e.g., Yes, go to the bathroom) or redirection of an off-task child (e.g., Xavier, I'm not going to tell you again to put it down), which did not align with the instructional goal, were excluded from the analysis. Additionally, to capture extratextual talk, we excluded instances of teachers reading book text, which allows us to isolate teachers' language with children from the language of the text being read Dickinson & Porche, 2011;Dickinson et al., 2014;Wasik et al., 2016). ...
This study explored the use of sophisticated vocabulary, complex syntax, and decontextualized language (including book information, conceptual information, past/future experiences, and vocabulary information) in teachers’ instructional interactions with children during the literacy block in prekindergarten and kindergarten classrooms. The sample included 33 teachers and 421 children. We examined correlations among these language features and their unique contributions to children’s vocabulary learning. Teachers who used more sophisticated vocabulary also engaged in more decontextualized talk about vocabulary and past/future experiences. Additionally, teachers’ use of complex syntax was uniquely associated with talk about conceptual information. Both complex syntax and conceptual information talk predicted children’s vocabulary learning; however, complex syntax emerged as the sole predictor when accounting for this relationship. This finding suggests that decontextualized talk about concepts, characterized by complex language structures, may facilitate vocabulary acquisition.
... Dialogic reading is one type of shared reading where adults encourage children to talk about pictured materials and give them feedback . This method, which results in the development of language and early literacy skills (Wasik et al., 2016), has been successfully used in classrooms in many countries, although mainly in Englishspeaking countries with monolingual speakers or with children learning English (Pillinger & Vardy, 2022;Whitehurst et al., 1988). Little is known about the ways in which professionals read with emergent multilinguals (Carrim & Nkomo, 2023) although it is known that some ECEC professionals use their entire semiotic repertoire, that is, translanguage, in literacy activities (García & Kleifgen, 2020). ...
... It is noteworthy that these intervention studies took place in ECEC settings and homes which may differ in the intensity of dialogic reading or the size of the groups. In addition to the promotion of language and narrative skills, dialogic reading with monolingual children in ECEC settings was found to develop early literacy skills (Wasik et al., 2016), which, in turn, facilitate the process of learning to read and write and predict later literacy skills, including alphabet knowledge and print awareness (Zucker et al., 2013). ...
... A significant step in designing effective vocabulary instruction after having chosen the appropriate practices is to define the activity setting where vocabulary teaching could be embedded. Story reading constitutes a fundamental language activity and concurrently enables systematic vocabulary instruction by using different types of techniques and methods (Christ & Wang, 2011;Silverman et al., 2013;Vaahtoranta et al., 2018;Wasik et al., 2016). Despite the reported utility of story reading, literacy specialists and data from metanalysis urge for the expansion of vocabulary teaching in different activity settings and the use of more intense and strategic methods in order to maximize the effect of instruction in vocabulary learning (Mol et al., 2009;Rahn et al., 2023;Wasik et al., 2016). ...
... Story reading constitutes a fundamental language activity and concurrently enables systematic vocabulary instruction by using different types of techniques and methods (Christ & Wang, 2011;Silverman et al., 2013;Vaahtoranta et al., 2018;Wasik et al., 2016). Despite the reported utility of story reading, literacy specialists and data from metanalysis urge for the expansion of vocabulary teaching in different activity settings and the use of more intense and strategic methods in order to maximize the effect of instruction in vocabulary learning (Mol et al., 2009;Rahn et al., 2023;Wasik et al., 2016). Indeed, there is evidence showing that young children benefit from practices that are implemented beyond book reading time in other time zones during the daily educational program and in content areas other than language arts, such as science and social sciences (Leung, 2008;Silverman & Crandell, 2010). ...
The purpose of the present study was to investigate preschool teachers’ practices. The sample consisted of 274 preschool teachers working in different regions of Crete in Greece. The data were collected via an online questionnaire comprised of 22 items inquiring about the sample teachers’ demographic characteristics and occupational status, as well as about the activity settings and the techniques they use to teach vocabulary directly in their classrooms. In relation to the indicated activity settings and the direct vocabulary teaching techniques, the sample teachers recorded the frequency of their use on 5-point Likert scales. The results showed that story reading was the most frequent activity setting for implementing direct vocabulary teaching. Furthermore, data analysis showed that contextualized and de-contextualized vocabulary teaching with an emphasis on the receptive aspect of vocabulary and multimodal vocabulary teaching with an emphasis on the productive aspect of vocabulary were the two basic dimensions that described the preschool teachers’ practices. In addition, the results showed that contextualized and de-contextualized vocabulary teaching was reported to be used more frequently than multimodal teaching, while both teaching practices were related more strongly to the other activity settings besides story reading.
... The literature on parental involvement in early language and literacy pinpoints shared book reading as a potential tool for nurturing children's linguistic and cognitive development (Inoue et al., 2018;Torppa et al., 2022). This practice, supported by families' broader involvement in education, has been instrumental in enhancing children's vocabulary, syntax, and code-related knowledge (Hindman et al., 2008;Wasik et al., 2016). Specifically, the home literacy environment is enriched by several facets of book-reading-related activities: the number of books (Niklas et al., 2013;Riser et al., 2019;Villiger, 2019), time spent reading (Kuo et al., 2004), and the quality of interactions surrounding reading activities (Meng, 2021). ...
... In turn, the home learning environment plays a significant role in child literacy. For instance, both classic studies (Scarborough & Dobrich, 1994) and more recent work (Wasik et al., 2016) find that the frequency of book reading explains 8-10% of the variability in children's vocabulary skills. ...
Background
Research indicates that parents’ involvement in early literacy, particularly through book reading, matters for young children’s language and literacy development. OBJECTIVE: However, little is known about the nature and extent of family book reading across the U.S. nation or about which factors support parents’ involvement in book reading. In particular, parents’ beliefs about promoting literacy may be linked to their book-reading actions, which can foster their children’s learning.
Method
We investigated several questions using the nationally representative Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten 2011 (ECLS-K) dataset: (1) How are demographic characteristics (ethnicity, SES, and child age) predictive of parents’ literacy beliefs and home reading practices during children’s kindergarten year?; (2) How do parents’ literacy beliefs contribute to parents’ home reading practices during children’s kindergarten year?; and (3) How do parents’ literacy beliefs and home reading practices relate to children’s literacy development during their kindergarten year? We focused on data from Fall 2010 through Spring 2011, spanning the kindergarten year, and utilized descriptive and multivariate regression techniques.
Results
Regressions reveal that parents’ literacy beliefs are linked to their literacy practices, net of the effects of a variety of covariates. In turn, both beliefs and practices are uniquely linked to increases in children’s reading performance over the kindergarten year, demonstrating incremental validity for both sets of variables and reinforcing the importance of both beliefs and practices as part of the home learning environment.
Conclusions
The findings of this study underscore the critical role of parents’ beliefs in contributing to their home reading practices, which, in turn, are positively related to kindergarteners’ literacy development, net of the effects of variety of important covariates.
... To learn new words, children need to be repeatedly exposed to new words in contexts that they can understand (Swanborn & de Glopper, 1999). Extended book reading provides a favorable condition for this process to happen (Wasik et al., 2016). This study explores word learning opportunities in children's novels. ...
With only about a third of students in US public schools achieving the NAEP Proficient level, many educators believe students are not getting enough reading practice. However, how much reading practice is enough? This study quantifies the relationship between the amount of book reading and the expected number of words learned. We collected 45 children's novels, M(Lexile) = 994 L, or Grade 6, and assembled a corpus of 3.2 million words. When reading a book from the corpus, sixth graders would on average encounter over 1000 word types above their grade level. We estimated that they could learn about 300 of these words, based on word repetitions and literature on incidental word learning. Through simulation, we demonstrated that sixth graders would need to read half a million words from the corpus to learn 2000 words incidentally. The implications for using book reading to promote vocabulary growth are discussed.
... A rich HLE, characterized by exposure to learning experiences, is found to affect children's literacy skills by enhancing their expressive language abilities, phonological awareness, and print knowledge (Burgess, et al., 2002;Niklas et al., 2020;Wang & Liu, 2021). Within the HLE, book sharing is a particularly influential practice, with factors such as reading frequency and book availability shaping children's language and literacy development (Bus et al., 1995;Galea et al., 2025;Grøver et al., 2023;Wasik et al., 2016). Children who regularly engage in shared reading with caregivers are found to have larger vocabulary, better print awareness, and more advanced phonemic skills, all of which are foundational for reading fluency and comprehension (Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002). ...
Early identification of children at risk for literacy difficulties is critical for enabling timely interventions and improving long-term educational outcomes. Current methods for predicting emergent literacy competences in early childhood remain limited in accuracy and often neglect the complex interplay of developmental and contextual factors. This study adopts a theory-driven, explainable machine learning approach to model kindergarten literacy outcomes using data from infancy and toddlerhood. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset of 203 Greek-speaking children aged 6–36 months, we trained multiple Machine Learning classifiers on features capturing early communication and language skills and several contextual factors. The Extra Trees classifier yielded the highest predictive performance, with an F1 score of .72, and explainable AI techniques (SHAP) revealed theoretical insights into the factors underlying early literacy competences. Early communication and receptive language skills along with parental time involvement emerged as important protective factors against literacy difficulties, while advanced lexical and morphosyntactic skills as key predictors of advanced literacy outcomes. Interestingly, contextual indicators such as parental education or home learning environment did not show an added predictive value. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of combining early developmental markers and contextual factors with ML to anticipate literacy trajectories, offering a promising avenue for the application of proactive intervention strategies in early childhood education. They also illustrate the utility of Explainable AI to obtain theoretical insights on the complex interactions that shape early literacy development
... A rich HLE, characterized by exposure to learning experiences, is found to affect children's literacy skills by enhancing their expressive language abilities, phonological awareness, and print knowledge (Burgess, et al., 2002;Niklas et al., 2020;Wang & Liu, 2021). Within the HLE, book sharing is a particularly influential practice, with factors such as reading frequency and book availability shaping children's language and literacy development (Bus et al., 1995;Galea et al., 2025;Grøver et al., 2023;Wasik et al., 2016). Children who regularly engage in shared reading with caregivers are found to have larger vocabulary, better print awareness, and more advanced phonemic skills, all of which are foundational for reading fluency and comprehension (Sénéchal & LeFevre, 2002). ...
Early identification of children at risk for literacy difficulties is critical for enabling timely interventions and improving long-term educational outcomes. Current methods for predicting emergent literacy competences in early childhood remain limited in accuracy and often neglect the complex interplay of developmental and contextual factors. This study adopts a theory-driven, explainable machine learning approach to model kindergarten literacy outcomes using data from infancy and toddlerhood. Drawing on a longitudinal dataset of 203 Greek-speaking children aged 6–36 months, we trained multiple Machine Learning classifiers on features capturing early communication and language skills and several contextual factors. The Extra Trees classifier yielded the highest predictive performance, with an F1 score of .72, and explainable AI techniques (SHAP) revealed theoretical insights into the factors underlying early literacy competences. Early communication and receptive language skills along with parental time involvement emerged as important protective factors against literacy difficulties, while advanced lexical and morphosyntactic skills as key predictors of advanced literacy outcomes. Interestingly, contextual indicators such as parental education or home learning environment did not show an added predictive value. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of combining early developmental markers and contextual factors with ML to anticipate literacy trajectories, offering a promising avenue for the application of proactive intervention strategies in early childhood education. They also illustrate the utility of Explainable AI to obtain theoretical insights on the complex interactions that shape early literacy development
... Beim interaktiven Lesen von Büchern können Demonstrationen bestimmter Handlungen durch Erwachsene die kindliche Sprachentwicklung weiter fördern. Das heißt, interaktives Lesen bezieht Kinder aktiv ein in eine Diskussion und somit eine aktive Auseinandersetzung mit den im Buch beschriebenen Wörtern, Tätigkeiten und Situationen (Grøver et al., 2020;Mol et al., 2009;Wasik et al., 2016; (Yoder et al., 1995). ...
... In contrast to conventional review methods, the systematic review affords a comprehensive evaluation of the existing knowledge landscape, employing a rigorous and transparent methodology with the explicit aim of mitigating reviewers' selection and interpretation biases [16]. Consequently, the systematic review methodology necessitates a structured approach in the processes of searching, selection, and analysis [17]. Specifically, the method entails the use of clearly defined key search terms and unambiguous inclusion and exclusion criteria to facilitate the judicious selection of eligible literature. ...
Digital extension services (DESs) play a crucial role in transforming the agri-food sector while creating the potential to enhance production towards sustainable development via ensuring resource efficiency, environmental resilience, and economic viability for smallholder farmers. However, there is less research on the availability and quality of digital advisory information to provide the foundation for the ways forward to ensure accessible and timely benefits of science-based extension and innovation for smallholder farmers. This study used a systematic review method to explore the opportunities and barriers to develop interactive DESs in developing countries (2005–2021). Features of 141 articles were summarized resulting in the identification of 13 opportunities and 21 barriers. Opportunities indicate that interactive DESs were the best source for learning and the exchange of information/ideas/experiences, useful for enhancing agricultural productivity and profitability, creating network collaboration among farmers and stakeholders, and making extension service delivery cost-effective. Barriers of interactive DESs include a lack of a two-way interaction information, lack of a centralized information network between farmers and service providers, lack of technical know-how on ICTs, poor internet connection, and lack of effective training on ICTs. However, farmers’ awareness, motivation, and readiness to use interactive DESs has increased in several countries. It is therefore a great opportunity to invest in digital platforms as a long-term intervention to boost sustainable agricultural sustainability.
... Abundant evidence shows that both the quantity and the qualities of shared reading in the first years of life are associated with aspects of children's current and future language and literacy development (Farrant and Zubrick 2013;Price and Kalil 2019;Wasik et al. 2016). The adultchild talk surrounding the shared focus on the words and pictures in picture books plays a crucial role in facilitating children's learning. ...
A comparison between preschool children's verbal participation during the shared reading of a wordless and a text-based rendition of Aesop's fable The Lion and the Mouse Abstract This study compared the story-focused language of two groups of 40 Chinese preschool children who separately read and discussed a wordless and a text-based version of one Aesop's fable with their educators. Drawing on systemic functional linguistic theory, the children's language was analyzed according to their semantic function: label, describe, infer, compare, generalize and explain. The results showed that 3-4-year-olds generated less story-focused clauses than 4-5-year-old in both book reading genres, yet the gap was much narrower in wordless booking reading where the younger children were more engaged in story-focused discussion. The younger children used more infer and explain clauses during wordless book reading, whereas the older children used more describe clauses. The situation was reversed for the children reading the text-based book. These findings have implication for educators to optimize the learning opportunities afforded young children during shared reading, considering the influence of book types on different age groups.
... Students' exposure to read-alouds during the early childhood years can help to build an essential foundation of language skills and content knowledge needed for reading acquisition (Wright et al., 2022). The language benefits of reading aloud to students include developing academic vocabulary, gaining familiarity with text and story structure, and receiving exposure to complex syntactic and grammatical language structures (Foorman et al., 2016;Wasik et al., 2016). For young students who cannot yet decode fluently, read-alouds can function as an intermediary for acquiring content knowledge as teachers or parents read aloud the texts to them (Cabell & Hwang, 2020;Wright et al., 2022). ...
While informational texts have been shown to enhance vocabulary and content knowledge, most prior research indicates that early childhood teachers seldom read such texts to their students. This study offers an updated perspective on the frequency of informational text use during read-aloud sessions by kindergarten teachers. These teachers work in a large urban U.S. district committed to building content knowledge through read-alouds during ELA instruction. Over the course of a semester, 38 teachers completed 174 reading logs, covering 310 titles, which yielded three key findings: the average proportion of informational text read-alouds was higher than reported in previous studies, there was considerable variation among teachers in how often they used informational texts for read-alouds, and informational texts related to social studies and math were read aloud less frequently than those focused on science concepts. Furthermore, the study examined the relation between the frequency of informational text read-alouds and kindergarten students’ gains in vocabulary and content knowledge over one academic year. The results indicated that the frequency of informational text read-alouds did not significantly correlate with students’ vocabulary and knowledge gains, suggesting that the current instructional practices during these read-alouds may not be sufficient to effectively support students’ learning in these areas.
... Els protocols de repetició són més eficaços pel fet que la seva aportació es manté a llarg termini 96 . A més, això comporta un cercle virtuós, tal com mostren un gran nombre d'estudis: el cervell memoritza amb més facilitat una informació que es pot associar amb coneixements ja emmagatzemats prèviament 97 , ja que se'n maximitza el funcionament en integrar els nous sabers en una xarxa neuronal preexistent 98 . ...
Educar l’inconscient infantil és possible i recomanable per tal de millorar el caràcter i la intel·ligència vital dels nens d’entre 6 i 12 anys. Es proposa una metodologia que empra tres eines, que no suposen en cap cas un increment del pressupost econòmic de les escoles, ni tampoc una inversió extra de temps per part dels mestres, atès que d’habitud ja s’empren a l’ensenyament primari: l’aprenentatge de la cal·ligrafia, els contes infantils i les cançons ad hoc. Es pretén adaptar per a l’Escola Primària la Programació Neuro-Cal·ligràfica (PNC), per a la reeducació de l’inconscient cognitiu i emocional de persones adultes, amb resultats estadísticament significatius en el Test VIA de les 24 Fortaleses de Caràcter, que dos dels representants més emblemàtics de la psicologia positiva, Martin Seligman i Cris Petersen, van crear l’any 2004 (1). L’enfocament es basa en el supòsit que el cervell i la intel·ligència dirigeixen el capteniment per resoldre problemes que afecten la supervivència i el benestar. En aquest article s’adopta la noció de personalitat a tres nivells (2): temperament (heretat genèticament), caràcter (après mitjançant l'experiència i l’educació) i personalitat escollida (entrenada per viure intel·ligentment). A banda de centrar-se en l'educació del caràcter conscient, que només representa el 5% de la nostra capacitat de pensament, el mètode «3C» pretén, de més a més i, sobre tot, educar l'inconscient neurològic dels nens, mitjançant l'automatització d'hàbits positius. Els ganglis basals, que faciliten la motricitat fina i la integració de pensaments i emocions, són crucials en aquest procés. També es tenen en compte l'hipocamp i el tàlem per tal de, respectivament, reescriure els guions de la biografia en aquells aspectes que impliquen creences limitadores, i redirigir l’atenció executiva en aquells casos que estigui esbiaixada envers una visió negativa disfuncional.
... Monissa artikkeleissa tutkittavilla esiintyi kuitenkin useita diagnooseja, jotka vaihtelivat tutkimuksesta toiseen. Kahdessa artikkelissa (Marulis & Neuman, 2010;Wasik, Hindman & Snell, 2016) tutkittiin tavanomaisesti kehittyneiden lasten sanavaraston kehittymistä tukevia interventioita. ...
Aikuisten kielellisissä häiriöissä kuntoutus on katsaustutkimusten mukaan hyödyllistä sosiaalisen kommunikaation sekä puheen ja kielellisten toimintojen tukemisessa. Samanlaista yhteenvetoa ei kuitenkaan ole saatavilla lasten osalta. Tämän systemaattisen katsauksen tarkoituksena on selvittää, onko neuropsykologisesta kuntoutuksesta hyötyä lasten kielellisten häiriöiden hoidossa. Tutkimuksessa arvioitiin yhteensä 2856 artikkelia, joista mukaan katsaukseen hyväksyttiin 28 systemaattista katsausta ja meta-analyysia. Tässä katsauksessa mukana olevien artikkelien sisältämät tutkimukset olivat hyvin heterogeenisia niin osallistujien, tutkimusasetelmien, käytettyjen interventioiden kuin tutkimusten luotettavuudenkin suhteen. Suurin yksittäinen tarkasteltu kuntoutusmuoto oli puheterapeuttinen työskentely joko suoraan puheterapeutin antamana tai välillisesti toisen ammattiryhmän tai vanhempien toteuttamana. Puheterapeuttiset interventiot vaikuttivat pääsääntöisesti myönteisesti kielellisiin taitoihin, vaikutuksen koko vaihteli alustavasta näytöstä (esim. cp-vammaisten lasten kommunikaatiotaitojen parantaminen) meta-analyysien kautta saatuun vahvaan näyttöön (esim. aktiivisen sanavaraston kehittyminen). Myönteisiin tuloksiin on suhtauduttava osin varauksellisesti, sillä osa tässä katsauksessa mukana olevista artikkeleista oli AMSTAR II –työkalun avulla arvioituina luotettavuudeltaan heikkoja. Vain kahdessa artikkelissa intervention yhdeksi toteuttajaksi mainittiin psykologi. Suuri osa artikkelien kuvaamien tutkimusten interventioista oli kuitenkin sellaisia, että myös psykologin ja neuropsykologin on mahdollista soveltaa kyseisiä interventioita joko suorassa asiakastyössä, vanhempainohjannassa tai muiden ammattiryhmien ohjannassa ja konsultoinnissa.
... That is, providing verbal responses during conversations allows children to practice their language skills and gives them the opportunity to receive feedback on their language use (Hindman, Wasik, and Bradley 2019;Snow and Beals 2006). The finding that especially dialogic book reading is effective for language learning indicates that the effect of shared book reading depends on the quality of discussions between teacher and children (Cabell et al. 2019;Gonzalez et al. 2011;Mol, Bus, and De Jong 2009;Wasik, Hindman, and Snell 2016). ...
... Particulièrement, la lecture interactive, durant laquelle l'adulte suscite des discussions avec les enfants autour de l'histoire (Girolametto et al., 2007;Lonigan et Whitehurst, 1998), permet de soutenir le développement du langage tant à l'oral qu'à l'écrit (Mol et al., 2008;Mol et Bus, 2011). Ses effets positifs sont reconnus sur la connaissance du vocabulaire (Flack et al., 2018;Wasik et al., 2016) et sur la compréhension des inférences, en contexte individuel (Desmarais et al., 2013;van Kleeck et al., 2006), en petits groupes (Dawes et al., 2019) et en salle de classe (McMahon-Morin et al., 2021). Les orthophonistes et le personnel enseignant peuvent donc collaborer pour mettre en oeuvre des pratiques de lecture interactive qui stimuleront efficacement le développement du langage oral des enfants au début de leur parcours scolaire (Murphy et al., 2023), où le vocabulaire et la compréhension inférentielle représentent des objets d'enseignement pour lesquels la collaboration est pertinente. ...
Cet article professionnel décrit le développement et la mise en œuvre de deux projets éducatifs novateurs et inclusifs visant à soutenir le développement de deux habiletés langagières sous-jacentes aux apprentissages en littératie, la connaissance du vocabulaire et la compréhension inférentielle. Ces projets ont été réalisés en collaboration au cœur de deux milieux scolaires au Canada, un en milieu francophone majoritaire et un en milieu francophone minoritaire. Les aspects des deux projets ayant contribué à leur mise en œuvre et à leur pérennité dans leur organisation scolaire respective sont présentés, de même que les différences dénotant des adaptations sensibles à chacun des milieux.
... The Impact of Augmented Reality Storybooks on Children's Reading Comprehension and Motivation learning and academic success while encouraging the development of emotional and social skills and providing a solid foundation for a child's overall development [3]. Therefore, studies have shown that children should be encouraged to read early to enrich their vocabulary, develop their storytelling skills, and ultimately achieve independent reading [4]. ...
While existing literature extensively explores the application of augmented reality (AR) technology in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields and higher education, research on its use in children’s reading remains relatively limited. This research gap urgently needs to be addressed, particularly in understanding how AR can enhance children’s reading comprehension, story retelling, and reading motivation. To address this gap, this study examined the effects of AR Chinese picture storybooks on second-grade students’ reading comprehension, story retelling, and reading motivation. A quasi-experimental design was employed with 60 second-grade students from a primary school in central China, where 30 students used AR storybooks and 30 used traditional paper storybooks. The results indicated that students who used AR storybooks demonstrated better reading comprehension, particularly implicit comprehension, than those who used paper storybooks. However, there was no significant difference between the two groups in explicit comprehension. Additionally, the AR storybook group outperformed the paper storybook group in both story retelling and reading motivation. These findings suggest that AR technology can create more interactive and immersive reading experiences, positioning AR as a promising tool for enhancing literacy development in young learners.
... Ainsi, les éducatrices peuvent développer chacune leur manière de faire usage des oeuvres de littérature jeunesse avec les groupes d'enfants dont elles sont responsables (Justice et al., 2008 ;MFA, 2019). De nombreuses études ont démontré de façon convaincante les bienfaits de la lecture interactive en ce qui a trait au développement cognitif et langagier des enfants d'âge préscolaire (cf., par ex., Dupin de Saint-André et Godin et al., 2015 ;Price et al., 2009 ;Wasik et al., 2016). Cette pratique demande que l'adulte interrompe fréquemment sa lecture pour interagir avec les enfants, pour les questionner sur le contenu de l'histoire, pour les amener à poser des jugements, à faire des prédictions ou à échanger entre eux (Dupin de Saint-André, 2011 ;Mol et al., 2008 ;Price et al., 2009). ...
Le présent article a pour objectif de présenter le processus d’implantation d’une série d’ateliers de lecture interactive en CPE de milieux ruraux défavorisés. En nous appuyant sur un modèle d’analyse tiré de la science de l’implantation, nous avons pu en dégager les composantes principales, en plus des éléments facilitateurs et des obstacles rencontrés par les éducatrices tout au long du processus. Des questionnaires autorapportés et un entretien final en groupe ont permis de recueillir les données qui ont servi à l’analyse. Il en est ressorti qu’une formation préalable était nécessaire, que le projet devait être assez flexible pour s’intégrer aux pratiques des éducatrices, plutôt que de s’y superposer, et que la relation entre les éducatrices et les enfants devait à la base être positive pour assurer la réussite de l’implantation des ateliers. L’ouverture et la réceptivité initiales des éducatrices et des enfants sont des facilitateurs importants et le manque de temps s’avère l’obstacle principal.
... It exposes children to vocabulary and imagery prevalent outside of their everyday conversations and experiences. Allowing for a fresh understanding of narratives through textual descriptions and accompanying illustrations (Wasik et al., 2016). ...
Imagination is a complex cognitive process that has been interpreted by different disciplines to define it and its functions. It is a process that draws from past experiences and socio-cultural influences to create new and innovative future outcomes. The pursuit of comprehending imagination has led to the understanding that it is a process that can be cultivated. This study focuses on ‘imagination’ as a concept that can be inculcated in children between the ages of two and six who are in their ‘high season of imagination’, a stage where they are most receptive to the growth of their imagination. Out of alternative media options, it was noted that there is a space to cultivate imagination in children of this age group via picture books. The importance of this medium is evident, as proven by numerous experts, specifically concerning how picture books can be designed to provoke imaginative inculcation. Therefore, this research aims to explain how imagination can be inculcated in children through picture books. This aim is accomplished through a literature review of three cases representing picture book practitioners, writers, and academics. The methodology was conducted in three parts. The first was a content analysis through index cards and annotations. Subsequently, a thematic analysis of literature content through tabulation was performed, followed by a final overall analysis. The results of this study identify five key picture book elements that should be taken into consideration during the creation of picture books to inculcate imagination in children. These five are: (1) Role of picture books, (2) The writing component, (3) Characterisation, (4) Location, situation, and setting, and (5) Layout. Future studies can take this outcome by utilising the five elements to analyse picture books within any context.
... Hjetland et al., 2020). One way of supporting language skill development in young children is through interactive book reading (IBR) (Mol & Bus, 2011;Wasik et al., 2016) where children adopt an active role throughout the activity (National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). During reading, children are invited to participate in interactive discussions through adults' questions and comments (Girolametto et al., 2007;Lonigan & Whitehurst, 1998). ...
... For all children, especially emergent bilingual children, their active participation is critical for them to reap the benefits of shared book reading interactions. Nonetheless, many studies focus on the association between teachers' practices during shared book reading and children's vocabulary at a later point in time [25,26]; few studies have analyzed children's real-time responses during shared book reading [12]. Children's actual speech, typically operationalized as their length of utterances, is often used as a proxy for the language children can produce, especially with children under five. ...
Little attention has been paid to describing the ways early childhood education (ECE) teachers implement interactive strategies and the use of Spanish and English, in real time, to support Spanish–English emergent bilingual children’s contributions to shared book reading interactions. Video recordings from 19 ECE classrooms during shared book reading were used to conduct sequential analysis to examine the different types of interactive strategies (e.g., questions, extensions) implemented by bilingual ECE teachers and emergent bilinguals’ responses to these strategies. This study found that teachers’ interactive strategies may reflect a degree of reciprocity, with teachers and children sensitively attuned to one another’s contributions in real time. Teachers’ questions in English and Spanish were related to emergent bilinguals’ responses across a wide range of language complexity. Similarly, teachers and emergent bilinguals tended to respond to one another in the language of the prior utterance, suggesting teachers and emergent bilinguals are attuned to the contributions of one another. By examining teacher–child dynamics, this study produced results that can address issues that may have direct, translatable implications for ECE practice and intervention efforts.
... Decontextualized linguistic strategies, which link book content to real-life experiences, enhance reading enjoyment and support development across domains (Cabell et al., 2019;Wasik et al., 2016). These strategies are crucial even for infants and toddlers (Towell et al., 2021). ...
This study examined various formats and strategies used by caregivers in early reading activities, and assessed how they were tailored to the developmental stages of infants and toddlers. Participants included three caregivers from classrooms for ages 0–12, 13–18, and 19–24 months, and the director of an early childhood education center known for emphasizing early reading experiences. Data were collected from observations of reading activities and interviews with the four participants. The findings revealed that the caregivers intentionally organized reading activities in different formats— one-on-one, group, and free reading—each fulfilling distinct objectives and developmental needs. They employed various strategies, including contextualized linguistic, paralinguistic, social, and decontextualized linguistic approaches, which were all adapted to the children’s developmental levels and reading contexts. This study resulted in a scaffolding framework that informs reading practices in early childhood education centers, offering professional training recommendations and particularly highlighting the necessity of decontextualized talk beyond the book text.
... In addition to the read-aloud and active participation of the children during circle time, each storybook had a relevant language-rich complementary lesson (see Appendix B). Implementation of evidence-based practices during shared book reading is predicted to affect children's language and literacy gains (Wasik et al., 2016) and future academic success. ...
... As with read-aloud programs, reviews and meta-analyses of shared book reading programs suggest a dose-response effect, with longer, more frequent, and more interactive interventions leading to larger program effects 17,22,50,52,53 . Improvements in expressive language (a key component of literacy, assessed in our HALDO measure) may require an explicit discussion of any new words 19 and improvements in comprehension may require a greater focus on story meaning 54,55 . A more dialogic approach may lead to more positive language and literacy outcomes 22,56,57 ; we did not make such changes because we were evaluating the program as it is currently being run, to understand the efficacy of the program being implemented. ...
Community-led, shared book reading programs may help improve refugee children’s reading abilities and attitudes towards reading. We Love Reading (WLR)—a light-touch, community-led, shared book reading program—was evaluated in a pre-registered, wait-listed, randomised controlled trial (AEARCTR-0006523). 322 Syrian refugee mother–child dyads (children: 4–8-year-olds, 50.0% female) in Jordan were tested at two timepoints, 15 weeks apart. WLR did not significantly affect child literacy or child-reported child attitudes toward reading (ps > 0.05). Mothers did report improved child attitudes toward reading from WLR (p = 0.046, η² = 0.013). The intervention did not lead to improvements in family relationships (ps > 0.05). WLR may have promise in improving attitudes toward reading in forcibly displaced children but did not affect literacy or child-reported attitudes toward reading; these results provide insight into what changes are needed for effective shared book reading interventions in this population.
Since the 1900s, researchers have investigated the nature of books aimed at children, their content, language, and illustrations. In addition, researchers have documented young children’s interest in books, the nature of parent-child interactions during shared reading, and what children learn during shared reading. In this chapter, I reflect on the value of thinking theoretically in order to understand the nature of shared reading and its influence in the lives of young children. To do so, I describe three theories of development that proved influential in my research in general, and for the study of shared reading in particular. The theories include general learning theory, Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development, and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems theory. I argue that thinking theoretically along with a critical evaluation of the extant research are necessary to design impactful studies. Finally, I consider how digital books might change the nature of shared reading itself.
Literature-based practices (LBP) provide students a chance to get to know literature creatively, for example, by playing, storytelling, and making use of other art forms. We studied Finnish teachers’ (N = 103) perceptions of the benefits of using LBP for students with and without special educational needs. These viewpoints were obtained via a questionnaire including both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. The data were analyzed by examining frequencies and applying a thematic qualitative textual analysis. Teachers reported that the greatest advantage of LBP for students was in the development of language and literacy skills, and social-emotional skills. Thus, findings indicate that LBP is an important pedagogical tool empowering language, literacy, and social-emotional learning. Using LBP might provide more equal and multidimensional opportunities for students to benefit from literature, despite possible difficulties with language and social-emotional skills.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief review of foundational research that has informed how the field of literacy education understands the importance of child-adult interactions for learning language and early literacy, and the importance of this learning for learning literacy later in life.
Design/methodology/approach
The methodology utilised followed conventional rapid review practices.
Findings
Findings include reminders of what we know about how children learn language as they engage in their worlds and with the significant adults in their lives. The paper also provides evidence of the importance of this early learning for literacy learning once children begin school.
Practical implications
The practical implication of this review is a sage reminder of the importance of schools and educators valuing the diverse repertoires of language and literacy understandings brought to early literacy instruction by all children. An important mantra for this work is different but not deficit.
Originality/value
The value of this short paper is in the provision of a conceptual basis for the Foundations for Language and Literacy touchstone 12 which focuses on the importance of children’s early language and literacy learning for later literacy development.
Despite emerging studies adopting latent classes analysis (LCA) to identify home literacy environment (HLE) classes and their association with emergent literacy skills in the Western context, a significant gap remains in understanding HLE classes within the East Asian context. In addition, the mechanism underlying the variation of emergent literacy across different HLE classes remains elusive. To address these issues, we engaged 2,422 caregivers of preschoolers aged 3–6 years in China, who completed self-report online questionnaires assessing home literacy environment, children’s literacy interest and emergent literacy ability. Our latent class analysis uncovered unique and complex patterns of HLE that diverge from those observed in Western research. Specifically, five distinct HLE classes were identified: high-all, high-active, high-passive, high-books and low-all. Moreover, our Bolck-Croon-Hagenaars (BCH) analysis showed that HLE classes differed in emergent literacy. Furthermore, the multi-categorical mediation model indicated that literacy interest mediated the links between HLE and emergent literacy in a class-specific way. This study provides insights for parents to optimize the HLE and nurture preschoolers’ literacy interest in the East Asian context.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the materials supports, specifically the effects of genre (narrative and informational) and medium (print and video) on children’s developing knowledge of text. Following pretests, 127 preschoolers were randomly assigned to one of four conditions: informational text (print or screen), or narrative text (print or screen) about insects. Eye-tracking data was collected to measure children’s engagement with the text. After the viewing or reading, children were individually administered a series of comprehension tasks. Results indicated children seemed equally engaged with both genre; however, regardless of medium, children performed better on most measures when given the informational text. These results suggest that informational text in print as well as video may be an ideal source for knowledge-building in the early years.
Abstract
Nowadays, story books can be read using different methods. One of these methods is the traditional book reading
method. In the traditional book reading method, the adult reads the story as it is, without any intervention. In the
interactive book reading method, the teacher or the relevant person reading the book creates reading units with the
cooperation of the children. This research examines the intensity of traditional and interactive book reading practices
on remembering performance in 60-72 month old children attending pre-school education. The study group of the
research consists of 18 children aged 5-6 who attend pre-school education. In the study, two illustrated story books
suitable for early childhood were determined and one of the story books was read to the children in the study group
with the traditional reading method and the other with the interactive reading method. Interview technique was used
in the study, which is a qualitative research. The interviews were collected one day after the reading, with a semistructured interview form containing reminder questions for the participating children. During the interview, the
children's answers were recorded with a voice recorder. The data obtained was analyzed with the descriptive analysis
technique and the findings were; It is grouped under four main themes: features about the book's imprint and cover
images, information about the characters of the book, features about the story and fiction, and vocabulary. According
to the general results obtained from the research, it is seen that interactive book reading applications can increase
people's learning characteristics. Ensuring children's active participation in the story reading process enables children
to internalize the story better and encode the information in the story better in their minds. Thus, information about
the story becomes permanent and is remembered more easily.
Keywords: Interactive Book Reading, Traditional Book Reading, Recall Skills, Preschool Education, Vocabulary
Günümüzde hikâye kitapları farklı yöntemler kullanılarak okunabilmektedir. Bu yöntemlerden biri geleneksel kitap okuma yöntemidir. Geleneksel kitap okuma yönteminde yetişkin hikayeyi olduğu gibi, herhangi bir müdahalede bulunmadan okur. Etkileşimli kitap okuma yönteminde ise kitabı okuyan öğretmen ya da ilgili kişi, çocuklarla iş birliği yaparak okuma etkinliğini gerçekleştirir. Bu araştırma, okul öncesi eğitime devam eden 60-72 aylık çocuklarda geleneksel ve etkileşimli kitap okuma uygulamalarının hatırlama becerisine etkisini incelemektedir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubu, okul öncesi eğitime devam eden 5-6 yaşlarında 18 çocuktan oluşmaktadır. Araştırmada, erken çocukluk dönemine uygun resimli 2 adet hikâye kitabı belirlenerek hikâye kitaplarından biri geleneksel okuma yöntemiyle diğeri ise etkileşimli okuma yöntemiyle çalışma grubunda yer alan çocuklara okunmuştur. Nitel bir araştırma olan çalışmada görüşme tekniği kullanılmıştır. Görüşmeler, okuma yapıldıktan bir gün sonra katılımcı çocuklara hatırlatıcı sorular içeren yarı yapılandırılmış bir görüşme formuyla toplanmıştır. Görüşme esnasında çocukların cevapları ses kayıt cihazı ile kaydedilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler betimsel analiz tekniği ile çözümlenmiş ve bulgular; kitabın künye ve kapak resimleri ile ilgili özellikler, kitabın karakterleri ile ilgili bilgiler, öykü ve kurgu ile ilgili özellikler, sözcük bilgisi olmak üzere dört ana tema altında toplanmıştır. Araştırmadan elde edilen genel sonuçlara göre, etkileşimli kitap okuma uygulamalarının çocukların hatırlama becerilerini artırabileceği görülmüştür. Hikâye okuma sürecinde çocukların sürece aktif olarak katılımlarının sağlanması çocukların hikâyeyi daha iyi içselleştirmesini ve hikâyedeki bilgileri zihinlerinde daha iyi kodlamalarını sağlamaktadır. Böylece hikâye ile ilgili bilgiler kalıcı hale gelmekte ve daha kolay hatırlanmaktadır.
In the current study, we tested a network model of reading difficulty by using state-of-the-art psychological network analysis. Four hundred and fifty-three Chinese first-grade children (about 38% female, mean age = 7.00, SD = 0.41) were divided into good ( n = 154), competent ( n = 147), and struggling readers ( n = 152) based on their scores of Chinese character reading. The Extended Bayesian Information Criterion graphical lasso (EBICglasso) method was applied to estimate cross-sectional networks for the three groups. Each network included four cognitive nodes (homophone awareness, morphological structure awareness, phonological awareness, and vocabulary) and two ecological nodes (family socioeconomic status and the number of books at home). Chronological age and nonverbal intelligence were also included in the estimated networks. The global (i.e., global structure and global connectivity) and local patterns (i.e., the most important edges and nodes) in each network were reported. The network comparison results showed that global connectivity was significantly lower among struggling readers than for good readers, implying that a holistic impairment of bidirectional connections among multiple variables relates to the difficulty in learning to read. The theoretical and empirical implications and the significance of applying the network approach to reading research are discussed.
Recent studies suggest that benefiting early from both a cochlear implant (CI) and exposure to cued speech (CS, support system for the perception of oral language) positively impacts deaf children’s speech perception, speech intelligibility, and reading. This study aims to show how: 1/CS-based speech perception (“cue reading”), and speech intelligibility might also constitute precise measures for determining the impact of CI and CS on deaf students’ literary performance; 2/print exposure might also be a predictive factor in this equation. We conducted regression analyses to examine the impact of these three variables in two experiments conducted on Grade 2–3 deaf children and Grade 6–9 deaf adolescents. Results indicate print exposure significantly contributes to literacy skills across experiments, with additional contributions from cue reading and speech intelligibility in older students. The predictive aspect of the print exposure, cue reading, and speech intelligibility variables will be discussed, as will the consequences for educational and pedagogical practices.
This study examined the teacher–child interactions during shared book reading (SBR) in the domain of early mathematics. We investigated preschool teachers’ and children’s talk in terms of (1) communicative acts, mathematical focus, and level of abstraction (literal versus inferential), (2) the sequential relation between teacher’s talk and children’s mathematical inferential talk, and (3) the contribution of the type of picture book (mathematical versus non-mathematical) and teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (MPCK) to the amount of mathematical inferential talk and the strength of the sequential relation. Twelve preschool teachers read one mathematical and one non-mathematical picture book to their preschoolers, resulting in 24 reading sessions. All 24 sessions were video-recorded, transcribed, and coded. Our analyses revealed that teachers’ mathematical talk was dominated by initiations, follow-ups and comments, and children’s mathematical talk by responses and comments. About 30% of teachers’ mathematical initiations and children’s mathematical responses were inferential; approximately 25% of children’s mathematical comments were inferential. Next, we observed a strong sequential relation between teachers’ mathematical inferential prompts and children’s mathematical inferential responses. Finally, the type of picture book, but not preschool teachers’ MPCK, contributed to the SBR interaction: preschool teachers formulated more inferential elaborative follow-ups when reading a mathematical compared to a non-mathematical picture book, and the sequential relation between teacher’s mathematical inferential prompts and children’s mathematical inferential responses was stronger for mathematical picture books.
Understanding how children learn requires three levels of evidence: observations, correlations and experiments. Observations are necessary to allow one to describe patterns of behaviours, while correlational research is necessary to establish that the observed patterns are not due to chance and therefore suggests that they may also exist in the population. A critical integration of the accumulated evidence is necessary to establish testable models of how children learn. Then, interventions, using experimental paradigms, are necessary to assess whether the models established from the two previous steps actually account for child learning. Herein, I described the research that my colleagues and I conducted on reading books to young children — research that addressed the three levels of evidence described above. I also reviewed findings on how digital books can potentially be used to promote language and comprehension skills. Prior to doing so, however, I described the path that led me to study how children learn language from shared reading experiences. The conclusion provides avenues for future research.
Frequent and high-quality reading helps children develop language and early literacy skills, which, in turn, influence their academic achievements. Few empirical studies provide insights into the ways parents engage with young children. The aim of the present mixed-method study was to identify factors that influence dialogic reading at home, based on parent questionnaires with 323 parents, and based on interviews and observations with eight parents and their two-to four-year-old children. The regression analysis showed that the most significant predictors that influenced dialogic reading at home was children's reading behaviour, children making up stories and pretending to read, as well as number of books at home, controlling for children's age, parent education, children's interest, and parent belief that dialogic reading will positively influence children's socio-emotional development. While age was not significant in this analysis, in the qualitative analysis, we found that it influenced the choice of reading material, the duration of reading, and the interaction patterns between adults and children. Children's developing language, cognitive, and socio-emotional skills also influenced their interest in stories, their ability to make up stories, and the behaviour of pretending to read. The number of books did not appear to influence the reading practices of the eight focus children. We argue that it is important to make all parents aware of the benefits of dialogic reading and encourage particularly parents of older children to continue to read, ask higher-level questions, and engage their children in conversations about text to develop both their language skills and concepts of print.
Storybooks and shared reading activities in classrooms are pivotal for children's linguistic and communicative development. Leveraging Vygotsky's sociocultural theory, which posits language as a context-specific cognitive tool, this study explored the influence of preschool teachers’ attitudes towards storybooks on Turkish-speaking children's vocabulary and receptive language skills. Our research encompassed 360 children (60–72 months) and 72 teachers from Afyonkarahisar and Kars in Turkey. Instruments employed included the Preschool Teachers’ Attitudes Towards Storybooks (SPTATS) scale and the Kaufman Survey of Early Academic and Language Skills (K-SEALS). Using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), results indicated a significant correlation between teachers’ attitudes towards storybooks and children's vocabulary and receptive language proficiency. Notably, vocabulary emerged as a partial mediator in the link between storybook usage and receptive language skills, underscoring its critical role in shaping language abilities in educational contexts.
The number of children living in the United States who are learning two languages is increasing greatly. However, relatively little research has been conducted on the language and literacy development of dual language learners (DLLs), particularly during the early childhood years. To summarize the extant literature and guide future research, a critical analysis of the literature was conducted. A search of major databases for studies on young typically developing DLLs between 2000 and 2011 yielded 182 peer-reviewed articles. Findings about DLL children’s developmental trajectories in the various areas of language and literacy are presented. Much of these findings should be considered preliminary, because there were few areas where multiple studies were conducted. Conclusions were reached when sufficient evidence existed in a particular area. First, the research shows that DLLs have two separate language systems early in life. Second, differences in some areas of language development, such as vocabulary, appear to exist among DLLs depending on when they were first exposed to their second language. Third, DLLs’ language and literacy development may differ from that of monolinguals, although DLLs appear to catch up overtime. Fourth, little is known about factors that influence DLLs’ development, although the amount of language exposure to and usage of DLLs’ two languages appears to play key roles. Methodological issues are addressed, and directions for future research are discussed.
The effects of a book reading technique called interactive book reading on the language and literacy development of 4-year-olds from low-income families were evaluated. Teachers read books to children and reinforced the vocabulary in the books by presenting concrete objects that represented the words and by providing children with multiple opportunities to use the book-related words. The teachers also were trained to ask open-ended questions and to engage children in conversations about the book and activities. This provided children with opportunities to use language and learn vocabulary in a meaningful context. Children who were in the interactive book reading intervention group scored significantly better than children in the comparison group on Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-M and other measures of receptive and expressive language. Book reading and related activities can promote the development of language and literacy skills in young children.
The authors evaluated the effect of listening to stories on children's vocabulary growth. Forty-seven children listened to 2 stories read to them in a small-group setting on 3 occasions, each 1 week apart. Target vocabulary items and items assessing generalization to nontarget words were selected, and pre- and posttest multiple-choice vocabulary measures were designed to measure vocabulary gains. In addition, a reading-retelling task was used to measure the subjects' knowledge of target and generalization words. For 1 story, children listened to the reading and were given explanations of target word meanings; for the other, children were not given explanations. The children acquired new vocabulary from listening to stories, with both frequency of exposure and teacher explanation of the target words enhancing vocabulary learning. However, the interventions were not sufficient to overcome the Matthew effect, as the higher ability children made greater vocabulary gains than lower ability children across all conditions.
Parents’ responsiveness to infants’ exploratory and communicative behaviors predicts infant word learning during early periods of language development. We examine the processes that might explain why this association exists. We suggest that responsiveness supports infants’ growing pragmatic understanding that language is a tool that enables intentions to be socially shared. Additionally, several features of responsiveness—namely, its temporal contiguity, contingency, and multimodal and didactic content—facilitate infants’ mapping of words to their referents and, in turn, growth in vocabulary. We close by examining the generalizability of these processes to infants from diverse cultural communities.
We review findings from a four-year longitudinal study of language learning conducted on two samples: a sample of typically developing children whose parents vary substantially in socioeconomic status, and a sample of children with pre- or perinatal brain injury. This design enables us to study language development across a wide range of language learning environments and a wide range of language learners. We videotaped samples of children's and parents' speech and gestures during spontaneous interactions at home every four months, and then we transcribed and coded the tapes. We focused on two behaviors known to vary across individuals and environments-child gesture and parent speech-behaviors that have the potential to index, and perhaps even play a role in creating, differences across children in linguistic and other cognitive skills. Our observations have led to four hypotheses that have promise for the development of diagnostic tools and interventions to enhance language and cognitive development and brain plasticity after neonatal injury. One kind of hypothesis involves tools that could identify children who may be at risk for later language deficits. The other involves interventions that have the potential to promote language development. We present our four hypotheses as a summary of the findings from our study because there is scientific evidence behind them and because this evidence has the potential to be put to practical use in improving education. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).
A pragmatic randomised controlled trial was used to investigate the effects of two forms of shared reading on children's language and literacy skills. Parents of 80 children in the preparatory year of school participated in an eight-week home reading intervention. Families were assigned to one of three groups: dialogic reading (DR), dialogic reading with the addition of print referencing (DR + PR), or an attention-matched control group. Analyses of change from pre- to post-intervention showed significant effects for the DR and DP+PR groups compared to the control group on three of the six emergent literacy measures: expressive language, rhyme, and concepts about print. At three-month follow-up assessment, the two intervention groups maintained significantly better performance on the measure of concepts about print only. These findings illustrate the potential of a brief home-based intervention for promoting children's emergent literacy.
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This meta-analysis examines the effects of vocabulary interventions on pre-K and kindergarten children’s oral language development. The authors quantitatively reviewed 67 studies and 216 effect sizes to better understand the impact of training on word learning. Results indicated an overall effect size of .88, demonstrating, on average, a gain of nearly one standard deviation on vocabulary measures. Moderator analyses reported greater effects for trained adults in providing the treatment, combined pedagogical strategies that included explicit and implicit instruction, and author-created measures compared to standardized measures. Middle- and upper-income at-risk children were significantly more likely to benefit from vocabulary intervention than those students also at risk and poor. These results indicate that although they might improve oral language skills, vocabulary interventions are not sufficiently powerful to close the gap—even in the preschool and kindergarten years.
Research Findings: Multitiered instructional frameworks are becoming a recommended approach for enhancing prevention and intervention efforts targeting early literacy and language skills. However, few studies to date have studied the feasibility of tiered oral language interventions before kindergarten; therefore, this pilot study explored the effectiveness of such an approach in prekindergarten. Teachers in 39 classrooms were randomly assigned to an experimental or comparison condition that contrasted the implementation of an intervention that had both Tier 1 (whole group) and Tier 2 (small group for at-risk children) components. The pilot study included only 4 weeks of teacher-administered intervention. Despite this short duration, a significant and large effect size (d=.81) was observed for the experimental group on a receptive target vocabulary assessment. No significant changes were found on measures of vocabulary fluency, expressive target vocabulary, or listening comprehension. It is important to note that teachers' fidelity in implementing the intervention as designed was a significant predictor of children's learning. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest the potential promise of the multitiered instructional framework, especially when teachers can be supported in ways that ensure adequate fidelity of implementation. Implications for use in prekindergarten response-to-intervention models are discussed.
Book reading has been demonstrated to promote vocabulary. The current study was conducted to examine the added value of an interactive shared book reading format that emphasizes active as opposed to noninteractive participation by the child. Studies that included a dialogic reading intervention group and a reading-as-usual control group, and that reported vocabulary as an outcome measure were located. After extracting relevant data from 16 eligible studies, a meta-analysis was conducted to attain an overall mean effect size reflecting the success of dialogic reading in increasing children's vocabulary compared to typical shared reading. When focusing on measures of expressive vocabulary in particular (k = 9, n = 322), Cohen's d was .59 (SE = .08; 95% CI = 0.44, 0.75; p < .001), which is a moderate effect size. However, the effect size reduced substantially when children were older (4 to 5 years old) or when they were at risk for language and literacy impairments. Dialogic reading can change the home literacy activities of families with 2- to 3-year-old children but not those of families with children at greatest risk for school failure. Preparation of this manuscript was supported by a grant (#411-02-506) from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) to Adriana G. Bus.
The authors’ goal was to examine the structural relationships among vocabulary knowledge, morphological awareness, syntactic awareness, and reading comprehension in English-speaking adults. Structural equation analysis of data collected from 151 participants revealed that morphological awareness affected reading comprehension directly. Syntactic awareness predicted reading comprehension not only directly but also indirectly via vocabulary knowledge. Vocabulary knowledge made an independent contribution to reading comprehension above and beyond those of morphologic awareness and syntactic awareness.
This meta-analysis examines to what extent interactive storybook reading stimulates two pillars of learning to read: vocabulary and print knowledge. The authors quantitatively reviewed 31 (quasi) experiments (n = 2,049 children) in which educators were trained to encourage children to be actively involved before, during, and after joint book reading. A moderate effect size was found for oral language skills, implying that both quality of book reading in classrooms and frequency are important. Although teaching print-related skills is not part of interactive reading programs, 7% of the variance in kindergarten children’s alphabetic knowledge could be attributed to the intervention. The study also shows that findings with experimenters were simply not replicable in a natural classroom setting. Further research is needed to disentangle the processes that explain the effects of interactive reading on children’s print knowledge and the strategies that may help transfer intervention effects from researchers to children’s own teachers.
A storybook intervention for kindergarten children that integrates principles of explicit vocabulary instruction within the shared storybook reading experience is described with findings from an experimental study demonstrating the effects of this intervention on the vocabulary development of kindergarten students at risk of reading difficulty. Results indicated that in comparison to students in the control group, students in the intervention with lower receptive vocabulary skills demonstrated greater gains in explicitly taught vocabulary than did students with higher receptive vocabulary. Findings suggest that the explicit teaching of word meanings within storybook readings may help to narrow, or at least halt, the widening vocabulary gap among students.
Considerable research now suggests that, in addition to the phonemic awareness skills which support early decoding, skilled reading also requires more general oral language competencies, particularly those involving the use of decontextualized language. The basic hypothesis of the Home-School Study of Language and Literacy development is that early development of skill with decontextualized language will be related to reading comprehension abilities when children are in the middle grades of school. A model is presented which illustrates this theory and an overview of the sample, the data collection techniques, and the types of analyses are described.
Teaching vocabulary to primary grade children is essential. Previous studies of teaching vocabulary (word meanings) using story books in the primary grades reported gains of 20%–25% of word meanings taught. The present studies concern possible influences on word meaning acquisition during instruction (Study 1) and increasing the percentage and number of word meanings acquired (Study 2). Both studies were conducted in a working-class school with approximately 50% English-language learners. The regular classroom teachers worked with their whole classes in these studies. In Study 1, average gains of 12% of word meanings were obtained using repeated reading. Adding word explanations added a 10% gain for a total gain of 22%. Pretesting had no effect on gains. In Study 2, results showed learning of 41% of word meanings taught. At this rate of learning word meanings taught, it would be possible for children to learn 400 word meanings a year if 1,000 word meanings were taught. The feasibility of teaching vocabulary to primary grade children is discussed.
A growing literature establishes that high quality early childhood interventions targeted toward disadvantaged children have substantial impacts on later life outcomes. Little is known about the mechanisms producing these impacts. This paper uses longitudinal data on cognitive and personality traits from an experimental evaluation of the influential Perry Preschool program to analyze the channels through which the program boosted both male and female participant outcomes. Experimentally induced changes in personality traits explain a sizable portion of adult treatment effects.
Maternal mediation in joint writing was compared to
storybook reading in terms of their relations with emergent literacy
among kindergartners in a low Socioeconomic Status population. Joint
writing was examined by dyadic writing. Story-book reading was assessed
by storybook recognition. Children's literacy was measured by word writing
and recognition, and phonological and orthographic awareness. Kindergarten
teachers ranked the children's verbal, graphic, and mathematical
abilities. After partialling out home environment measures and story-book
reading, maternal writing mediation explained added variance of word
writing/recognition and phonological awareness. Storybook reading
explained added variance of verbal ability above home environment and
maternal writing mediation. Mediation in joint writing is linked to
reading and writing acquisition, and storybook reading is related to
verbal abilities.
This research revealed both similarities and striking differences in early language proficiency among infants from a broad range of advantaged and disadvantaged families. English-learning infants (n = 48) were followed longitudinally from 18 to 24 months, using real-time measures of spoken language processing. The first goal was to track developmental changes in processing efficiency in relation to vocabulary learning in this diverse sample. The second goal was to examine differences in these crucial aspects of early language development in relation to family socioeconomic status (SES). The most important findings were that significant disparities in vocabulary and language processing efficiency were already evident at 18 months between infants from higher- and lower-SES families, and by 24 months there was a 6-month gap between SES groups in processing skills critical to language development.
This Practice Guide is the third in a series of Institute of Education Sciences (IES) guides in education. Much of teaching is about helping students master new knowledge and skills and then helping students not to forget what they have learned. The recommendations in this practice guide are intended to provide teachers with specific strategies for organizing both instruction and students' studying of material to facilitate learning and remembering information, and to enable students to use what they have learned in new situations. The seven recommendations in this practice guide reflect authors' consensus on concrete and applicable principles to emerge from recent research on learning and memory. The first recommendation about the spacing of key course content is an overarching principle that teachers should attend to as they plan out sequences of instruction. This recommendation provides advice that is intended to help students remember information longer. The second, third, and fourth recommendations relate to how different forms of instruction should be combined: worked example solutions and new problems posed to the student (Recommendation 2), graphical and verbal descriptions of concepts and mechanisms (Recommendation 3), and abstract and concrete representations of a concept (Recommendation 4). Recommendation 5 reflects ongoing concern with memory. In these days of high-stakes tests, teachers are often reminded of how often students appear to have mastered information and concepts in December or February, only to have forgo them by June. Although forgetting is a reality of life, its effects can be somewhat mitigated through appropriate use of spaced learning and through strategic use of quizzing. Recommendation 6 relates to students' ability to judge how well they have learned new knowledge or skills. The authors believe that students' ability to manage their own studying is an important skill that students need to learn, with consequences that will be felt throughout their lives. The final recommendation targets ways to shape instruction as students gain expertise in a particular domain. In sum, these recommendations reflect a set of actions that teachers can take that reflect the process of teaching and learning, and that recognize the ways in which instruction should respond to the state of the learner. It also reflects the central organizing principle that learning depends upon memory, and that memory of skills and concepts can be strengthened by relatively concrete, nonobvious strategies. Technical Information on the Studies is appended. (Contains 132 footnotes and 2 tables.) [This report was produced by the National Center for Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences (IES).]
G. J. Whitehurst et al (see record
1989-02401-001) taught mothers specific interactive techniques to use when reading picture books with their preschool-age children. This intervention program, called
dialogic reading, produced substantial effects on preschool children's language development. However, the costs of one-on-one training limit the widespread use of dialogic reading techniques. In this study the authors aimed to replicate and extend the results of the original study of dialogic reading by developing and evaluating an inexpensive videotape training package for teaching dialogic reading techniques. Mothers were randomly assigned to receive no training, traditional direct training, or videotape training. Results supported the conclusions of Whitehurst et al: Dialogic reading had powerful effects on children's language skills and indicated that videotape training provided a cost-effective, standardized means of implementing the program. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The effects of an interactive book reading program were assessed with children from low-income families who attended subsidized day-care centers in New York. The children entered the program with language development in standard English vocabulary and expression that was about 10 mo behind chronological age on standardized tests. Children were pretested and assigned randomly within classrooms to 1 of 3 conditions: (1) a school plus home condition in which the children were read to by their teachers and their parents, (2) a school condition in which children were read to only by teachers, and (3) a control condition in which children engaged in play activities under the supervision of their teachers. Training of adult readers was based on a self-instructional video. The intervention lasted for 6 wks, at which point children were posttested on several standardized measures of language ability that had been used as pretests. These assessments were repeated at a 6 mo follow-up. Educationally and statistically significant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and follow-up on measures of expressive vocabulary. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Presents a theory that organizes mental abilities into four levels—composite tasks, subtasks, information-processing components, and information-processing metacomponents. Composite tasks can be decomposed into subtasks, and subtasks into components. Metacomponents control the use of components in composite tasks and subtasks. The article describes each of these levels of mental abilities, poses the fundamental theoretical questions relevant at each level, and proposes answers to these questions. The role of factors in the theory is described and is shown to be quite different from the role of factors in traditional theories of mental abilities. Full understanding of mental abilities requires understanding of all four levels. (46 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Two experiments were conducted to assess how children who differ in vocabulary knowledge learn new vocabulary incidentally from listening to stories read aloud. In both experiments, 4-yr-old children were classified as having either high or low word knowledge on the basis of a median split of their Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Revised (PPVT—R) standard scores. In Exp 1, children either listened passively or labeled pictures using novel words during the book readings. We found that children with larger vocabularies produced more novel words than did children with smaller vocabularies, and children who answered questions during the book readings comprehended and produced more words than did children who passively listened to the story. In Exp 2, children either listened to readings of a book, pointed to pictures during the readings, or labeled pictures during the readings. Children with larger vocabularies comprehended more novel words than did children with smaller vocabularies. Children who actively participated by labeling or pointing learned more words than did children who listened passively to book readings. Findings clarify the role of active responding by demonstrating that verbal and nonverbal responding are effective means of enhancing vocabulary acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In sessions conducted individually, 45 kindergartners who were nonreaders listened to an adult read the same storybook twice, 2–4 days apart, and then completed a posttest measuring their knowledge of the meanings of 22 unfamiliar words, half of which had appeared in the story. Some target words occurred twice in the story and some only once, so children heard some words 4 times and some words twice. Children recognized the meanings of significantly more words from the story than words not in the story, indicating that storybook reading was effective for building vocabulary. Gains were greater among children with larger entering vocabularies. Four exposures to words appeared to be necessary but not sufficient for higher rates of word learning. Findings confirm that story listening contributes modestly to young children's vocabulary growth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This study compared effectiveness of "business as usual" to that of 4 professional development (PD) programs that targeted teachers of at-risk preschool children. A 2 × 2 design was used to cross mentoring and progress monitoring conditions among the 4 PD programs. Specifically, some teachers received both in-classroom mentoring and detailed, instructionally linked feedback concerning children's progress in language and literacy. Some teachers received no mentoring but did receive the detailed, instructionally linked feedback concerning children's progress. Some teachers received in-classroom mentoring but only limited feedback on children's progress, which was not linked to curricular activities. Finally, some teachers received no mentoring and only limited feedback concerning children's progress. All 4 PD conditions included the same year-long, facilitated online course that emphasized language and literacy instruction, practice of learned material in one's classroom, and participation in online message boards with fellow teachers. Across 4 states, 158 schools (N = 262 classrooms) were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 PD conditions or business as usual. The condition that included online coursework combined with mentoring and detailed, instructionally linked feedback yielded the greatest improvements in teaching behavior and children's school readiness.
The purpose of this study was to compare 2 methods for directly teaching word meanings to kindergarten students within storybook read-alouds that varied in instructional time and depth of instruction along with a control condition that provided students with incidental exposure to target words. Embedded instruction introduces target word meanings during storybook readings in a time-efficient manner. Extended instruction is more time intensive but provides multiple opportunities to interact with target words outside the context of the story. Participants included 42 kindergarten students who were taught 9 target words, 3 with each method. Target words were counterbalanced in a within-subjects design. Findings indicated that extended instruction resulted in more full and refined word knowledge, while embedded instruction resulted in partial knowledge of target vocabulary. Implications are discussed in relation to the strengths and limitations of different approaches to direct vocabulary instruction in kindergarten and the trade-offs between instruction that focuses on teaching for breadth versus depth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
: A theory of the nature of mental abilities is presented. In this theory, mental abilities are hierarchically organized into four progressively deeper levels--the levels of composite tasks, subtasks, information-processing components, and information-processing metacomponents. Composite tasks can be decomposed into subtasks, subtasks into components. Metacomponents control the use of components in composite tasks and subtasks. Each of the four levels of mental abilities is described and interrelated to the others. The fundamental theoretical questions relevant at each level are posed, and answers to these questions are proposed. The role of factors in the theory is described, and is shown to be quite different from the role of factors in traditional theories of mental abilities. Full understanding of mental abilities requires understanding of all four levels. (Author)
A study was conducted in 26 Head Start classrooms with 264 children to compare the effect of a read aloud plus extension activities intervention over a control group to the effect of a read aloud only intervention over a control group on preschool children's vocabulary. Children were assessed before and after the intervention on target vocabulary and general vocabulary measures. Research Findings: The results suggest that the effects of the read aloud plus intervention were stronger than the effects of the read aloud only intervention on target word learning. In addition, the effects of the read aloud plus intervention on target word learning were stronger for children with higher versus lower general vocabulary knowledge. Neither intervention had an effect on general word knowledge. Practice or Policy: Observation and fidelity data are used to contextualize the findings, and the results are discussed in light of the extant literature on preschool vocabulary interventions.
Picture book reading is a very common form of interaction between parents and very young children. Here we explore to what extent young children transfer novel information between picture books and the real world. We report that 15- and 18-month-olds can extend newly learned labels both from pictures to objects and from objects to pictures. However, the degree to which they do so is affected by iconicity - how much the objects and pictures resemble one another. The children in these studies more often extended the labels between picture and object when realistic photographs and drawings were involved than less realistic cartoons. These results show that higher levels of perceptual similarity between symbol and referent make the referential relation more transparent, thereby helping children transfer information between them. Thus, the educational function of early picture book interactions may best be served with realistic illustrations.
The effects of an interactive shared-reading intervention were evaluated with 3-to 4-year-old children from low-income families who attended subsidized child care. The children entered the program with oral language skills that were significantly below age-level as measured by standardized tests. Children were pretested and randomly assigned to 1 of 4 conditions: (a) no treatment control, (b) a school condition in which children were read to by their teachers in small groups, (c) a home condition in which children were read to by their parents, and (d) a combined school plus home condition. Parents and teachers were trained in a specific form of interactive reading via an instructional videotape. The intervention was conducted for 6 weeks, after which children were posttested on standardized measures of oral language, and language samples were obtained during a shared-reading assessment. Significant effects of the reading intervention were obtained at posttest and were largest for children in conditions involving home reading.
An experimental design was used to investigate the effect of active versus passive storybook reading conditions on the vocabulary acquisition of kindergarteners who differed in level of prior vocabulary and phonological working memory. Sixty-six children, pretested on the Senechal Vocabulary Test-Adapted (SVT-A) for target word knowledge, categorized as high or low vocabulary level based on Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-R) performance, and categorized as high or low working memory level on the Children's Test of Nonword Repetition (CNRep), were randomly assigned to active or passive storybook reading conditions. While listening to a single episode of storybook narrative, children: (a) actively participated by answering a what or where question immediately after each sentence containing a target word, or (b) passively participated by listening to a recast containing a familiar synonym for each target word. Factorial analyses of SVT-A posttest target-word acquisition revealed that children with higher vocabulary knowledge acquired significantly more words than lower vocabulary peers; active participants acquired significantly more words than passive participants; and children with high versus low working memory did not differ in word acquisition. Of additional interest, the strong correlation between PPVT-R and CNRep scores was found to be comparable to that of the British Picture Vocabulary Scale and the CNRep.
Two approaches to systematic word review were integrated into an 18-week program of extended vocabulary instruction with kindergarten students from three high-need urban schools. Words in the embedded and semantically related review conditions received systematic and distributed review. In the embedded review condition, brief word definitions were integrated into the narratives of multiple storybooks. In the semantically related review condition, in-depth word review with explicit emphasis on semantic features and associations was provided during extension activities. Systematic review resulted in an almost twofold increase in target word learning. Embedded review was effective and time efficient, whereas semantically related review was time intensive but resulted in higher levels of word learning. There was a significant gain in Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—III standard scores following the intervention.
The purpose of the two studies reported in this article was to evaluate the effectiveness of extended vocabulary instruction during storybook reading with kindergarten students within a small-group intervention setting. Extended vocabulary instruction is characterized by explicit teaching that includes both contextual and definitional information, multiple exposures to target words in varied contexts, and experiences that promote deep processing of word meanings. In Study One, we compared extended instruction of target words to incidental exposure. In Study Two, we compared extended instruction to embedded instruction (i.e., providing simple definitions within the context of the story). Our findings indicated that extended instruction resulted in greater word learning than either incidental exposure or embedded instruction. Moreover, students maintained much of their understanding of word meanings six to eight weeks after instruction. Implications are discussed in relation to a tri-level approach to vocabulary instruction and intervention for kindergarten students at risk for language and reading disabilities.
The present study examined the extent to which two dimensions of intervention intensity, (dose frequency and dose) of a 30-week print-referencing intervention related to the print knowledge development of 367 randomly selected children from 55 preschool classrooms. Dose frequency refers to the number of intervention sessions implemented per week; teachers were randomly assigned to either the high-dose frequency condition (four intervention sessions per week) or the low-dose frequency condition (two intervention sessions per week). Dose refers to number of print-referencing teaching strategies used per intervention session and was a naturally varying variable across classrooms. Structural models of children's spring print knowledge showed a significant interaction of dose and dose frequency in relation to children's outcomes. Follow-up analyses showed that the benefit of providing four versus two print-referencing sessions per week disappeared when teachers were providing a relatively intense number teaching strategies within sessions (i.e., the dose was high). Considered differently, findings also show that increasing the number of print referencing teaching strategies within a session (i.e., the dose) related positively to children's print knowledge development, but only when the weekly number of intervention sessions were low (i.e., two intervention sessions weekly). Overall, findings show that there is a benefit to increasing the dose or dose frequency of the print referencing intervention, but increasing both aspects of intervention intensity appeared to have a diminishing benefit to children's learning. Findings empirically support the multi-dimensional nature of intervention intensity and implications for research and practice are discussed.
This study explored 3- and 4-year-old children's development of scientific vocabulary from participation in repeated interactive read-aloud events and retellings of three informational picture books about light and color, followed by hands-on science activities. Thirty-two children attending a YWCA preschool were matched by age and general vocabulary knowledge and randomly assigned to a retelling or no retelling condition. Repeated measures ANOVA of pretest and posttest scores on a free recall target vocabulary test revealed significantly higher scores for 4-year-olds, those with higher vocabulary knowledge, and those who retold the books. Children used significantly more target words across the three retellings.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an 18-week program of direct and extended vocabulary instruction with kindergarten students on both proximal measures of target word knowledge and transfer measures of generalized language and literacy. A second purpose was to examine whether treatment effects would be moderated by initial receptive vocabulary knowledge measured at pretest. In a quasi-experimental design, 80 kindergarten students from schools serving large at-risk populations were taught the meanings of 54 vocabulary words within interactive story read alouds over 36 half-hour instructional lessons (2 lessons per week over 18 weeks). An additional 44 students served as a no-treatment control. Findings indicated that students who received vocabulary instruction outperformed controls on a measure of target word knowledge as well as measures of generalized receptive vocabulary and listening comprehension. In addition, initial receptive vocabulary was strongly related to posttest performance on all measures. Implications are discussed in relation to supporting vocabulary development in the early grades within a multitier framework of instruction and intervention.
Publicly funded prekindergarten programs have achieved small-to-large impacts on children's cognitive outcomes. The current study examined the impact of a prekindergarten program that implemented a coaching system and consistent literacy, language, and mathematics curricula on these and other nontargeted, essential components of school readiness, such as executive functioning. Participants included 2,018 four and five-year-old children. Findings indicated that the program had moderate-to-large impacts on children's language, literacy, numeracy and mathematics skills, and small impacts on children's executive functioning and a measure of emotion recognition. Some impacts were considerably larger for some subgroups. For urban public school districts, results inform important programmatic decisions. For policy makers, results confirm that prekindergarten programs can improve educationally vital outcomes for children in meaningful, important ways.
A study examined the effects of adult-interactive behaviors during repeated storybook readings upon the language development and selected prereading skills of prekindergarten at-risk students. A total of 53 inner city, low socioeconomic status subjects participated in the 20-week study. Subjects were dichotomized at the median on a measure of development level into average- and delayed-development level groups and were then randomly assigned from each of the two development strata to two experimental groups and to one control group. The subjects in experimental group 1 were exposed to adult-interactive behaviors during repeated readings of "big book" storybooks. Subjects in experimental group 2 were exposed to repeated "big book" storybook readings without adult interaction. Control group subjects participated in the regular prekindergarten activities. Results indicated that the subjects in both experimental groups scored significantly higher on the language development tests than the control group subjects, but there was no difference between the two experimental groups. Results further indicated that average-development level subjects also obtained significantly higher scores on both the language development and prereading skills instruments than delayed-development level subjects. (Seventeen references, the story reading model, and the protocols for the second and third storybook reading, and for the repeated storybook reading without adult interaction are attached.) (Author/RS)
ABSTRACT Most evidence concerning cross-linguistic variation in noun bias, the preponderance of nouns in early expressive lexicons (Gentner, 1982), has come from comparisons of monolingual children acquiring different languages. Such designs are susceptible to a number of potential confounders, including group differences in developmental level and sociodemographic characteristics. The aim of this study was to quantify noun bias in bilingual Mandarin-English toddlers whose expressive lexicons in each language contained 50-300 words. Parents of fifty children (1;10-2;6) reported separately on their English and Mandarin expressive lexicons. The mean percentage of Mandarin nouns (38%) was significantly lower than the percentage of English nouns (54%) and was robust to analyses of twelve potential covariates. Analyses of the most frequently reported words suggested that lexical reduplication could be considered as a potential influence on vocabulary composition in future studies. Results suggest that characteristics of the input significantly shape early lexicons.
Reviewed research from 1960 to 1993 pertaining to the hypothesized influence of parent–preschooler reading experiences on the development of language and literacy skills. The literature provides evidence for this association, although the magnitudes of the observed effects have been quite variable within and between samples and, on average, have been unexpectedly modest. Demographic, attitudinal, and skill differences among preschoolers all apparently made stronger direct contributions to prediction in investigations that permitted such comparisons. These findings are discussed with respect to theory and research on literacy acquisition, educational practice, and parental guidance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)