Examining Teacher Talk to Support Language and Literacy Development During Shared Book Reading

• In Event: Hilton Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring School-Based Supports for Literacy and Writing

Abstract

Shared book reading is a widely-recommended practice in pre-k as it can help foster language/literacy skill development. This study examined teacher talk related to language and literacy supports during shared book reading using an observational coding scheme, the SABR. Descriptive analysis revealed that on average teachers most frequently asked literal Wh-questions, produced an expected amount of Behavior comments, and most frequently discussed Character References and Cognition. We also examined the relationship of types of talk to teachers’ fidelity to a literacy intervention called TeacherRead. While there was a significant difference in the mean use of literacy talk between TeacherRead treatment and control group teachers, of the treatment teachers, there was no association between implementation fidelity scores and SABR scores.

Authors

• Danielle Shaw Attaway, American Institutes for Research

• Jill Pentimonti, American Institutes for Research

• Virginia Buysse, American Institutes for Research