Shared Book Reading: Book Qualities, Interventions, and Teacher Behaviors that Shape Effectiveness

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The utility of high-quality interactive shared book-reading activities has been well established theoretically and empirically, as decades of research demonstrates the benefits of sharing books with young children for their development school readiness skills (for reviews, see Mol, et al., 2009; National Early Literacy Panel, 2008). Theoretical models of shared book reading (summarized by van Kleeck, 2008) suggest that three intersecting components determine the quality of an interactive shared book-reading experience: (1) the text which serves as the object of attention and a springboard for discussion, (2) the teacher’s comments and efforts to engage children with the text, and (3) the children’s responses to the teacher and text. The first paper in this symposium explores the first of these components (the book), as it examines the effect of order of presentation of target vocabulary within a book on children’s word learning. The second paper seeks to examine the impacts of an intervention designed to enhance the second two components (teacher comments and children’s engagement). The third paper takes a more detailed look at teacher comments to both understand teacher behaviors and determine whether or not they are shaped by exposure to a shared book reading intervention. Taken together, these papers can help to illuminate important characteristics of all three components of shared book reading (the book, teacher comments, and child engagement), as well as help to draw conclusions about what is most effective for children’s learning when conducting shared book reading sessions in early childhood classrooms.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chair

• Jill Pentimonti, University of Notre Dame

Discussant

• Mindy Sittner Bridges, University of Kansas Medical Center

Individual Presentations

• Examining the Impact of Memory Supports on Children’s Word Learning During Shared Book Reading - Presenting Author: Michelle Lynn Luna, University of Notre Dame

• TeacherRead: Supporting New York City PreK Teachers in Their Shared Book Reading Practice - Presenting Author: Johannes Bos; Aleksandra Holod, American Institutes for Research

• Understanding Teacher Behaviors to Support Language/Literacy Development During Shared Book Reading - Presenting Author: Danielle Shaw Attaway, American Institutes for Research -District of Columbia