Home literacy environment mediates the relationship between socioeconomic status and white matter structure in infants

The home literacy environment (HLE) in infancy has been associated with subsequent pre-literacy skill development and HLE at pre-school age has been shown to correlate with white matter organization in tracts that subserve pre-reading and reading skills. Furthermore, childhood socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked with both HLE and white matter organization. It is also important to understand whether the relationships between environmental factors such as HLE and SES and white matter organization can be detected as early as infancy, as this period is characterized by rapid brain development that may make white matter pathways particularly susceptible to these early experiences. Here, we hypothesized (1) an association between HLE and white matter organization in pre-reading and reading-related tracts in infants, and (2) that this association mediates a link between SES and white matter organization. To test these hypotheses, infants (mean age: 9.2 +/- 2.5 months, N = 18) underwent diffusion-weighted imaging MRI during natural sleep. Fractional anisotropy (FA) was estimated from the left superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF) and left arcuate fasciculus using the automated fiber-tract quantification method. HLE was measured with the Reading subscale of the StimQ and SES was measured with years of maternal education. Self-reported maternal reading ability was also quantified and applied to all statistical models to control for confounding genetic effects. The Reading subscale of the StimQ positively related to FA in left SLF and mediated the association between maternal education and FA in the left SLF. Taken together, these findings underscore the importance of considering HLE from the start of life and may inform novel prevention and intervention strategies targeted at low-SES families to support developing infants during a period of heightened brain plasticity.

Evaluation of the Evidence Base for Shared Reading to Support Literacy Skill Development for Students with Extensive Support Needs

This systematic literature review updates and extends the findings of Hudson and Test’s 2011 review of literature on shared reading, an interactive read-aloud practice, to promote literacy skills for students with extensive support needs (ESN). Thirty-two shared reading studies are assessed and described in terms of literacy skills investigated, intervention methods, materials used, interventionists, and settings in which shared reading has been evaluated for students with ESN. The quality of each included study was analyzed and the assessment of level of research evidence was conducted using systematic processes. Results indicate that there is a moderate level of evidence for shared reading as an intervention to promote comprehension, vocabulary, and emergent literacy skills for students with ESN. Implications for practice and areas of need for future research are presented.

Audiobooks as a Window to the World

Library, literacy, and children’s literature professionals promote the benefits of transacting with audiobooks, and awards are bestowed upon audiobooks worldwide. Research spanning decades and conducted worldwide has explored the use of audiobooks for promoting literacy skill development. These studies have explored various uses of audiobooks and report mixed results for different types of readers and for readers of varying levels of proficiency. Yet, huge gaps exist in the research with many aspects of audiobook use still uninvestigated. This paper reports the disconnect between professionals’ claims regarding the benefits of audiobooks for children and those verified by empirical studies. It identifies the gaps in the scholarship surrounding audiobooks and calls attention to those areas in which audiobooks have potential to support children’s interests and needs.

Beyond the written word: The role of text on preschool teachers’ book sharing styles

Teachers’ sharing of picture books is a quintessential activity in early childhood classrooms, and has been found to be predictive of children’s language and literacy skill development. Although most research, to date, has focused on the manner in which preschool teachers share text-based books with their students, recent work has recommended that teachers include wordless books as part of their classroom book sharing routines. Yet, little is known about how the absence of text might influence teachers’ discourse styles. The present study, thus, explored the discourse styles used by preschool teachers of Latino dual-language learners when sharing both text-based and wordless picture books with their class. Results showed that, while there were common features across both book types, when sharing wordless books teachers tended to adopt a more co-constructive style, by asking questions and supporting children’s participation in the sharing of the story. At the same time, they were more likely to elicit predictions and analyses from the children. The findings highlight the importance of including wordless books in preschool classroom book sharing interactions, especially in classrooms serving dual-language learners.

Literacy as a Support for Social-Emotional and Academic Growth

This overview of childhood brain development makes targeted connections between social-emotional learning (SEL) and instructional supports. Emphasis is placed on how interactions between caregivers/teachers, children, and the environment inform early SEL and literacy skill development. Specific attention is paid to delayed social-emotional development and behavior disorders. Multimodal text sets are offered as a way to increase classroom awareness and understanding related to autism, ADD/ADHD, and ODD. SEL resources and support organization information is also provided.

Using Picture Books With Instructional Strategies to Address New Challenges and Teach Literacy Skills in a Digital World

This chapter highlights new challenges that have developed over time in a digital world and use picture books with research-based instructional strategies to help teachers, K-8, address these challenges and develop student literacy skills at the same time. It identifies and describes picture books that teachers, K-8, can use as well as present instructional strategies that might be utilized to address these challenges and teach literacy skills in our ever-evolving digital world. This chapter consists of seven sections: 1) major technologies in the history of mass communication, 2) the digital world and pop culture, 3) using picture books to address new challenges in a digital world, 4) picture books and instructional strategies to support literacy skill development, 5) digital storytelling, 6) the need for caution, 7) suggested additional resources to address new challenges in a digital world.