Parent-child interaction during storybook reading: wordless narrative books versus books with text

This study examines the content and function of parent-child talk while engaging in shared storybook reading with two narrative books: a wordless book versus a book with text. Thirty-six parents audio-recorded themselves reading one of the books at home with their 3.5–5.5-year-old children. Pragmatic and linguistic measures of parental and child talk during both narrative storytelling and dialogic interactions were compared between the wordless and book-with-text conditions. The results show that the wordless book engendered more interaction than the book-with-text, with a higher rate of parental prompts and responsive feedback, and significantly more child contributions, although lexical diversity and grammatical complexity of parental language were higher during narration using a book-with-text. The findings contribute to research on shared storybook reading suggesting that different book formats can promote qualitatively different language learning environments.

Timing storytime to maximise children's ability to retain new vocabulary

Shared storybook reading is a key aid to vocabulary acquisition in childhood. However, word learning research has tended to use unnaturalistic (explicit) training regimes. Utilising a storybook paradigm, we examine whether children (particularly those with weaker vocabulary) are more likely to retain new words if they learn them closer to sleep. Parents read their child (5-7ys, n=237) an alien adventure story that contained 12 novel words with illustrations, at one of two training times: at bedtime or 3-5hrs before bedtime. Using on-line tasks, parents tested their child’s ability to recall the new words (production) and associate them with pictures (comprehension), immediately after hearing the story and again the following morning. As hypothesized, we replicated two findings: children showed overnight improvements in their ability to produce and comprehend new words when tested again the next day, and children with better existing vocabulary knowledge showed larger overnight gains in new word comprehension. Counter to expectations, overnight gains in comprehension were larger if the story was read 3-5 hours before, than at, bedtime. These ecologically valid findings are consistent with theories that characterise word learning as a prolonged process supported by mechanisms such as consolidation and retrieval practice, with existing vocabulary knowledge acting as an important source of variability in retention. The findings provide preliminary evidence that encountering new words in stories later in the day (but not too close to sleep) may help to harness vocabulary growth and may be more beneficial than leaving shared storybook reading just for bedtime.

Parental Perspectives on Storybook Reading in Indian Home Contexts

The benefits of parent–child storybook reading experiences in the home are well documented. However, there is a dearth of information regarding parent–child storybook reading experiences in Indian home contexts. This study investigated parental perspectives towards storybook reading in the Indian context among 100 parents of typically developing preschool children. In this questionnaire-based study, parental responses were collected and the patterns of reading exposure, child’s interest in reading, storybook reading practices, and attitudes & beliefs towards storybook reading were reported using descriptive statistics. Correlation between demographic variables (i.e., child’s age and socioeconomic status) and storybook reading domains were explored. The majority of parents initiated storybook reading with their children at 2 years of age or older. Parents read to their children one to two times per week for 10 min and had fewer than 10 books in the home. Parents reported that their children were interested in storybook reading and reported the use of quality storybook reading practices. Homes characterized with higher socioeconomic status included more quality home literacy environment factors, although socioeconomic status did not correlate with the parental beliefs and attitudes towards reading. Results provide preliminary information regarding parental perspectives on storybook reading in Indian home contexts and point toward socioeconomic and sociocultural variation in home literacy environments. Understanding more about the parental interactions surrounding storybook reading will facilitate the development of parent programs to enhance and promote quality home literacy environment in Indian home contexts.

Supporting Peer Interactions in the Inclusive Preschool Classroom Using Visual Scene Displays

Inclusive preschool classrooms have become increasingly common in recent decades, affording opportunities for children with and without disabilities opportunities to interact and develop positive relationships. Children with disabilities may be unintentionally excluded from these interactions due to communication differences. This paper discusses one assistive technology tool, called visual scene displays (VSDs), for supporting communication and interaction between children. Specifically, the paper aims to: (a) describe VSDs; (b) discuss why VSDs are particularly well-suited for supporting social communication between young children; (c) describe how VSDs are created and introduced to children; and (d) provide examples of how VSDs may be implemented during two common preschool activities: object play and shared storybook reading. Finally, resources for creating VSDs are offered.