Facts In Action

Interactive book reading is a style of storytelling in which adults reinforce the vocabulary in the books they read to children. The main components of interactive book reading are:

• Use of concrete objects (props) to represent words in the story;
• Presenting children with opportunities to use the words they hear in the story;
• Teachers' use of open-ended questions to engage children to talk during storytelling ("What do you think will happen next?")

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University conducted a study to determine if preschool children exhibit vocabulary improvements from interactive book reading. Children whose teachers provided repeated opportunities to interact with vocabulary words through book reading, story props, and extension activities learned more book-related vocabulary and scored significantly higher on a general vocabulary test compared with children who were exposed to just the books. Teachers who used the interactive technique also noticed that the children in their classrooms were more comfortable asking them to explain a word they didn't know.

The researchers warn that group experiences cannot match the positive impacts of one-to-one reading. However, this study suggests that interactive reading is one strategy that can have positive effects on the vocabulary development of young children.

Source:
"Beyond the Pages of a Book: Interactive Book Reading and Language Development in Preschool Classrooms," B. Wasik and M. Bond, Journal of Educational Psychology, Volume 93, Number 2, 2001.

For more information:
contact Barbara A. Wasik, Center for Social Organization of Schools, 2003 North Charles Street, Suite 200, Baltimore, MD 21218-3888, or email bwasik@csos.jhu.edu.

Facts in Action, February, 2002