Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency with which preschool teachers use a variety of instructional strategies to promote students’ emergent literacy skills during group read-aloud time. These strategies included print-referencing, dialogic reading techniques, and Shared Book Experience practices. More specifically, the researcher compared the teachers’ use of these strategies when reading typical-sized books versus big books. A total of eight preschool teachers participated in this study. The researcher filmed each participant reading two children’s books aloud—one big and one typical-sized, and the videos were transcribed and coded for read- aloud behaviors. The teachers’ use of emergent literacy reading strategies did not differ as a function of book size. Additionally, the teachers’ use of read-aloud strategies was infrequent in general. These findings suggest that big books are not inherently helpful in improving teachers’ use of these strategies, and that further read-aloud training may be necessary in order to elicit a higher frequency of these behaviors in teachers.

Advisor

Furey, Joan

Department

Communication Studies

Disciplines

Communication | Early Childhood Education

Keywords

emergent literacy skills, read-aloud strategies, preschool teachers, big books

Publication Date

2018

Degree Granted

Bachelor of Arts

Document Type

Senior Independent Study Thesis Exemplar

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© Copyright 2018 Sara Beckstrom