A Family Child Care Provider Extends Storybook Reading with Children

Storybook reading is one strategy used in early language and literacy development activities. Through storybook reading children are able to build their vocabularies and experience a function of print—to convey meaning. With the wide variety of quality children’s literature available, it is quite easy to build on the child’s interests and provide a holistic early reading opportunity.

Carol Wroth is a Head Start Family Child Care provider who works with children ages 2-5 years and 1 infant. In this mixed age group, Carol is able to provide many small group and individualized learning opportunities. Among these are many experiences around reading. Carol shares one of these highlights with ELOP staff:

After I read a story to the children they immediately wanted to re-enact the story themselves. Aalyah sat on the bench holding the book, but found it difficult to turn the large pages on her lap. I suggested that they move to the table top or the floor where there would be more room. As Aaliyah read the story, Nicholas, Ciera, and Jalen move the flannel pieces around on the board. As the children work together they collaboratively re-tell the story. Each played a part as they played along. Rich alliteration is heard throughout as children play with the cadence and rhyme of repetitive words.
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Aaliyah continues to tell the story as she turns the pages and the children continue to play with the flannel pieces, sometimes repeating what Aaliyah was saying in her story.
As soon as the other children were done, Nick picked up the book and flipped through the pages saying “Trip, trop, trip, trop,” over and over again.

When the group completed their experience with the flannel board, Aaliya came over and sat down with her books next to Tabitha and began to read her the stories. She would tell her story and then show the picture. Tabitha was very attentive during the interaction.

Shared storybook reading gave this group of children an opportunity to expand their learning and build on what was interesting to them. They took the story and expanded it through use of a flannel board, repeated some of the text of the book, and learned sequencing as they progressed through the story.

Observation/assessment made it possible for Carol to know what the children might be interested in, then provide props and learning materials to support the experience. She even took the time to take pictures and record the experience, capturing the information for future planning of intentional learning activities!

Research indicates that children who are successful readers shared storybooks with their parents on a regular basis before formal instruction (Clark, 1976; Durkin, 1966). Book reading is an ideal routine for fostering early language and literacy development. Though storybooks often use the same words over and over again, the language can be rich in nature and enhance the vocabulary children use in everyday speech.

One early literacy researcher from the School of Education at the University of Michigan, Elizabeth Sulzby (1994), has traced children's storybook reading development. The information here represents only a beginning in characterizing young children's early reading behaviors. She suggests that children's first attempts at storybook reading are picture-governed. Initially, children label the pictures and describe the actions, but their comments are restricted to each discrete page. They do not tell a story. As a child progresses, their language begins to change from resembling oral language to being more like the formal language of text. They begin to build a story across the pages and their intonation becomes more reading-like, but they are not watching the print.

With practice and experience, children's storybook reading becomes print-governed. At this point they may realize that what they are saying does not match the words on the page and they may refuse to continue. Gradually, they begin to focus on aspects of the print and respond to a few known words or a few letters and their associated sounds. This ultimately leads to being able to read independently.

There is a distinct process of learning taking place here:

Children participate in a group experience
They spontaneously take this experience to a small group
As a group they re-enact story (dramatics)
One child is motivated to share across age groups (with infant)
The entire activity reinforces learning (early language and literacy)

Think about the opportunities you provide for children. Are they intentional? Do they build on the child’s interests? Are there chances and props for the children to extend their learning? There are many resources available if you need them—all you need do is ask your coordinator or ELOP staff (click here to e-mail ELOP)!