Abstract
Gayle McLaughlin Bortnem, Ed.D., Curriculum and Instruction, The University of South Dakota, 2005
The Effects of Using Nonfiction Interactive Read-alouds on Expressive and Receptive Vocabulary of Preschool Children
Dissertation directed by Dr. Gera Jacobs
Young children acquire new vocabulary at an amazing rate during the first five years of life. Because there is a strong relationship between language development during the early years and reading ability in the primary grades, early childhood teachers must understand language and literacy development. Children enter kindergarten in the United States with large differences in their background knowledge, vocabulary, and early literacy experiences. It is essential that early childhood programs provide quality language experiences such as read-alouds in order for children to become successful readers.
This study examined the strategy of using nonfiction interactive book read-alouds with the emergent reader in preschool to promote vocabulary development. In this quantitative study, 53 three-, four-, and five-year old children enrolled in a Head Start program were participants. The preschool children were assessed using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-III) and the Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT) as pre and posttests. The researcher read nonfiction literature to one class and fictional text to another twice per week for 12 weeks but did not read to the control group. Standardized test scores did not show significant differences in the post-test scores among the control and the two treatment groups, although all groups showed improvement in their receptive and expressive vocabularies.
In addition, a survey designed by the researcher was sent out to preschool teachers and childcare providers about the amount of time they read aloud to children, the amount of time they spend reading fiction compared to nonfiction text, and their years of teaching in early childhood and educational backgrounds. Results showed that teachers in early childhood programs are reading to children an average of 8.5 out of 10 days, although nonfiction literature is not being read to young children as much as fiction.
The findings in this report have implications for practice in the field. Because vocabulary development is a key ingredient in the learning-to-read process, teachers and parents can use nonfiction as a tool, if they are aware of the benefits of how to use this genre to support children’s emerging literacy skills.
This abstract of approximately 340 words is approved as to form and content. I
recommend its publication.
Signed __________________________________________________
Dr. Geralyn Jacobs