Research Updates: Teacher behaviors during storybook reading

Research Topic:  How do questions and other teacher behaviors during storybook reading affect young children's word learning?

Research Subjects: Three- and four-year-olds.

Article:  Blewitt, P., Rump, K., Shealy, S., & Cook, S.  (2009).  Shared book reading:  When and how questions affect young children's word learning.  Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 294-304.

Summary of findings:

Talking about the book before, during and after reading it helped promote vocabulary development.

Providing synonyms and definitions for new words was a useful technique.

Providing "high demand" questions ("Why did they use the …?") rather than low demand questions ("Where is the ….?") was more effective in promoting vocabulary.

The authors recommend scaffolding definitions, giving gradually more complex definitions for a new word across readings.