Read-Alouds in Preschool

"The reading of literature has a given place in preschools, it is to entertain or offer children knowledge about the world, about language as well as experiences of the relations between humans and other people's living conditions. The doors of unexplored worlds open and processes of envisioning literature may socialize children into trusting their own experiences, the text and their own knowledge. The processes of meaning-making stimulate children's thinking and are constantly affected by the interactions and experiences in the classroom, thus creating conditions for change while fostering the ability to think from multiple perspectives" (Damber, 2014, pg. 1).

"Read-alouds in preschool - A matter of discipline?," by Ulla Damber, carried out a study directed towards the reading of children's literature in preschool with the aim of describing and analyzing how read-alouds were carried out in different preschools in Sweden. The three researchers involved in this research project were teacher educators. Read-alouds were seldom used as an opportunity to expand the children's world knowledge or linguistic knowledge. Linguistic knowledge, world knowledge, and social aspects are linked to one another, according to Damber. As these aspects are linked together, Damber believes that it is possible to visualise how our mapping of read-alouds can depict different foci in activities, a skills focus, a content focus, and a social focus, thus indicating different theoretical perspectives on early literacy.

At the beginning of this research project, Damber asked: How is children's literature used to support language development and knowledge development, as well as identity formation and other social aspects of the learning processes in literacy activities? Against this background, Damber set out to explore "who had agency in read-alouds, how read-alouds were conducted and how language versus content focus was distributed" (pg. 8). The following questions guided Damber's explorations:

• How often are read-alouds conducted and how long are they?
• How are books chosen?
• Who initiates read-alouds?
• In what learning context do read-alouds take place?
• What activities precede, accompany and follow on from reading sessions?
• How are language-stimulating activities linked to read-alouds?

Damber found that reading occurred on a regular basis, but the frequency of reading sessions was often low. On average, read-alouds were conducted six times a week and occurred mainly before or after lunch, during the so-called 'reading rest' time. The most common length of reading sessions was between five and ten minutes. A pattern emerged of allowing the children to choose books for reading. "On 65% of reading occasions, the children chose the book" (pg. 13). The preschool teachers took initiative in 60% of reading sessions, whereas read-alouds were intitiated by the children on 35% of occasions. As mentioned previously, reading sessions most often occurred in connection with meals and 'reading rest' time. In 94% of the total number of reading sessions, the read-aloud was a standalone event, without further connection to other activities taking place within the boundaries of the curriculum. 

In one of the narratives, a student describes how the pictures were hidden so that the children could not get too interested in the content of the story, which brings us to the purpose of read-alouds. The purpose here, seems to have been to create peace and quiet or somewhat of a disciplinary focus. 

In order to enhance children's knowledge, children's literature provides a shared learning context, a meaningful context which provides recurring opportunities to use new vocabulary in different statements and varying situations. Teachers need to embrace meaning-making and emergent literacy afctivities aimed at preparing children to decipher the alphabetic code, as well as real-world engagement (Freebody and Luke, 2003). Teachers need to instill an interest in literature that aims at children's personal development or the enhancement of literacy skills. Teachers also need to take an important step in the creation of a foundation for children's engagement in words as well as in the world.

Damber, Ulla. "Read-alouds in Preschool - A Matter of Discipline." Journal of Early Childhood Literacy (2014): 1-25. Print.