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Four year old children’s acquisition of print knowledge during electronic storybook reading

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Abstract

The experiment reported here explored the importance of engaging 4-year-old children’s interest in the print itself during storybook reading. We explored the effect of computer animation of the print in order to draw the child’s attention to each word as it was read. We also investigated the influence of illustrating that not all visual displays are readable print on the child’s print knowledge. The measures of interest were print concept knowledge and early reading skill. Results indicated that simply drawing children’s attention to the print during shared reading was insufficient to facilitate children’s learning of print conventions, but this attention to print while hearing stories read did improve children’s letter reading. The child’s active engagement with the print during shared story reading led to further improvements in written language skills, as illustrated by gains in knowledge about print concepts.

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Acknowledgements

This research was part of the first author’s doctoral dissertation. It was supported by a grant from the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network. We thank Dr. Mary Ann Evans for her helpful suggestions throughout the work, as well as the Journal’s Reviewers and Editor for the helpful suggestions that improved the manuscript’s presentation. We also thank Jo-Lynn Dickson for her assistance in testing the children. Finally, we are grateful to the Board, principals, teachers, parents and especially the children for their participation in and support of this research.

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  1. McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada

    Zhiyu Gong & Betty Ann Levy

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  1. Zhiyu Gong
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  2. Betty Ann Levy
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Correspondence to Betty Ann Levy.

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Gong, Z., Levy, B.A. Four year old children’s acquisition of print knowledge during electronic storybook reading. Read Writ 22, 889–905 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-008-9130-1

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