Making it REAL: Using Informational Picture Books in Preschool Classrooms

The Quantity and Quality of Teachers’ Self-perceptions of Read-Aloud Practices in Norwegian First Grade Classrooms

“…To maintain such a structure, but modify practices, we recommend that teachers should be clearly informed of the benefits of reading aloud, and the ways in which this practice can be integrated as an essential component of literacy instruction. Furthermore, research indicates that expert teachers select appropriate books, establish a clear purpose, practice before reading, have a plan for reading stops, and plan for student contributions (Bingham et al 2017;Fisher et al 2004). Referring to the unused potential unveiled in this article; in Norwegian first grade classrooms, sessions seem to be unplanned and not surrounded by rich text talk (Beck and McKeown 2001).…”

“…Teachers' thoughtful choice of books, the ways in which the books are shared and the nature and quality of interactions during the teachers' read-alouds, may open or close learning opportunities to use language for a wide range of purposes (Lennox 2013). To deepen and extend the children's content knowledge, vocabulary, concepts of text structures etc., teachers have to plan the readalouds carefully (Bingham et al 2017). Fisher et al (2004) examined expert teachers' read-aloud practices to identify common factors.…”

“…Previous research has demonstrated how interactive readaloud practices can contribute to a wide set of literacy components that are essential in students' literacy development-from letter recognition (Bus et al 1996) to comprehension strategies (Santoro et al 2008). However, while the emphasis on a narrow repertoire of texts (i.e., entertaining), lunchtime reading, and spontaneous stops may support reading motivation, the pattern of practices do not reflect a planful and intentional literacy instruction which would systematically support literacy development (Bingham et al 2017;Fisher et al 2004).…”

“…Additionally, many historical texts follow narrative/story structures and may be only a minor transition from fiction texts. However, it is important to note that research underlines that teachers have to do more planning to read informational texts (Bingham et al 2017), which may represent an added challenge for Grade 1 Norwegian teachers.…”

“…Additionally, teachers could be introduced to resources which would help them structure read alouds including, Text Talk (Beck and McKeown 2001) and REAL (Bingham et al 2017), which capitalize on the role of the read aloud. The instructional cycle of Text Talk (Beck and McKeown 2001) consists of six phases: selection of texts, initial questions, follow-up questions, pictures, background knowledge, and vocabulary, and for each phase, teachers are provided strategies which could enrich the rigor of the read-alouds described within this study.…”