WEBVTT

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[Music] Welcome to the overview
on the use of interactive

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and dialogic reading
in preschool

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Walk into any preschool
classroom

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and you will see teachers
reading stories to children.

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Though the untrained
eye may not spot it--

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when it comes to building
good literacy skills,

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there often is a
world of difference

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between one reading
session and another.

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Here's Mrs. eliot reading
a book during circle time.

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As she holds the book
on her lap and reads,

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she doesn't get very far
because the children are talking

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and squirming.

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Before she can finish
the story, she gets up,

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frustrated that the kids
just aren't getting it.

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On the other hand, here's
Mr. Madison's class.

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He, too, is reading aloud,

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but he spends much more
time showing-off the

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colorful illustrations.

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He's also asking questions
about the book, like:

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What's happening
in this picture?

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Who do you think will
get on the bus next?

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Why do you think the bus gets
happier when more people get on?

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There's lots of chatter
as children are eager

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to answer his questions.

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What's the difference between
these two story sessions?

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Mrs. E is focusing on
the narrative alone,

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and expects her children to
sit quietly and pay attention.

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Mr. M, however, is engaging his
class in interactive reading--

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techniques which
invite his students

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to be active participants

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as they also develop
early literacy skills.

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Research has shown a connection
between the oral language skills

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of preschoolers and later
reading proficiency.

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Interactive and dialogic
reading are ideal methods

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for developing those oral
language and vocabulary skills

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through daily storybook
reading that all children enjoy.

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These techniques can
be especially important

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for children from
low-income families.

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Such children may
lack access to books,

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have only limited
conversations with adults,

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or have very few stories
read to them at home--

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all factors that can
affect acquisition

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of early literacy skills.

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During interactive reading,
an adult reader uses a variety

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of techniques to
engage a child or group

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of children in the text.

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Interactive reading
engages children in a story

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by having them discuss
the narrative

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and images in the book.

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The reader might ask children
to: point to the title,

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point to the words and pictures
in the story; make predictions

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about what might
happen in the book based

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on the cover or story so far; or 
retell the story in their own words.

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Interactive strategies
get children talking

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and engaged in the story.

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Follow-up questions
encourage students

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to expand their responses
and express their ideas.

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Interactive reading
techniques include:

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probing for responses,
providing information,

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such as the meaning
of important words

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that help expand student
understanding and engagement,

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commenting on what
children have said

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to reinforce their confidence

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and acknowledge their
participation,

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and modeling how to share
ideas during a story discussion.

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All of these techniques
are helpful ways

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of engaging children and getting
them to connect the story

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to the text, and to
their own experiences.

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It's a good idea

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to use interactive
reading techniques before,

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during and after the story

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to help children build
key literacy skills.

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Let's take the example of
teaching a popular story

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such as The Fish:
Before reading the book,

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the teacher asks children
to point to the title

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and make predictions
about what might happen.

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this helps children
anticipate what's to come,

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and establish a personal
incentive to see what happens--

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to see if their predictions
come to pass.

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During book reading, the
teacher gives explanations,

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prompts comments,
and poses questions

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to gauge how well
students are following

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and understanding the story.

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The teacher might ask, "What
could Fish do to make friends?"

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As students share their ideas,

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the teacher could turn their
attention back to the story

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to show how Fish tries
to solve the problem.

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as she does, the teacher can
also build print awareness

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by tracking her finger to show
that text is read from top

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to bottom and left to right.

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After reading the book,
the teacher will discuss it

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with the children, often drawing
connections between events

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in the story and
their everyday lives.

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For example, she might
ask, "How did Fish feel

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about losing his scales?

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Have you lost something
you loved?

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How did you feel?"

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This final level of reflection
helps children see reading

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as a gateway to understanding
their own world,

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helping them establish a
personal connection to literacy.

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Interactive reading
can be a powerful tool

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for helping young
children get an early start

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on literacy skills.

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Research has shown that
a similar approach,

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known as dialogic reading,
is especially effective

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at improving oral language
development for young learners.

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The main feature that
distinguishes dialogic reading

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from other book reading
techniques is the role reversal

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for teachers and students.

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In dialogic reading, the child
learns to become the storyteller

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with the assistance of
the adult, who functions

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as an active listener
and questioner.

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Initially, the teacher begins by
assessing the child's vocabulary

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by using completion prompts
and asking "W-h" questions--

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the who, what, where,
when, and why questions.

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Completion prompts encourage
children to complete a sentence

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by filling in the word: For example,
a teacher might say, "in the picture,

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it looks like the cat
is hiding from the...,"

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pausing for the child to
fill in the missing word.

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"W-h" questions ask
students to reflect

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on key features of the story.

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For example, while pointing
to a picture in the book

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of a dog digging a hole,
the teacher could ask,

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"What is the dog doing?

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Who is helping him?"

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As the child becomes more
familiar with the book,

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the teacher can increase
the child's language skills

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by introducing new vocabulary,
expanding on a child's responses

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through modeling, and by
asking questions that connect

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to a child's experience.

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teachers can increase a
child's level of language

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by posing questions
that encourage children

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to use words not used in the
book, or by using vocabulary

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that stretches their
current understanding.

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Teachers can also model the
dialogic process through the use

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of open-ended questions
and expansions.

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For example, while
looking at a page in a book

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that the child knows,
the teacher could say,

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"tell me what is
happening in this picture."

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if the child responds simply by
saying, "it's about a truck,"

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the teacher could expand the
child's response by saying,

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"Yes, it's about a truck.

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it's a red fire truck."

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The teacher then moves
on to asking questions,

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which require the child to
relate concepts within the book

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or between the book
and real life--

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sometimes called
distancing questions.

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While looking at a book with a
picture of animals on a farm,

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the teacher might say,
"remember when we went

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to the animal park last week?

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Which of these animals
did we see?"

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As the child becomes
increasingly familiar

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with a book, the adult
reads less, listens more,

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and gradually uses higher level
prompts to encourage the child

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to go beyond naming objects in
the pictures to thinking more

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about what is happening in the
pictures and how this relates

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to the child's own experiences.

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Teachers need different levels
of support to use interactive

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and dialogic reading
techniques effectively.

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some teachers are "naturals" who
take to these methods readily;

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others will need lots of
preparation and practice.

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Most teachers need support
to better understand how

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to use dialogic reading prompts

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that help students
take an active role

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in the story telling process.

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Reading specialists and coaches
who teach these techniques

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to teachers often use modeling,
practice, and reflection

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to help teachers get comfortable

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with interactive and
dialogic reading.

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Modeling involves demonstrations
of each reading technique,

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with teachers watching what
happens from the sidelines.

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it's useful for teachers to
both see what the coach does,

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as well as how her students
react, so they can begin

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to see how interactive
reading engages students

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in oral language.

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Once teachers have seen
how these techniques work,

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they need time to practice them
with children while a coach

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or mentor teacher observes.

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Lastly, teachers need to have
an opportunity to reflect

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on what's working and
areas needing improvement,

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an important step to
reinforcing interactive

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and dialogic reading skills.

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All children enjoy
listening to stories.

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But those children who
are actively engaged

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in the narrative are doing
more than listening--

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they are learning key
literacy skills essential

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to their future success
in reading.

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To learn more about interactive
and dialogic reading,

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please explore the
additional resources

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on the Doing What Works website.

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[Music]