Its Talking to Me!

:
An Exploration of
Shared Reading
Practices in the
Digital Age
By: Nicole Walter
Reading Literacy and Learning
Faculty Advisor- Angela
Blanchette

About the Author

Virginia native
Attended Longwood University and
graduated in 2012
Teaches Kindergarten in Chesterfield
County
In the Reading, Literacy, and
Learning graduate program,
expected to graduate May 2016

What is Shared Reading?

An adult reads a book to an individual child or
a group of children and uses one or more
planned or structured interactive techniques to
actively engage the children in the text.
(WhatWorksClearinghouse,2015)
Between an adult and a child or children
At home or in a school-like setting
Questions, connections, vocabulary, conclusions
are all forms of scaffolding that adults provide
during this time
(WhatWorksClearinghouse,2015)

Why should we do it?

Shared Reading activities can
increase a childs story
comprehension, phonological
awareness, and concepts of print
Shared reading is necessary to
obtain the prerequisite skills for
decoding, spelling, and reading
comprehension (Callaghan, 2012)

21 Century Reading
st

What E- reader Companies are

Saying
children will score higher on vocabulary tests
Children will develop more expressive language
E-readers are a superior form of learning due to
the interactive nature (Parrish-Morris, 2013)
Heighten child engagement
Learn to read and write
Children will learn reading, phonics, spelling,
music and math skills (Parrish-Morris, 2013)
Enhance student comprehension of stories

What parents think

Survey says
91% of parents believe that educational toys
(such as e-readers) will advance their childs
learning and help them accelerate to the top
of the pack.
Two-thirds of parents say that talking books
are very important to a childs intellectual
development. (Parrish-Morris, 2013)
Book apps and games are budget friendly
and resource effective (Wooten, 2015)

Should we replace
traditional storybook
reading with ereaders?

What Research Says

For

Against

Motivation will increase Interactive features can

be a distraction
Offers support to
readers that may be
Does not provide the
similar to that of an
same dialogic
adult
experience as
traditional storybook
Reading
comprehension may
reading
increase
Is not a good substitute
(Wooten, 2015)

Recommendations
When studying children who are
using e-readers. It was found that
enhancing features
Such as music, sound affects, and
animated pictures

were beneficial; but, interactive

features
Such as hotspots, games, and
dictionaries

Were distracting (Takacs, 2015)

Future Research
The need for action research directly
comparing traditional shared book
reading and e-book reading.
At home
OR at
school

1 hr with
tradition
al story
book
reading

1 hr with
e-book
reading

Assess

Analyze

Questions

Citations
Callaghan, G., & Madelaine, A. (2012). Levelling the playing field
for kindergarten entry: Research implications for preschool early
literacy instruction. Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, 37(1),
13-23.
Heath, S. B. (1982). What No Bedtime Story Means: Narrative
Skills at Home and School. Language in Society, (1). 49
Parish-Morris, J., Mahajan, N., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R. M., &
Collins, M. F. (2013). Once upon a Time: Parent-Child Dialogue and
Storybook Reading in the Electronic Era. Mind, Brain, And
Education, 7(3), 200-211.
Takacs, Z. K., Swart, E. K., & Bus, A. G. (2015). Benefits and Pitfalls
of Multimedia and Interactive Features in Technology-Enhanced
Storybooks: A Meta-Analysis. Review Of Educational Research,
85(4), 698-739.
What Works Clearinghouse(2015). Shared Book Reading. What
Works Clearinghouse Intervention Report. Updated April 2015.
What Works Clearinghouse, 43.
Wolf, S. A. (2014). Children's Literature on the Digital Move.
Reading Teacher, 67(6), 413-417.

Contact Info

nicole.nerissa.walter@gmail
.com