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Early literacy interventions: The relative roles of storybook reading, alphabetic activities, and their combination

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Abstract

The study examined the differential contributions on vocabulary and alphabetic skills of three literacy programs: (a) storybook reading program; (b) alphabetic skills program; and (c) a combined program. It was expected that storybook reading would enhance primarily vocabulary while alphabetic skills training would promote primarily alphabetic skills. Program by age interactions were examined in two age groups (3–4 and 4–5 years old) to test whether the storybook reading program may be more productive for the younger children whereas alphabetic skills program more productive for the older children. Twelve low-SES preschools participated in the study, three in each program and three as a comparison group. Results indicated that the children in the three intervention programs progressed significantly more than the comparison group on name writing, letter knowledge and phonological awareness. Further, the alphabetic skills program outperformed the other groups on word writing, letter knowledge and initial letter retrieval, whereas the storybook reading program outperformed only the comparison group. Results on the combined program were mixed – enhancing more initial letter retrieval and book vocabulary than storybook reading program. In general, no differences emerged in the progress of younger versus older children except on receptive vocabulary – the younger surpassing the older in all programs.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Price-Brody Initiative, Tel Aviv University, Israel. Warm thanks are extended to Dee Ankonina for her editorial contribution.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    DORIT ARAM

  2. School of Education, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel

    DORIT ARAM

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  1. DORIT ARAM
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Correspondence to DORIT ARAM.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Examples of storybook reading and alphabetic skills program sessions

Storybook reading program

Session No. 1 (out of four): “A cat on the mat” by Brian Wildsmith
  1. 1.

    Show the children the book cover and ask them to guess about its subject (A cat sitting alone on a mat is progressively joined by more and more animals until it hisses them all away). Who is the book’s main character? How do I know? Where is the author’s name written? Where do I see the book’s name?

  2. 2.

    Read the book’s name aloud and ask the children to predict the story. “Now, what do you think this book will be about?”

  3. 3.

    Read the story aloud, showing the illustrations.

  4. 4.

    Discuss difficult words with the children.

  5. 5.

    Discuss crowdedness and spaciousness: Play a game with the children practicing these concepts. To the sound of a gong, ask the children to stand very close to each other and then, at the next sound of the gong, ask them to spread themselves around the room.

  6. 6.

    Discuss situations of crowdedness: When do I experience crowdedness and how do I feel in these situations?

  7. 7.

    Read the story aloud.

Session No. 2: “A cat on the mat” by Brian Wildsmith
  1. 1.

    Show the book to the children and ask them to share memories, to recall what the story is about.

  2. 2.

    Read the story aloud, showing the illustrations.

  3. 3.

    Go through the pages and, at each page, ask the children to tell the story and to answer whether the cat was pleased when a new animal came to join it.

  4. 4.

    Discuss features of the animals (size, color, preferred food, habitat, etc.).

  5. 5.

    Dramatize the story. Encourage children to tell the story and play the different animals.

Alphabetic skills program

Session No. 3: “Me and my name” (a session held twice during the 3rd week of the program)
  1. 1.

    On the table, spread out photographs of the children in the group (taken and developed by the teacher earlier) and pre-prepared cards of their printed names. Add two photographs and two printed names of classmates who do not belong to their small group.

  2. 2.

    Ask the children if they see photographs of children who are not in their group. After the children find the photographs, ask their help in finding the printed names of these children.

  3. 3.

    Ask the children: How do I know which printed name belongs to a child? Suggest: I can check if I know the letters. If not, I can count the letters in each printed name, say the name aloud and try and figure out which name is longer. I can say, “Listen, the name Odelia sounds longer then the name Gil. Odelia is written with more letters; I see six letters in the name Odelia and only three in the name Gil.”

  4. 4.

    When the “mystery” is solved, ask each child to take his/her own photograph and printed name. Encourage the children to count the letters in their names and put a sticker over each letter.

  5. 5.

    Play a memory matching game with the children, using the photographs and the printed names of the children in the group and including the two children whose photographs and names were added that day.

Session No. 4: “Me and my name” (held twice during the 4th week of the program)
  1. 1.

    On the table, spread out the photographs of the children in the group and the cards with their printed names. Add printed cards with the first letters of each name. Ask each child to pick up his/her photograph and printed name.

  2. 2.

    Holding a pile of stickers that display the letters of the alphabet, tell the children: “I want to give you the first letter of your name. Can you help me and tell me which letter I need to give you?” If a child does not know to name the letter, ask the child to point to it on the letter cards that are on the table. If the child does not know, show him/her the letter and name it.

  3. 3.

    Give each child the sticker with the first letter of his/her name while saying it aloud. For example: “Here is I. I is the first letter in the name Iris.”

  4. 4.

    Spread letter stickers of different sizes and colors out on the table and let the children find several stickers displaying their initial letter. Ask the children to adhere several stickers with their initial letter around their printed name.

  5. 5.

    The session ends with each child saying his/her name, the first syllable of the name, the first letter, and goodbye (e.g., “My name is Maria, my name starts with ma, with the letter M, goodbye”).

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ARAM, D. Early literacy interventions: The relative roles of storybook reading, alphabetic activities, and their combination. Read Writ 19, 489–515 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-006-9005-2

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