“Where's the fox? You've got to read the fox.”

An important reminder that young children know how stories work, and are therefore able to use bibliographic and literary knowledge as they set about the task of learning to read books with maturity and competence. Sue Smedley shows four and five year olds working in intellectually demanding ways to recreate stories for themselves and argues that young children have a right to the kinds of books and stories which call for intelligent and imaginative responses.     

The influence of using a word processor on children’s story writing

In this work we tested the hypothesis that using a word processor for some months might produce a shift in the text production strategies used by fourth grade elementary school children. Children were expected to focus more on decisions of higher-order level, and to postpone the lower-order level choices to the revision phase. 51 Italian children attending the fourth elementary school grade participated in the study. 28 children formed the experimental group; they used the computer for various activities throughout the school year. 23 children formed the control group — they simply followed the normal curriculum for that school grade. Comparisons of hand-written Pre-test and Post-test narratives by the two groups showed the existence of significant differences between stories written by the experimental group after the training with the word processor, and by the control group. The results support our hypotheses that experimental children write longer texts but make more grammatical errors than control children. There were instead no relevant differences between hand-written and computer-written stories by the experimental group. This result shows that the shift in strategies induced by the use of a word processor is resistent to a change in setting.     

A linked data-based collaborative annotation system for increasing learning achievements

With the emergence of the Web 2.0, collaborative annotation practices have become more mature in the field of learning. In this context, several recent studies have shown the powerful effects of the integration of annotation mechanism in learning process. However, most of these studies provide poor support for semantically structured resources, more precisely for sharing and linking educational contents using linked data approach. Adopting Semantic Web technologies, this paper proposed a new linked data-based collaborative annotation system called L2OD, which allows students to enrich their annotations with relevant resources retrieved from Linked Open Data clouds. L2OD supports two modes of annotation, a private annotation mode for the user’s individual annotations, and a shared mode for all users’ annotations. The experimentation shows that the learners who have used L2OD have significantly increased their learning achievements referring to the difference between L2OD’s post-test and the control group’s post-test. It also shows significant positive correlations between learning achievements and quantity of private and shared annotations in the experimental group, respectively.     

Remembering and understanding: the effects of changes in underlying knowledge on children's recollections

This study was designed to explore the influence of changes in children's knowledge on earlier constructed memories. Kindergartners' (N = 102) recall of a series of stories was examined as a function of their interpersonal knowledge about the main story character. Children's knowledge about the protagonist was manipulated prior to presentation of the stories, and the effects of their impressions on story recall were examined. A change in some of the children's impressions was then promoted, and the impact of this second knowledge manipulation on recall of previously heard stories was assessed. The results indicated that children's story recall was affected by their prior impressions. Moreover, following the second knowledge manipulation, children revised their story reports in ways that were consistent with their newly acquired impressions, which suggests that they had reconstructed their memories of previously heard stories. These findings provide evidence for both prospective and retrospective effects of knowledge on memory.     

Telling and Retelling Our Stories on the Professional Knowledge Landscape

Drawing on a 3-year study focusing on the shaping influences of the professional knowledge landscape on the personal practical knowledge of experienced teachers, we first explore how stories are shaped as they are told and responded to in different places and, second, explore whether or not this sharing leads to imagining new possibilities for retelling and reliving stories. By sharing and exploring a story of a disagreement between a parent and a teacher, we focus on what we do when we tell stories in schools and what we do when we tell stories off the school landscape. In making meaning from this story, we show that both in the teacher's living of the story with the parent and in her numerous recountings of the story to others on the school landscape, she did not have opportunities to figure out new ways to relive the story. In our research group, she shared her story again. In this telling, we asked her to focus on who she, the mother, and the principal are in the story, and we inquire into what plotlines each were living. We ask questions about how they were positioned as characters in relation to one another. Re-searching the story in this way enabled us to understand the embodied nature of the teacher's knowing and how this knowledge shaped the events of the story as they were lived out, particularly how the teacher's living of a relational story countered the story of teacher and principal as positioned above parent. By drawing on Nelson's work on 'found' and 'chosen' communities, we imagine ways in which schools could become chosen communities where the story of school might be one of fostering the living out of multiple stories. We imagine the stories emerging from such communities might significantly shape the landscape of schools by opening up new possibilities for living in relation with others.     

The Effects of Shared Singing Picture Book Instruction on Chinese Immersion Kindergarteners’ Spoken Vocabulary Recall and Retention

The present study investigates the effects of shared singing of a picture book on the Chinese vocabulary recall and retention of young bilingual learners in Chinese immersion programs using an experimental study design. One hundred and six immersion kindergarteners from three different school districts in the U.S. Midwest were assigned to the experimental group (n = 53) and the control group (n = 53) at the class level. The experimental group listened to a song-based storybook (also known as a story song) and shared in singing it, while the control group heard the same story, read aloud and shared in reading it. The pre-test was administered to determine the participants’ vocabulary level before the study. Immediate and delayed post-tests were used to assess their immediate recall and delayed retention of vocabulary targeted in the shared reading/singing. Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA analysis were employed to examine differences between the two groups in vocabulary recall and retention. The results showed that the experimental group achieved greater improvement in their vocabulary than the control group. This finding suggests that shared singing can be a useful pedagogical tool for spoken vocabulary acquisition and retention in picture books.     

Preschoolers’ learning when pictures do not tell the whole story

Preschool children heard two ten-sentence stories. Each sentence was accompanied by two pictures (one of the subject and one of the object of the sentence), by a picture of the sentence’s subject, by a picture of the sentence’s object, or by no pictures. After presentation of the stories, the children answered questions requiring recall of the sentence objects. Only the two-picture illustration variation produced significantly beffer learning relative to no-picture control performance. This finding held both when children were instructed to make mental images representing the prose and when they simply listened to the text. The results are relevant both to theories of children’s imagery and to practical issues about how to illustrate children’s texts. This research was supported by a grant to the second author from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.     

Click,Swipe, and Read: Sharing e-Books with Toddlers and Preschoolers

e-Books share some key features with traditional printed picture books, but also include distinct features such as live animation, interactive components, and the operation of the technology that require new approaches to shared reading with young children. The purpose of this paper is to better inform adults working with young children (teachers, child care providers, and parents) of important factors to consider when choosing and sharing e-books with young children. We discuss why to share e-books with young children; types of e-books and how to evaluate them; how adults can best support young children’s language and literacy development through shared readings of e-books, including examples of shared readings of an e-book with young children; and an exploration of the potential of e-books to support meaningful interactions around texts.     

Effective practices to enhance immigrant kindergarteners’ second language vocabulary learning through storybook reading

This study examined the impact of direct instruction and interactive instruction on immigrant kindergarten children’s vocabulary learning during storybook reading. (In the present study the terms “immigrants” and “second language learners” are used alternatively meaning kindergarteners from immigrant families who are in the process of acquiring a second language besides their mother tongue.) Eighty seven immigrant kindergarten children, aged 4–6 years old (mean = 61.68 months, standard deviations = .51) were recruited from 12 public kindergarten classrooms located in Crete. Children were acquiring Greek as a second language. The immigrant children of the 12 kindergarten classrooms were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. During the intervention phase, six stories were read twice in whole group settings. Target and non-target words were assessed by multiple choice vocabulary measure before and after the storybook readings. In the first experimental group, children were provided brief explanations of target words by direct instruction. In the second experimental group, children were involved actively in discussing target words according to interactive instruction techniques. In the control group stories were read without any explanation of target vocabulary. Results showed that interactive instruction was more beneficial on target vocabulary learning than direct instruction and the impact was greater for instructed words than for uninstructed ones. In addition, results showed that boys and girls responded differently to the teaching procedures. Specifically, in both conditions where teaching procedures were implemented, girls outperformed boys on instructed words. Furthermore, children’s initial level in Greek receptive vocabulary and target word knowledge had a significant impact on target word learning.     

Modeling the Early Paths of Phonological Awareness and Factors Supporting its Development in Children With and Without Familial Risk of Dyslexia

The development of phonological awareness (PA) before school age was modeled in association with the development of vocabulary and letter knowledge, home literacy environment (HLE), children's reading interest, and beginning reading skill in children with and without familial risk of dyslexia. A total of 186 children were followed from birth to the age of 6.5 years. Of these children, about half had a familial background of reading difficulties (the at-risk group), and the other half came from families without such background (the control group). The data from several measures and assessment time points were analyzed within an SEM framework, and a latent analysis of growth curves was employed. Vocabulary and letter knowledge were found to predict PA development, and vice versa, PA predicted them. The effect of HLE on PA was mediated by vocabulary skills, and of the HLE variables, the only variable predicting vocabulary development was shared reading. In spite of the difference in level, favoring the controls, the pattern of effects of vocabulary and letter knowledge on PA development was highly similar in children with and without familial risk for dyslexia. However, in the at-risk group, the HLE variables and children's reading interest had stronger associations with each other and with skill development than in the control group, and vocabulary predicted parental reports on children's reading interest in the at-risk group only.     

Environmental learning in online social networks: adopting environmentally responsible behaviors

Online social networks are increasingly important information and communication tools for young people and for the environmental movement. Networks may provide the motivation for young adults to increase environmental behaviors by increasing their knowledge of environmental issues and of the specific actions they can take to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This study examined an application within Facebook.com – the largest online social network in the world – that allowed users to post climate change news stories from other websites and comment on those stories. A survey revealed that users of the social networking application reported above average knowledge of climate change science and that self‐reported environmental behaviors increased during young people's involvement with the Facebook application. Focus groups indicated that peer role modeling through interaction on the site motivated pro‐environmental behaviors, that is, behavior that seeks to minimize the negative impact of one's actions on the natural and built world. Participation in a community of like‐minded users spurred many participants to learn more about climate change and do more to limit its impact.     

The Effect of Listening to Excerpts from Children’s Stories about Mexican-Americans on the Attitudes of Sixth Graders

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of listening to excerpts from children's stories about Mexican-Americans upon 1) attitudes toward Mexican-Americans, 2) self-concepts, and 3) reading interests. The sample consisted of 220 sixth graders who were classified by sex and ethnicity and randomly divided into experimental and control groups. Once weekly for six weeks, children heard story excerpts and responded to the Interest Questionnaire. After six weeks, children were given an ethnic attitude measure and a selfesteem inventory. ANOVA results revealed that treatment promoted positive ethnic attitudes inconsistently and had no significant effect upon self-concept or interest scores.     

Visual processing of pictures and letters in alphabet books and the implications for letter learning

Alphabet books as studied in this research typically highlight one letter per page combined with a depiction of a word that begins with the letter (e.g., a bear illustrates B). This study tests whether children’s letter knowledge improves as a result of alphabet book sharing and how the visual processing of pictures and letters affects learning from repeated alphabet book readings. The study is designed as a randomized control trial in which participants were assigned to one of two experimental groups (N = 30) or a control group (N = 15). Half of the experimental group received version A in which the letters A–L were illustrated with anthropomorphic figures and the letters M–Z with objects. Half received version B in which the letters A–L were illustrated with objects and the letters M–Z with anthropomorphic figures. Mean age of the children was 57.6 months (SD = 3.6). While sharing the alphabet book we registered children’s eye movements in the first and fourth (last) reading session. Alphabet book reading stimulated letter knowledge although the make-up of the alphabet book moderated the effects. Relatively more visual attention to pictures of anthropomorphic figures interfered with learning letters from alphabet book sharing. Visual attention to letters also predicted letter knowledge and learning. Only a small part of each letter attracted children’s attention and the briefer their fixations on this distinctive area, the more letters they knew at the pretest and were able to learn from alphabet book sharing.     

Young Children,Television & Learning: Part II. Comparison of the effects of reading and story telling by the teacher and television story viewing

Three groups of 6‐ to 7‐year old children were used to compare the effects of stories read by a teacher with stories viewed on educational television. Weekly, for ten weeks, a story was read to Group A while the same story was seen on television by Groups B and C, Group B being prepared for the story by the teacher and given appropriate follow‐on. Questioning for understanding and recall showed that, at the end of the ten weeks, the largest gains were made by the Group B children, who showed improvement in their classification ability and in application of their understanding to domains beyond the confines of the immediate story structure. Television was preferred by the children for its pictures, movement and action, and generated more detailed understanding and recall, but only when the stories were interpreted and rationalised by the teacher. Video recorder replay is helpful, and teachers need to be taught how best to manage story‐telling with young children     

MEDICAL ADHERENCE AND AGING: SOCIAL AND COGNITIVE PERSPECTIVES By Denise C. Park & Linda L. Liu (Editors)

This article describes a unique intergenerational project that involves senior citizens in elementary education. The real‐life experiences of the elderly contain many valuable lessons for today's young children when developed into thematic stories and delivered in exciting dramatic form. Participants underwent training and development over a 4‐week period and then shared their stories in elementary school classrooms with groups of children ranging in size from 15 to 175. The stages of project development are described and the technique utilized to develop the storytelling skills of elders is discussed. The project outcomes relative to the storytellers, school administrators, teachers, and students were overwhelmingly positive.     

Minimal Groups Increase Young Children's Motivation and Learning on Group‐Relevant Tasks

Three experiments (N = 130) used a minimal group manipulation to show that just perceived membership in a social group boosts young children's motivation for and learning from group‐relevant tasks. In Experiment 1, 4‐year‐old children assigned to a minimal “puzzles group” persisted longer on a challenging puzzle than children identified as the “puzzles child” or children in a control condition. Experiment 2 showed that this boost in motivation occurred only when the group was associated with the task. In Experiment 3, children assigned to a minimal group associated with word learning learned more words than children assigned an analogous individual identity. The studies demonstrate that fostering shared motivations may be a powerful means by which to shape young children's academic outcomes.     

Effects of televised modeling and active participation on rule-governed question production among native American preschool children

Preschool native-American children were randomly assigned to observation of TV modeling only, observation of TV modeling plus active participation, and control conditions to determine if providing an opportunity to perform behaviors displayed by televised models is more effective than observational learning alone in inducing preschool children's rule-governed production of causal questions. Performance of both experimental groups was significantly superior to controls at posttesting, but only the TV plus active participation group surpassed controls at retention testing. The TV modeling plus participation group asked significantly more causal questions than the TV modeling only group on posttest and retention trials. Implications are discussed for social learning theory and research for instructional programming for minority group children who are faced with the requirements of two cultures.     

Role models and student attitudes toward nontraditional careers

This study investigated the immediate and delayed attitudinal effects of presenting ninth-grade students with career information and role models in two media forms, slide/tape and print. On an immediate measure, both the slide/tape and print treatments had a significant positive effect on student attitudes toward the suitability of nontraditional careers for both men and women. Students also had more positive attitudes toward nontraditional careers included in their treatment than toward those not included. Attitudes of the print and slide/tape groups did not differ significantly from each other. None of the significant differences were sustained on a delayed test administered 8 days later. Several interactions related to gender of student and job were found. More comprehensive programs involving multiple role models and other career-related activities are recommended to increase the probability of long-term changes in attitudes toward the appropriateness of nontraditional careers.     

Effects of auditory perception training on reading achievement

This study investigated the effect of an auditory training programme with backward readers who were also deficient in one or more auditory perceptual subskills. Thirty subjects were randomly assigned to one of three groups. The experimental group received a nine hour taped programme devised by the experimenter and designed to teach the skills of auditory discrimination, memory, analysis and synthesis and auditory-visual integration. The comparison group listened to stories on tape for the same duration as the experimental group, while the third group served as a control merely being tested at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. It was found that although the training programme significantly improved the performance of the experimental group over the other two groups on a total auditory perceptual test, there was no corresponding improvement in reading, on word recognition or comprehension tests. The particular auditory subskills which appeared amenable to training were auditory discrimination (rhyme) and auditory synthesis (blending and closure).     

Children's developing awareness of diversity in people's trains of thought

This research explored the development of one insight about the mind, namely, the belief that people's trains of thought differ even when they see the same stimulus. In Study 1, 5-year-olds, 9-year-olds, and adults heard stories about characters who saw the same object. Although the older groups predicted the object would trigger different trains of thought, most 5-year-olds did not. In Study 2, 5-year-olds (preschoolers and kindergartners) and 7-year-olds heard similar stories, plus stories with additional individuating information about each character. With age, children increasingly recognized that thoughts would differ and could explain why. The development of this insight during the school years likely provides children with a more complete understanding of what it means to be a unique individual.