Young children draw from verbal and nonverbal input to make meaning from texts, a skill that is foundational for later reading comprehension and academic achievement. However, prior studies have focused solely on teachers' verbal input during prekindergarten read-alouds. We examine four Black, female prekindergarten teachers' multimodal enactments…

Today's classrooms are more linguistically diverse than ever, but many educators still feel underprepared to support multilingual learners in accessing grade-level academic content. Without intentional scaffolding, these students miss opportunities to thrive alongside their peers. Through nine scaffolded approaches--instructional, linguistic,…

Minimal expressions are at the heart of interaction: Interjections like "Huh?" and "Mhm" keep conversations flowing by establishing and reinforcing intersubjectivity among interlocutors. Crosslinguistic research has identified that similar interactional pressures can yield structurally similar words (e.g., to initiate repair…

"StoryMaking" is a first-to-market book celebrating the multimodal literacies and learning that are demonstrated by young children as they imagine, play, make, and share their stories. It encourages inquiry-based play to develop literacy, and combines: (1) Story-retelling and story creation; (2) the Maker Movement--a creative and…