Previous research has attested to the power of metaphor-rich stories to enable resilience during individual therapy, but this has not been researched in a group context. We aimed to ascertain if the reading of brief stories in a group setting, with no other therapeutic intervention, would prove to be a valuable, inexpensive and accessible…

This study investigated the home literacy environments (HLEs) of 4-year-old children attending an early childhood program prior to school entry and the association between the HLE and children's interests in and attitudes to literacy. One hundred and thirty-eight parents and 140 children participated in the study. Parents completed a questionnaire…

Stephenie Meyer's "Twilight" offers readers romance, mystery, suspense, and action. This young adult novel tells the story of the forbidden relationship between Bella and Edward, exploring complexities that cause readers to consider how love involves sacrifice and choice. "Twilight," a Best Book for Young Adults and Quick-Pick for Reluctant Young…

With dramatic changes and recent advances in multimedia, digital technologies through computers propose new ways for introducing kids to the literacy. Literacy educators have stated that traditional printed books are not sufficient and electronic books have the potential to change reading skills. As a valuable tool in educational settings new and…

The purpose of this study was to examine children's reading engagement and communicative initiations when they were read storybooks in varying media and reading manners, with a focus on understanding the way electronic storybooks (e-storybooks) may affect young children's shared reading experiences. The reading behaviors of 25 preschool-aged…

In 2007, the United Animal Nations (UAN) launched the Humane Education Ambassador Readers (HEAR), an innovation that focused on mitigation of animal suffering through education. In the HEAR program, adult volunteers read carefully selected story books to children in grades 3-6 in schools or other educational settings, and hold discussions with the…

A fun part of the curriculum that the authors used in their Media Literacy instruction was comparing written creations to the mediation of the same content. The material they used included poetry, such as Robert Frost poems, and short stories, including the work of O. Henry and Arthur Conan Doyle. Many media works are available where the producers…

Evidence strongly supports shared book-reading (SBR) as an opportune intervention for developing early literacy and language development in at-risk preschool-aged children. Many teachers of high-risk preschoolers, however, lack the instructional skills and evidence-based strategies essential for the most effective storybook experience.…

A basic challenge for research into the neurobiology of language is understanding how the brain combines words to make complex representations. Linguistic theory divides this task into several computations including syntactic structure building and semantic composition. The close relationship between these computations, however, poses a strong…

Preschool teachers and early childhood professionals know that storybook reading is important, but they may not know how to maximize its benefits for later reading achievement. This indispensable guide presents research-based techniques for using reading aloud to intentionally and systematically build children's knowledge of print. Simple yet…

The early reading process can be viewed as triadic, encompassing the child, the parents and the environment. We examine the impact of each of these three components on children's participation in home reading activities as perceived by their parents. The results obtained from a questionnaire completed by parents of Grade 1 children, with and…

Songs and stories have a strong relationship to each other and have the capacity to boost brain development, increase vocabulary, and promote future academic success. The sounds and foundational structures of reading and singing provide young children with successful pathways for advancing language skills, increasing memory, and promoting emerging…

Collaboration and the appreciation for multiple perspectives have become increasingly important. The current political and economic condition in the United States and globally has exemplified the urgency for people of many different backgrounds and ideologies to work together to find solutions to world problems such as climate change and economic…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shared reading experience between parent and child in the child's home language on the emergent literacy and language acquisition in English of preschool-age English Language Learners. Parents of Spanish-speaking four-year-old Head Start students read storybooks in Spanish with their…

In a randomized control study, Head Start teachers were assigned to either an intervention group that received intensive, ongoing professional development (PD) or to a comparison group that received the "business as usual" PD provided by Head Start. The PD intervention provided teachers with conceptual knowledge and instructional…