Young Exceptional Children
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Planning Literacy Environments for Diverse Preschoolers
Lindsay R. Dennis, Sharon A. Lynch and Nancy Stockall
Young Exceptional Children 2012 15: 3 originally published online 21 March 2012
DOI: 10.1177/1096250612437745
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YEC
Planning Literacy Environments
for Diverse Preschoolers
A
Lindsay R. Dennis, PhD
Florida State University
Sharon A. Lynch, EdD
Nancy Stockall, PhD
Sam Houston State University
licia has been teaching
preschool children with
disabilities for a number of
years and she always takes a special
interest in promoting literacy for all
of the children in her classroom.
This requires a great deal of
creativity to meet the diverse needs
of the learners, but she is committed
to making children’s literature
accessible and meaningful for all
children. Alicia knows that her
students will gain an important
foundation for literacy long before
they are able to identify letters and
letter sounds. Next year will be
somewhat different as she will be
teaming with Meghan, the pre-K
teacher, in an inclusive preschool
program. As she reflects on their
classroom, Alicia begins thinking of
all of the things that she and
Meghan will need to consider in
setting up their classroom learning
environment so that all children can
participate meaningfully.
Emergent literacy is defined as
the developmental process beginning
at birth in which children acquire
the foundation for reading and
writing (Sulzby, 1986; Sulzby &
Teale, 1991; Whitehurst & Lonigan,
1998, 2001), including language,
listening comprehension, concepts of
print, alphabetic knowledge, and
phonological awareness. The
environment within which emergent
literacy skills develop is also an
important consideration (Sénéchal
& LeFevre, 2001; Strickland &
Shanahan, 2004; Whitehurst &
Lonigan, 1998, 2001). Children
who are immersed in literacy-rich
environments learn about language,
reading, and writing by participating
in meaningful activities such as
handling books and listening to
stories read aloud (Katims, 1994).
Teachers like Alicia and Meghan
recognize the impact that books and
book reading can have in the
development of early literacy skills for
young children. They also realize that
teachers are responsible for ensuring
that children are exposed to literacy
and literacy-related concepts
(Bingham & Pennington, 2007).
Preparing the classroom, selecting
appropriate books, and engaging the
children during book reading sessions
are all important aspects of good
literacy practice. This article discusses
these considerations for teachers of
young children.
Preparing the
Classroom
Literacy experiences for young
children can be intentionally built
into many of the commonly
occurring routines of a preschool
DOI: 10.1177/1096250612437745
http://yec.sagepub.com
© 2012 Division for Early Childhood
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3
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
“
Preschool teachers must
create meaningful
activities, experiences,
Classroom Library Center
and opportunities that
promote the acquisition of
emerging literacy skills
important for all children,
including children with
developmental delays or
disabilities.
”
4
YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
classroom such as circle time,
centers or free play, and storybook
reading. Preschool teachers must
create meaningful activities,
experiences, and opportunities that
promote the acquisition of emerging
literacy skills important for all
children, including children with
developmental delays or disabilities
(Johnston, McDonnell, & Hawken,
2008). Here we emphasize the role
of literacy as it is integrated into a
classroom environment. The
following section provides
suggestions that Alicia and Meghan
can use as they arrange their
classroom to meet the needs of all
children in their class.
Setting up a library center offers
multiple opportunities to interact
with books and stories. A well-lit
area of the room with natural
lighting is preferable as it helps
children to clearly view the pictures
and text. An exclusive area for the
book center (Cunningham, 2010)
positioned in a location that is away
from distracting noises and active
play can provide an interactive
environment for language learning
and early print experiences
(Strickland & Schickedanz, 2009).
However, books should be
accessible in all centers within the
classroom (Cunningham, 2010;
Strickland & Schickedanz, 2009).
For example, if the class is studying
a particular style of art, such as
watercolors, books that contain
illustrations that utilize watercolors
could be made available in the art
center. In addition, books that
include pictures of and descriptions
about fruits and vegetables could be
made available in the dramatic play
center when studying healthy habits.
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Make sure that the books are
displayed so that the cover of each
book is visible to the children.
Audio books support children’s
listening comprehension and
promote an interest in reading
(Jalongo, 2007). Teaching children
to use the tape recorder or CD
player to listen to books helps them
become independent learners and
allows them to practice reading as
often as they desire (Grover &
Hannegan, 2005). Alicia and
Meghan may want to read the
reviews on audio books before
purchasing them for their center.
Some print review sources include
Audio Books on the Go, Words on
Cassette, Audio File, Booklist,
Library Journal Publishers Weekly
and Bookpage (Jalongo, 2007). It is
also important to provide book
holders so that all children can
manipulate and see pictures in the
book regardless of their motor
development level. Book holders are
typically made from light plastic
with adjustable clips designed to
hold a book open. They can be
purchased at most office supply
stores. Big picture books on a
tabletop easel help to display the
pictures at the children’s eye level
and magnifying sheets enhance the
print in books, and are easy to use.
A comfortable, supported
seating arrangement is important for
all but particularly for children who
have physical disabilities that affect
posture and muscle tone. If children
are sitting together in the book
center, allow the child who uses a
wheelchair to sit on the floor
perhaps snuggled in the corner with
several large pillows for stabilization
(Watson & McCathren, 2009).
Make sure the legs of children with
physical impairments are protected
by pillows to avoid injury in case
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
other children trip and fall on them.
Sitting at eye level with other
students encourages conversations
among children and the teacher.
Pictures in the book center help
to show a variety of images that
foster children’s language and
vocabulary development. Consider
using a theme in the book center,
such as insects. Then display various
books on the topic and decorate the
walls with photographs of insects.
The pictures should be placed on the
wall at eye level to the children so
they can be referred to when
children peruse the books. Research
has shown that thematic teaching is
effective in promoting vocabulary
and language development, which
are foundational for literacy
development (Wasik & Bond, 2001;
Wasik, Bond, & Hindman, 2006).
Teachers can rotate their centers
every few weeks to provide
opportunities for children to
experience new concepts and books.
However, if teachers prefer, they
can organize their book centers that
are geared toward the children’s
interests and experiences without
using a specific theme.
Having a writing center adjacent
to the book center allows children
to use the books as references and
models for emergent writing. A wide
variety of writing instruments and
paper encourages writing for
different purposes (Cunningham,
2010). Some examples might include
colored pencils and fine line markers
to encourage children to add detail
to their drawings and print
representations. Different textured
materials, for example, templates or
tools such as sandpaper letters and
rubber stamps to form letters, also
encourage the creation of various
art elements. The key to a strong
writing center is engaging children
to talk while drawing and writing.
Children often represent their ideas
of movement or gesture using
different marks or words describing
actions (Wright, 2007). The more
materials available, the more likely
the child will create detailed
drawings and stories that can be
made into personalized texts or
illustrated books. Supportive literacy
environments integrate drawing,
writing, and early literacy across the
curriculum (Inan, 2009).
Book Reading
Many activities within preschool
classrooms support early literacy
development, but perhaps one of the
most powerful is book reading.
Reading books aloud to children was
recognized by the National Early
Literacy Panel (2009) as an effective
practice for improving child
outcomes in language and literacy.
Furthermore, reading books to
children (a) provides opportunities
for multiple exposures to words and
related concepts, (b) allows for
connections between content-area
knowledge and/or academic
language, and (c) aids in the
development of a strong oral
language foundation (PollardDurodola et al., 2011). Books
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Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
“
Teachers need to know
their students and their
backgrounds so that they
can locate books to which
the children can relate.
”
provide a meaningful context for
learning to read and can assist in the
development of technical reading
skills, even for prereaders (Mol &
Bus, 2011). Through experiences
with books, children develop an
understanding about the forms and
functions of print, for example,
knowledge of the individual letters of
the alphabet (alphabet knowledge)
and the directionality of print in
books (print-concept knowledge)
(McGinty & Justice, 2009). Finally,
access to books that children have
heard before, either through group or
individual readings, encourages
children to want to pick up that
book and “read” it on their own.
Taken together, book reading creates
the context for high-quality literacy
experiences for all children.
Selecting Appropriate
Books
As Alicia and Meghan select
books for their library center, they
want to ensure the books are
appropriate and meaningful to all
the children in their classroom. The
children represent a range of
backgrounds, including those who
are culturally and linguistically
diverse, those with identified
disabilities as well as children who
are typically developing. The
following sections provide important
considerations about
multiculturalism, gender, and
disability that Alicia and Meghan
should make when choosing books.
Books Considering
Multiculturalism
According to the National
Center for Education Statistics
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Report on the Status and Trends in
the Education of Racial and Ethnic
Minorities (U.S. Department of
Education, 2007), the diversity of
the U.S. schoolchildren will increase
in the coming years. This report
estimates that by 2020,
approximately 41% of school-age
children will be minorities. With
such a diverse group of
schoolchildren, it is important for
books in the classroom to reflect the
diversity of the children. Regardless
of whether the teacher will read the
books to the children or whether the
children will look at the books
independently in the classroom
library center, the characters and
experiences in the books should be
relevant and interesting.
There are a number of points
for teachers such as Meghan and
Alicia to keep in mind when
selecting books that appeal to
learners from diverse backgrounds.
Topics and stories need to be
familiar to the students or present a
relevant knowledge base for young
learners to build upon. It is often a
challenge to find books that are
culturally connected to the lives of
students, and the presence of a few
words in another language does not
guarantee that the book is relevant
to the children who will read it
(Vardell, Hadaway, & Young,
2006). Harvey and Goudvis (2007)
emphasized the importance of
relevance to the lives of the children
so that learners can make
connections with text as they read.
Teachers need to know their
students and their backgrounds so
that they can locate books to which
the children can relate. Translating
familiar children’s stories into
Spanish does not necessarily mean
that the children will be able to
identify with the characters and
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
Table 1
Considerations for Selecting Multicultural Literature
Questions to Ask
Example for Evaluation
1. How are characters outside the mainstream culture represented?
2. Does the story depict significant and specific cultural information?
Is it accurate?
3. Which characters in the story hold the power? How is that power
used?
4. How is language used to represent people of a particular group?
5. How does the illustrator use artistic elements to create images of
characters or events?
6. Whose voices are heard? Whose voices are missing?
7. What are the consequences of certain behaviors? What behaviors
are rewarded or punished?
Children are portrayed has having individual personalities, likes and
dislikes, and/or temperaments.
Families are represented in multiple forms such as single parent, two
same-sex parents, and/or the traditional structure.
Power or influence is shared among the characters (adults learn from
children as well as children learning from adults).
Different dialects and/or languages are presented among people of
various groups.
The illustrator uses art elements such as lines, shapes, colors, textures,
and composition to enhance multiple perspectives of the events,
settings, or plot of the story.
The first narrator is not the only voice in the story that is heard.
Thoughts and ideas and personalities of subordinate characters
should also be heard.
Actions or nonactions of characters are not simply right or wrong. There
exist shades of meaning and different values within the story.
events in the story. The
International Children’s Digital
Library (http://en.childrenslibrary.
org) is a great source to help
teachers and parents select books
that reflect a diversity of cultures
and languages. In addition, selecting
books that contain key words in the
primary language of the child
complements a child’s overall
development of linguistic abilities
(Minaya-Rowe, 2004).
Research indicates that
development of the home language
establishes a foundation for other
languages (Cummins, 1979; Nixon
& McCardle, 2007; Uccelli & Páez,
2007). In addition, the language in
the books should be simple and
direct, particularly for English
Language Learners (ELLs) (Piker &
Rex, 2011). To increase
understanding and relevance to the
children, it is important for books to
have illustrations that support the
content (Silverman, 2007). This is
especially important for nonfiction
and poetry as they are not presented
in a predictable story format. Table 1
provides questions that Alicia and
Meghan should ask themselves when
selecting multicultural literature.
Books Considering Gender
Another consideration related to
diversity is the potentially sexist
content found in many children’s
books. Sexism may be blatant in
older books such as I’m Glad I’m a
Boy! I’m Glad I’m a Girl (Darrow,
1970), which presents phrases such
as, “Boys are doctors–girls are
nurses” and “Boys fix things–girls
need things fixed.” Modern
examples of sexism are often subtle,
such as illustrations where the male
is the driver and the female the
passenger, or where the male is
leaving the house and the female
waving at the doorway (Care,
Deans, & Brown, 2007).
There are a number of children’s
books with strong, authentic, and
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Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
unbiased portrayals of characters
with diverse backgrounds. Books
such as And Tango Makes Three
(Richardson & Parnell, 2005) take
contemporary issues like family
diversity and present it in a readable
and authentic prose. Other children’s
books like Nappy Hair (Herron,
1997) embrace diversity. In Herron’s
book, she conveys the message in a
familiar call and response narration
that engages young listeners
throughout the book. Fiesta Babies
(Tafolla & Cordova, 2010) merges
multiculturalism with phonemic
awareness skills through rhymes and
colorful illustrations. Because
preschoolers’ interpretation of race,
gender, and ethnicity mediates the
meanings they construct from books
and illustrations (Chick, HeilmanHouser, & Hunter, 2002; Mendoza
& Reese, 2001), teachers can
consider selecting books such as
these to promote children’s
understanding of diversity.
Meghan and Alicia will need to
examine their books for possible
stereotypes of characters and themes
by gender traits. Taylor (2003)
analyzed the characters and themes
in children’s books according to
traditional gender roles. Feminine
traits in this analysis were
“submissive,” “dependent,”
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“emotional,” “receptive,”
“intuitive,” “weak,” “unintelligent,”
“passive,” “content,” “cooperative,”
and “sensitive.” In contrast, the
masculine stereotypes were
characterized by other traits:
“dominant,” “independent,”
“intelligent,” “rational,” “assertive,”
“analytical,” “strong,” “brave,”
“ambitious,” “active,”
“competitive,” “insensitive,” and
“aggressive.” While some teachers
may view the analysis of books for
sexist content as simply a reflection
of the cultural reality of society and
the prevalence of sexism in children’s
literature (Tsao, 2008; Worland,
2008), it is critical to recognize that
young children are in their formative
stages of acquiring their gender
concepts, and teachers need to
purposefully evaluate the messages
that they may be sending in the
books that they offer them (Taylor,
2003). Therefore, teachers need to
ask critical questions about the texts
they select for the classroom
(Mendoza & Reese, 2001).
Books Considering Disability
Young children, including those
with developmental disabilities,
often have short attention spans
(Akshoomoff, 2002). Therefore, it is
important for teachers to select
books with an amount of text on
each page that is consistent with
their children’s ability to attend. In
addition, books with clear realistic
pictures that are related to the
children’s experiences help to aid in
comprehension. Because language
development is an important issue,
the teacher needs to select books
that are developmentally
appropriate in relation to children’s
language comprehension abilities.
They should select books that are at
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
“
Children with and without
disabilities respond to
books that are familiar to
them as well as books
that are predictable.
”
their children’s language level, or
just above it, with sentence length,
vocabulary, and language
complexity that are consistent with
the developmental level of the
children in the class (Blok, 1999;
Pollard-Durodola et al., 2011).
For children with visual
impairments, there are books with
Braille overlays so that the child can
feel the Braille while the nondisabled
peers look at the pictures. Children
with low vision who will read print
need high contrast print, bold font,
adequate spacing between lines, and
plenty of white space on the page
(Heward, 2009). They also benefit
from clear, realistic pictures on a
light background.
Abstract language use can be
difficult for children who are deaf or
have hearing impairments (American
Speech-Language-Hearing
Association, 2011); therefore,
teachers need to be intentional in
providing synonyms, giving
explanations, and making references
to pictures in the book as they read.
Teachers can use these same
techniques for words with multiple
meanings and figurative language
which can be difficult for deaf
children (Heward, 2009). In
addition, books that include sign
language can also be used so that
teachers and children can become
familiar with and incorporate
common signs into their everyday
routines.
Children with and without
disabilities respond to books that
are familiar to them as well as
books that are predictable. Zipprich,
Grace, and Grote-Garcia (2009)
found that books that had been read
during story time were
independently chosen by the
children with disabilities during free
time more often than unfamiliar
books. The same study also found
that books classified as familiar and
predictable were chosen more often
by children with disabilities as
compared with books that were
familiar, yet not predictable. Books
that are “predictable” are those
containing rhythmical, repetitive
patterns and/or have authentic
dependable story structures or plots
(Katims, 1994). Examples of these
types of books include Brown Bear,
Brown Bear, What Do You See by
Bill Martin (1967) and A Very
Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
(1969), which contain features of
repetitive words and/or phrases and
the predictable characteristic of the
sequence of numbers and days of
the week, respectively.
Engaging Children
During Book Reading
Reading books to children is
just one of many activities that
preschool teachers can employ
within their classrooms to facilitate
early literacy skill development for
young children. However, reading
books does not have to be a passive
activity where children are quiet
listeners and teachers do all the
talking. Alicia and Meghan are
interested in making their book
reading sessions more interactive
and ultimately more beneficial for
all their children. The following
sections provide strategies for how
they can enhance book reading
sessions through active engagement
of the children. Alicia and Meghan
can certainly utilize these strategies
during large group reading sessions,
or they may consider implementing
them during small group or one-onone book reading with children as
well.
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Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
Strategies for Using Books and/
or Props
Often young children,
particularly those with language
delays, have better language
comprehension than language
expression. They may not be able to
formulate an answer to a question
about a story, but they often can
complete sentences to respond, fill
in last word of the text read orally,
or select pictures to respond to the
story. Teachers can bring objects
associated with the books to the
book reading session to help the
children better relate to the story.
For example, when reading the story
If You Give a Mouse a Cookie
(Numeroff, 1985), you could bring
in little stuffed mice and plastic
cookies. In addition, some books
come with stuffed animals that
represent the characters in the text.
Books also can include a “story
box” with real objects placed in a
box, basket, or ziplock bag (Day,
McDonnell, & Heathfield, 2010).
Children with visual impairments
can feel and manipulate these
objects while the story is read. This
helps to develop their fine motor
and object manipulation skills.
Books that contain different textures
can be used with hand-over-hand
support to assist the child in
exploring the book. Large print and
Braille materials should also be
available for the young child with
visual impairments (McKenzie,
2009). Alicia and Meghan will want
to remember to label items within
the child’s reach using large print or
Braille. Moreover, it is especially
important for teachers to employ
the use of learning media
assessments for students with visual
and multiple impairments. Learning
media assessments are designed to
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assess the best reading format for a
student such as Braille, large print,
audio, or a combination of media.
This allows assessment-based
decisions to be made regarding
literacy programs for this student
population (McKenzie, 2007).
Because children who are deaf
or hard-of-hearing also need
mediated literacy experiences,
DesJardin and Ambrose (2010)
recommended that adults label items
in the book, discuss events and
characters, use open-ended
questioning techniques before and
after reading, and link concepts in
the book with the child’s life
experiences. They also stress the
importance of teaching new
vocabulary within the context of
shared story reading because this
group of children benefit from
instruction within a meaningful
context. As Alicia and Megan read
stories in their classrooms, they can
name objects shown on each page
after reading the text and relate
these items to common classroom or
home experiences. For example, in
reading Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie
(Esbaum, 2009), Alicia and Megan
can name the pictures of seeds,
plants or sprouts, stems, and roots.
After providing the children with a
brief description of the picture, they
can talk about seeds that they have
planted in the classroom, at home,
or other similar experiences
common to their children. After
reading the book, they can ask the
children to tell about pumpkins that
they have seen. Table 2 provides
readers with book suggestions
across a variety of genres as well as
accommodations and modifications
to be considered for children with
diverse learning needs. Alicia and
Meghan will be able to use these
adaptations as they plan their
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
Table 2
Suggested Book Titles
Title of Book
Genre
Format
The Lion and The Mouse
by Jerry Pinkney (2009)
Fable
Picture Book
First the Egg by Laura
Seeger (2007)
Nonfiction
Predictable
book
Quiet Time With Cassat by Poetry
Julie Merberg and
Suzanne Bober (2006)
Rhyming
Fiction
Picture book
Nonfiction
Interactive
Fiction
Picture books
Abuela by Arthur Dorros
and Elisa Kleven (1991)
Fiction
Picture book
The Neighborhood Mother
Goose by Nina Crews
(2003)
Fiction
Rhymes and
poetry
Listen for the Bus: David’s
story by Patricia
McMahon and John
Godt (1995)
Fiction
Picture book
The Quiet Book by
Deborah Underwood
(2010)
When My Worries Get Too
Big! A Relaxation Book
for Children Who Live
With Anxiety by Kari
Buron (2006)
Anna Banana and Me by
Lenore Blegvad and Erik
Blegvad (1985)
Benefits
Great picture book that
keeps attention of young
readers. Beautiful
illustrations that allow
children to make
connections in the story
through the sequence of
pictures.
The cutouts in this book
help children make the
connection between egg
and chicken and several
other creatures. Great for
building prediction skills.
Adaptations and Considerations
For children with visual impairments, pair this
book with the original story on tape.
For children with fine motor difficulties add
sturdy sticky tabs to the pages and have the
child pull on the tab to turn each page. This
will help to protect the cutouts in the book as
children turn the pages. For children with
visual impairments, order the compact disc
sound recording of the book.
Sturdy construction and the Use these books as a transition to quiet time in
the preschool. For children who are learning
rhyming lyrics keep
to regulate their behavior, provide a comfort
children engaged.
item for the child as you read the story.
Minimal text that describes Enlarge the pictures and place on a poster board
many types of quiet time.
for easier viewing
Make a large reproduction of the thermometer
and laminate it. Allow children to draw their
level of distress when they are anxious or
angry. The board can be reused for different
children at different times.
This story breaks the gender Make sure that you read the story at eye level
roles and stereotypes.
and face-to-face with children who have
hearing impairments so they can see your lips.
Also use exaggerated facial expressions and
hand gestures as your read. A book holder
helps to free your hands as your read.
This story includes Spanish Invite children who speak Spanish to assist you
in the pronunciation of the Spanish words.
phrases along with
English. It highlights the
special bonds of family.
As the children become familiar with the
Represents diversity in
rhymes, let them read along with you. For
multiple ways. The
children with hearing impairments, use an
illustrations are large and
amplification device when reading aloud.
easy to see.
Depicts the daily events of a Ask open-ended questions to engage all children
as you read aloud. This book is also available
child who is visually
in Braille.
impaired.
This book contains
wonderful strategies to
help children deal with
their emotions.
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Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
lessons and prepare their classroom
environment.
Getting Organized
“
Repetition helps children
to develop their memory,
sequencing,
communication, and social
skills, while broadening
their knowledge base and
helping them predict
events.
”
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YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
Selecting books for group
reading sessions does not have to be
only the teacher’s job. Alicia and
Meghan can prompt and encourage
children to select a favorite book
from the classroom library center to
be shared with the class as a whole.
In this way, children are becoming
more familiar with the books as
they are not only being read aloud
to them, but the books are also
available in the library center for
independent investigation. Also
consider reading the same story
more than once. Repetition helps
children to develop their memory,
sequencing, communication, and
social skills, while broadening their
knowledge base and helping them
predict events. Furthermore,
rereading books provides
opportunities for repeated exposure
to the same new words, which in
turn promotes word learning
(Penno, Wilkinson, & Moore, 2002;
Robbins & Ehri, 1994; Sénéchal,
1997). Children may also begin to
understand sentence structure and
vocabulary, and perhaps even
incorporate these into their own
conversations (Lewman, 1999;
Shedd & Duke, 2008). Brett,
Rothlein, and Hurley (1996) found
that children do not necessarily pick
up new vocabulary just by listening
to stories. Children are more likely
to learn new vocabulary if the
words are explained and synonyms
offered. The teacher might read,
“The boy walked home feeling
unhappy,” followed by an example
using a synonym, “The boy walked
home feeling sad.” The combination
of an explanation of the word and a
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synonym helps to clarify meaning
for the children. Teachers should
also purposely use key words
throughout the day and
intentionally weave these words into
multiple events and activities (Penno
et al., 2002).
Care should be taken when
setting up the environment for story
reading time. Children need to have
visual cues as to their space for
sitting and listening. This can be
done by providing carpet squares for
children to sit on in front of the
teacher or story reader. Some
children will be more comfortable
using a chair to sit on as the physical
boundaries are often more concrete.
In this case, the chair should be
behind the other children so as not to
block anyone’s view. Children who
are very active may have difficulty
attending to the story and a bungee
cord placed on the front legs of the
chair allows the child to bounce his
feet quietly in his or her chair
without disturbing others.
Finally, it is important to
consider the teacher’s comfort when
reading aloud. Often it is necessary
for the teacher to move toward
children during story time to
redirect or engage the child using
physical prompts. If the teacher
reads from a chair and needs to
move toward a child, it can disrupt
the flow of the story, not to mention
the physical strain that can occur
from getting up and down. A
wheeled stool like that used by
medical professionals offers a
smooth and comfortable way for the
teacher to move back and forth
from child to book easel.
Paying Attention to Print
Storybooks become more
interesting to children when there
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
are concepts about the book that
draw their attention, including the
print. When children are frequently
attending to the print in a book,
they are noticing and learning about
print more quickly (Justice,
Kaderavek, Fan, Sofka, & Hunt,
2009). Moreover, children will
realize that it is not only the pictures
that tell the story, but there are
letters, words, and sentences that
also make a story come to life.
Teachers can help facilitate
children’s attention to print through
use of strategies called print
referencing. Teachers will need to
keep in mind that some books either
do not have print at all or have very
minimal print, making print
referencing strategies difficult to
implement. Three specific
components to print referencing
include (a) questions about print, (b)
comments about print, and (c)
tracking your finger along print
while you read (Justice & Ezell,
2004).
Questions and comments about
print (i.e., verbal techniques) allow
the teacher to highlight print that is
written in a different way or placed
in an unusual place on the page.
Children may not notice these
unique features unless it is
specifically pointed out to them.
Alicia and Meghan can incorporate
questions about print by asking,
“What do you notice about the way
the words big and tiny are written
on this page?” or “What do you
think this letter is above the sleeping
girl?” Comments about print that
Alicia and Meghan can make
include, “Look, the arrow on the
elevator is pointing to the number
4,” or “Notice the dinosaur’s name,
stegosaurus, is written on the picture
hanging on the wall.” In addition,
tracking words on a page with your
finger (i.e., nonverbal technique)
also encourages children to connect
with specific letters and/or words as
they are being read. As mentioned
previously, books that are familiar
and predictable are great to use here
because children can more easily
understand the flow and sequence of
the book and can begin to anticipate
what is coming next.
Asking Questions
Asking questions during story
time may be a strategy teachers
already use; however, it is important
to consider the types and frequency
of questions that are being asked.
Let’s begin with frequency of
questions. During the first reading
of a story, children are usually not
yet familiar with the content, so it
may be best to keep it simple. Alicia
and Meghan may want to select a
few unfamiliar words to target and
use those words as the basis for
asking questions. Then as children
become more familiar with the story
through multiple readings, the
teachers increase their use of
questions as a means to encourage
discussion. Questions can move
from basic, surface level to more
complex, deeper questions each time
the same story is read. Take Rosie’s
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13
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
Walk (Hutchins, 1971) as an
example. Questions such as “Who is
the fox chasing?” can be used the
first time or two the story is read,
whereas questions like “Why do you
think this is happening?” or “How
could the story have ended
differently?” can be used with
subsequent readings. The idea is
that children are active participants
in the story because Alicia and
Meghan are encouraging them to
participate through question
prompts.
Alicia and Meghan should also
take care to ensure that the book
does not become all about question
asking as this can take away from
the enjoyment of reading. Marking
pages on a book with a sticky note
and question, or placing familiar
question prompts at their eye level
on the back wall of the classroom
are both great ways to help
remember the questions to ask.
What types of questions can our
two teachers use? Previous studies
have identified the benefits of asking
questions during book reading
(Whitehurst et al., 1994),
particularly in terms of children’s
language and vocabulary
development. Dialogic reading, as
outlined by Whitehurst and
colleagues (1994), includes specific
prompts teachers can use during
book reading sessions as a means to
encourage dialogue between teacher
and child as well as child to child. It
has been suggested that dialogic
reading strategies may contribute to
the development of social-emotional
skills, or emotion vocabulary, and
as a potential remedy to poor oral
language skills and concurrent or
later poor behavior (Doyle &
Bramwell, 2006; Morgan & Meier,
2008). In addition, Alicia and
Meghan could encourage parents to
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YOUNG EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN
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utilize dialogic reading strategies at
home with their children to support
first language development as it has
demonstrated effectiveness on
language and literacy skills not only
in English but also in Chinese,
Korean, and Turkish (Chow,
McBride-Chang, Cheung, & Chow,
2008; Fung, Chow, & McBrideChang, 2005; Hargrave & Sénéchal,
2000; Kotaman, 2007; Lim, 1999).
Dialogic reading prompts
include open-ended, recall, and
“wh” (e.g., who, what, when,
where, and why) questions. Teacher
questions that challenge children to
use more advanced and abstract
cognitive processes can be especially
beneficial (Reese & Cox, 1999;
Whitehurst & Lonigan, 1998).
Open-ended questions are therefore
appropriate because they allow
children to critically think and
formulate responses that reach
beyond just a simple yes or no
response. In fact, consider limiting
the use of questions that require
only a yes/no response or a simple
one-word answer. For example, in
place of the question, “Did you like
the story?” Alicia and Meghan
could ask the children, “What was
your favorite part of the story?” or
“Tell me about what is happening
on this page.”
Some children may not have the
oral language skills to respond to
questions or may have difficulty
comprehending the questions.
Therefore, it may be helpful to have
pictures or objects available that a
child can use to help them
communicate with you. An array of
pictures from the book can be
presented to the child and they select
their favorite by pointing to or
holding up the picture. For example,
using the book Rosie’s Walk
(Hutchins, 1971), a child could be
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
given pictures of a pond, flour mill,
fence, and chicken coop to select their
favorite place that Rosie walked.
Conclusion
Early literacy skill development
is critical, particularly in the
preschool years. Teachers like Alicia
and Meghan who are charged with
supporting learners of all
backgrounds and developmental
levels have much to consider in
terms of how to develop those early
skills. Keeping these early literacy
suggestions and ideas in mind can
make literacy an exciting and
natural everyday experience.
Fortunately, both Alicia and
Meghan bring strengths in the area
of literacy to the classroom—Alicia
from the perspective of a special
educator and Meghan from the
viewpoint of a general educator.
Together they recognize the need to
set up a classroom to promote
literacy for all children, both those
with disabilities and their
nondisabled peers. When they learn
that Hannah, a child with visual
impairment, will be joining their
class, they select books that include
both Braille and print, and they plan
to develop story boxes to
accompany their books. In addition,
they will record several stories on
CDs so that Hannah can listen
independently after they show her
how to use the CD player.
They also will develop a number
of centers to promote learning across
individual needs and abilities of the
children. They plan a science center
to feature seasonal themes such as
fall, with books, CDs, and various
objects for the children to investigate.
As Hannah is visually impaired, they
include a stationary magnifying glass
to enable her and the other children
to investigate various objects at
closer range: leaves, pumpkin seeds,
and turkey feathers. They also
include books about fall in this
center and encourage the children to
“read” the book as they tell about
the pictures. In the block center,
Alicia and Megan place blocks that
have varied textures so that children
can feel and manipulate them, as
well as match by texture. In their
block center they use books that talk
about building a house and a city.
For the transportation center, Alicia
and Megan add texture to the roads
on the vinyl road map using school
glue. After the glue dries, it provides
a tactile road map that Hannah can
use as she drives the cars on and off
the road. Books that they include in
this area center on vehicles, taking a
trip, and road construction. As the
children work in the varied centers in
the classroom, the teachers can
encourage the children to tell about
what they are doing and what they
plan to do next. The teachers also
engage in dialogic reading as they
read the books in the centers,
describe the pictures, and ask openended questions. By doing these
things, and carefully selecting books
that match the developmental needs
of their children, Alicia and Megan
know that they can lay the
foundation for valuable literacy skills
for all of the learners in their
classroom, including those from
diverse backgrounds and those with
disabilities such as Hannah.
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15
Planning Literacy Environments / Dennis et al.
Authors’ Note
You may reach Lindsay R. Dennis by e-mail at [email protected].
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