Accelerating Preschoolers’ Early Literacy Development Through Classroom-Based Teacher-Child Storybook Reading and Explicit Print Referencing

Justice, L.M., Kaderavek, J.N., Fan, X., Sofka, A., & Hunt, A. (2009). Accelerating Preschoolers’ Early Literacy Development Through Classroom-Based Teacher-Child Storybook Reading and Explicit Print Referencing. Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools, 40, 67-85.

Like phonological awareness, print knowledge (awareness of words on the page, how to hold a book, direction to read) has been shown to positively influence children’s early literacy achievements; however print knowledge has been given less attention in research and practice. In this study, Justice et al. evaluated a 30 week, 120 book print referencing shared reading intervention implemented by teachers. Effects were measured in terms of changes in print awareness of preschool children. The teachers of 14 classrooms used the print referencing style of storybook reading while 9 comparison control classrooms used their regular style of reading. 106 preschool children were assessed on 3 measures of print knowledge: print concept knowledge, alphabet knowledge, and name writing. Results showed that preschoolers in the intervention group made significantly greater gains in print concepts and alphabet knowledge over control peers.

This article is comprehensive and includes examples of the stories used with their print referencing focus. It offers practical knowledge for any SLP or teacher.

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