Evidence for a whole child/whole language approach
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, PhD.
Temple University

E-books as conversation blockers

• Nearly two-thirds of parents say that educational toys like talking books are “very important” to a child’s intellectual development (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004).
• We don’t know if these books are preferred by children and if they encourage the kinds of story related conversations and questions that build good readers

• Tested 23, 3-year olds at two children’s museums in
Chicago and Philadelphia. The children were presented with both e-books and traditional books and asked to choose 1.
• We not only looked at their choices, but closely examined a subset of 6 boy and 6 girls matched on maternal education and ethnicity to see how parents interacted with the children during e-book and traditional reading.

• Surprisingly, children chose more traditional books than e-books -- 2/3 of the children did so
• More drastically, parents were more directive in their language when reading e-books (Point to the ___) and more conversational when reading traditional books(What is Jonny looking at?).

2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Comments per minute by comment type and book format
4
3.5
3
Electronic
Traditional
Story
Comment type
Behavior

E-books thwart the kind of conversations that build great readers
They might (?) be good for learning individual vocabulary -but they don’t promote the kind of reading that encourages a love of books.
Collins, M., Parish, J., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. (in preparation) Electronic Books:
Boon or Bust for Interactive Reading

Moving beyond the words

• Teachers and researchers knew that good reading was built upon a strong foundation of strong oral language skills.
• Many also knew that:
– Good readers had good vocabularies
• So many started stressing vocabulary learning as the staple for early literacy success.

Just because
Reading => good vocabulary
It does not mean that:
Good vocabulary alone => reading
Do good language skills overall predict reading better than does vocabulary alone?

• We followed 1,137 children from the NICHD
Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development from 54 months to 1st grade.
• We asked two questions:
1. Was oral language at 54 months directly related to reading scores in 1st grade?
2. Was oral language best defined through vocabulary or through broader language skills ?

• Oral language is critical not only for building letter-sound correspondence, but for reading comprehension!
• Broader language skills are more important than vocabulary alone.

• We must have rich conversations with children that build a strong language foundation.
• Studying vocabulary without the context will not do the trick
Remember studying words for the SATs??
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2005). Early child care and children's development in the primary grades: Results from the NICHD Study of Early Child
Care. American Educational Research Journal 43(3), 537-570

It’s all about the story!

• Who thought that story telling or narrative should help bridge the gap between oral language and reading.
• That researcher (Catherine Snow) hypothesized that story structure and the language that emerged within stories would offer rich scaffolding for reading.

• If narrative use (understanding and telling stories) is related to reading competence.
• Whether story telling might be even more important for children from poor environments.

• We studied 987 children from the NICHD
Study of Early Child Care and Youth
Development in 3rd grade.
• We asked them to tell a story using a book with no words -Frog Where are You ? By
Mercer

• We coded the story for narrative structure
(setting, purpose, characters) and for language complexity (use of connectors like and , but ; time words like while , then …)
• We also have information on children’s vocabulary and reading levels

• Narrative ability (telling and understanding stories) does relate to reading scores and has added value even over language ability.
• Why? Narrative seems to stimulate richer use of language
• Narrative seems to be particularly important in stimulating language for poorer children

Telling stories in a classroom and at home helps to build the strong language skills that support early literacy and reading.
We all have stories to tell and need to tell them to our children and to model them for the parents and children in our charge.
What was it like when you were young?
Who did you see in the market today?

Play = Learning

• In Japanese preschools more than 50% of time is spent in play?
• That the Japanese children outscore most nations in reading and math scores?
• That research suggests that learning takes place in playful and meaningful environments?

• HARVEY F. BELLIN
The Media Group of Connecticut
• DR. DOROTHY SINGER
PROF. JEROME SINGER
Yale University Family TV Center

PROJECT OVERVIEW
• A two-year study to develop a video-based program of playful learning games to strengthen emergent literacy skills of atrisk 4-5 year-olds from low-income families in any childcare setting.

VIDEO & PRINT
PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Video/DVD Program for Preschool Children
•
Five learning games played by ‘real people’ children and their parent or teacher.
• Playful animations and interactive challenges to young viewers.

GAMES TO STRENGTHEN
EMERGENT LITERACY
INTRODUCTION
Explains program premise, and models dialogic reading.
(1) RHYME STORE
Phonological awareness: Rhymes, words ending with the same sound.

GAMES TO STRENGTHEN
EMERGENT LITERACY
(4) BIRTHDAY PRESENTS
Phonological awareness:
Alliterations, words that start with the same letter and sound.
(5) TRIP TO MARS
Print Knowledge: Parts of a book, direction of reading text. Vocabulary.
Emergent writing. Story structure.

PROGRAM TESTING
Participants & Methodology
YEAR 1: LOCAL (New Haven, CT)
Participants: 267
• 179 Children
(Mean Age: 4.07 years)
• 91 Adults
(Parents, Teachers, Home
Care)
Randomly Assigned to:
• Experimental Group
(91 children)
• Control Group
(85 children)
YEAR 2: NATIONAL
Participants: 303
• 180 Children
(Mean Age: 4.00 years)
• 123 Adults
(Parents, Teachers, Home
Care)
Low-SES Communities in Five States:
• Los Angels • Chicago • Cleveland
• New York City • Greenville, SC
METHODOLOGY
Test Preschoolers in Parent, Teacher & Home Care Settings
• Pre-test children’s emergent literacy skills.
• With no prior training, adults use program with children for two weeks.
• Post-test emergent literacy skills. Conduct focus groups. Compare pre/post.

RESULTS
Pre/Post Gains in Children’s Skills
ALPHABET LETTERS (Print Knowledge)
(Means: How many of 26 letters can child identify)
LOCAL: 41.8% Gain NATIONAL: 21.0% Gain

TEST RESULTS
Pre/Post Gains in Children’s Skills
MAKING RHYMES (Phonological Awareness)
(Percentage of children who can make rhymes)
LOCAL: 28% Gain NATIONAL: 33% Gain

TEST RESULTS
Pre/Post Gains in Children’s Skills
WRITE NAME (Emergent Writing)
(Percentage of children who can write their name)
LOCAL: 12% Gain NATIONAL: 14% Gain

• Play = Learning
• Children learn best when they are active discoverers and explorers in a meaningful world
Singer, D. & Belin, H. Video-Based Play Intervention to Strengthen Emergent Literacy of Atrisk Preschoolers In Singer, D., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (Eds.) (in press).
Play=Learning: How play motivates and enhances children’s cognitive and social-emotional growth . New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

• With people who treat them like whole people
(with intelligence and emotions) ~ not e-toys
• Who have full conversations ~ not just vocabulary
• Who tell stories
• Who know how to play with them

Now science tells us that what grandma knew is also best practice
• Sure we have to teach
BUT
– Our teaching must occur in social, language rich and playful environments
– That respect whole children who use whole language