Reading Aloud: Constructing Literacy in an Early Childhood Classroom

by
Jeanne Reeners Loysen

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education

Supervised by
Professor David Hursh

Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development

University of Rochester
Rochester, New York
2010

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Dedication
To my parents, Kathleen and Clarence, who were the first people who read
aloud to me, and to my four siblings who gathered together as a family to listen
to the stories.
To my three children, Kathleen, Andrew and Ryan, who always enjoyed a story
read aloud again and again, especially at bedtime.
To my grandchildren, Owen Christopher and Kieran Helen, who love to curl up
next to me or sit on my lap to listen to and chat about a good picture book.
To all the classroom children with whom I have had the privilege of sharing
a read aloud story over the years.

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Curriculum Vitae

The author was born in Rochester, New York on May 8, 1946. She attended
Monroe Community College and received her Associate in Applied Science Degree in
1966, and then attended the State University of New York at Cortland, where she
received her Bachelor of Science Degree in 1968. She then received her Master of
Science Degree in 1986 from Nazareth College of Rochester. She holds New York State
certifications in Health Education, Nursery-Grade 6, Education of the Deaf, Special
Education and School District Administration. She came to the University of Rochester
in the summer of 1998 and began her studies in Teaching and Curriculum. She pursued
her research in Early Childhood Education under the direction of Professor David Hursh
and received her Doctor of Education Degree in 2010.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the staff, students and parents at the Wicklow Hills
Preschool. Their warm welcome, daily greetings and conversations, patience and
encouragement helped enrich the time spent at their school. Ms. Terrance and Ms. Seneca
were especially patient and generous as they shared their educational expertise, time,
talents, laughter and joy to help me better understand the intricate workings of their
Reggio-inspired early childhood classroom.
To the members of my committee, for their support and invaluable suggestions
that helped clarify and focus this dissertation. I would especially like to thank David
Hursh, my advisor, who always gently nudged and encouraged me throughout the many
years of class work, research and writing. David challenged me in many positive ways
and always had faith in my abilities to achieve this goal. I know I could not have
completed this task without his knowledge and advocacy. David helped me to persevere.
Thank you also to my children, grandchildren, siblings, sisters and brothers-inlaw, nieces, nephews, extended family members, many early childhood colleagues and
friends. You always believed in me. I appreciate your love, support, phone calls and notes
of encouragement, the times you helped care for Papa so I could go to the library, and the
times you treated me to lunch or dinner just to get away.
And finally, my heartfelt gratitude to my two readers, my sister, Roberta, and my
dear friend, Valerie, my editors extraordinaire! They helped me in so many ways: via email, visits from abroad, long distance phone calls and in-person conversations. I owe
them so very much. I thank them for everything, especially for their love, friendship, and
their contributions that helped make this dream a reality.
Its been an incredible journey. Thank you one and all.

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Abstract
Imagine an active, happily engaged, communicative, curious group of four-year-old
children investigating and discovering as they play together in an early childhood
classroom. Imagine yet again, the teacher beckoning them to gather on the rug to listen to
a story. What happens next? Are the children allowed to continue in this curiosityseeking, meaning-making mode before, during and after the read aloud session? Or, are
the children silenced physically, socially and cognitively as they sit upright, listen to the
teacher read a story from beginning to end with no participatory dialogue? Both of these
scenarios exist in present-day early childhood classrooms. This study examines how the
read aloud event is utilized to its maximum potential considering all its variables.
This study was designed to investigate the practices of a Masters level teacher and how
she uses scaffolding and mediational strategies before, during and after reading aloud to a
group of four-year-old children. These children participate in a half-day Reggio-inspired
early childhood classroom in a private school, along with a teacher and teacher-assistant.
I spent three weeks in the classroom as a participant observer.
Using one major question as a guideline, I then looked at what specific scaffolding and
mediational techniques were used by the classroom teacher to promote socially
constructed dialogue. I looked at several variables inherent in reading aloud, allotment of
sufficient time during the day, size of the read aloud group, whether the teacher allowed
dialogue, and whether the book was read more than once, and coupled these to assess the
scaffolding and mediational techniques used by the teacher.
Data was collected from multiple sources. These included: daily observations, reflective
journal, audiotapes of the stories, transcriptions of the audiotapes, photographs of the
classroom, formal and informal teacher interviews, child focus groups, child and teacher
co-produced webs and charts, the parent handbook, and a re-visit to the classroom. I used
qualitative observational case study research methods to collect and analyze the data.
This data allowed me to code the data according to emerging themes and categories.
I used Vygotskys Social Learning Theory as the lens through which to focus this
research study. Using selected parts of this theory, the Zone of Proximal Development
(ZPD), scaffolding and mediation, I was able to ascertain how this theory can be applied
to reading aloud in an early childhood classroom. Application of the theory was evident
when several children re-told a familiar story, when the children replicated animal
habitats on a wall mural, and when the children worked collaboratively to reconstruct a
local farm market in the classroom.

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Table of Contents
Introduction

Chapter 1
1.1

1
Theoretical Perspective of Vygotskys Social Learning Theory 11
Vygotskys Social Learning Theory

15

1.1.1

Zone of Proximal Development

19

1.1.2

Scaffolding

22

1.2

Use of ZPD and scaffolding: Real life events dialogue

24

1.3

Use of ZPD and scaffolding: Text-related dialogue

26

1.4

Use of ZPD and scaffolding: Illustration-related dialogue

31

1.5

How Teachers Use Vygotskys Theory While Reading Aloud

36

Research Related to Reading Aloud

49

2.1

Characteristics and Common Practices of Reading Aloud

50

2.2

Parental and Teacher Impact on Reading Aloud

52

2.3

Differing Views: How Beneficial is Reading Aloud?

55

2.4

Research on Sustained and Interrupted Readings

62

2.5

Research on Single and Repeated Readings

68

2.6

Research on Small and Large Groups

74

Methodology

78

3.1

Selection Criteria

82

3.2

Attributes of the Research

88

3.3

Ethical Issues Involved in Case Study Research

90

3.4

Overall Plan and Timeline

93

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

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3.5

Data Collection

3.6

Organization of the Data

100

Data Analysis

114

4.1

Using Scaffolding and Mediation Prior to Reading Aloud

115

4.2

Using Scaffolding and Mediation While Reading Aloud

146

4.3

Using Scaffolding and Mediation After Reading Aloud

189

Conclusion

228

5.1

Summary of the Study

228

5.2

Strengths of the Study

229

5.3

Limitations of the Study

235

5.4

Connections to Prior Research

240

5.5

Implications of the Research

248

5.6

Suggestions for Further Research

251

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

94

References

255

Appendices

279