THE EFFECTS OF PARENT-LED READ-ALOUDS OF NONFICTION

273 Pages·2007·6.38 MB·English

ABSTRACT
Titleofdissertation: THEEFFECTS OFPARENT-LEDREAD-ALOUDS OF
NONFICTION BOOKS ONFIRST-GRADERS’
VOCABULARYACQUISITIONANDMOTIVATION
TOREAD
RebeccaApril Gibson,DoctorofPhilosophy,2007
Dissertationdirectedby: Dr.Mariam JeanDreher
Department ofCurriculum and Instruction
This studyinvestigatedtheeffects ofparent-ledinteractive read-alouds of
nonfictionbooks onfirst-graders.Evidencesuggests that nonfictionread-alouds inthe
classroom canimprovechildren’s vocabularyand motivationtoread.This studyuseda
pre/post experimental designtoinvestigatewhetherparent-ledread-alouds canleadto
similargains.Parents of first-gradestudents were invitedtoparticipateinthestudy.Half
ofthepool ofinterested parents was randomlyassignedtotheinterventiongroup.The
interventiongroupparents attendedatrainingsessiononhowtoengagetheirchildrenin
interactiveread-alouds. Childrenofconsentingparents then had access to alending
libraryof500+nonfictionbooks,containing10target books withselectedtarget
vocabulary(32words). First-graders whoseparents werenot randomlyassignedtothe
interventiongroup,becamethecontrol group.Control groupparents and childrenhad
access toanidentical interventionafterdatawere collected.
Treatment fidelitymeasures includedParent and ChildTitleRecognitionTests.
Statisticallysignificant TimeXTreatment Interactioneffects werefoundforboththe
Parent andChildTitleRecognitionTests.These findings indicatethat interventiongroup
parents and childrenrecognizeda greaternumber oftarget books thancontrol group
parents and childrenafter theinterventionoccurred.
Receptiveand expressivemeasures ofthechildren’s knowledgeofthetarget
vocabulary, as well as a motivationtoreadmeasure,wereusedtomeasure effects.
Initial analyses showedthecontrol and interventiongroup wereequivalent onpretest
measures.Theresults for thereceptivevocabularyshowedamaineffect for Time,with
students inbothgroups increasinginreceptivevocabulary; howevertheTimeX
Treatment Interactionwas not statisticallysignificant.Norwas the TimeX Treatment
Interactionforthemotivationtoreadmeasurestatisticallysignificant.However,the
analysis revealedastatisticallysignificant TimeX Treatment Interaction,withavery
largeeffect size,forexpressivevocabulary.This findingindicates that theintervention
group was abletoproducemoreaccurateverbal definitions oftarget vocabularyafterthe
interventionthanthecontrol group.Thus, children’s expressivevocabularybenefited
from parent-lednonfictionread-alouds.
THEEFFECTS OFPARENT-LEDREAD-ALOUDS OFNONFICTION BOOKS ON
FIRST-GRADERS’VOCABULARYACQUISITIONANDMOTIVATIONTOREAD
by
RebeccaA.Gibson
Dissertation submittedtotheFacultyoftheGraduateSchool ofthe
UniversityofMaryland, CollegeParkinpartial fulfillment
oftherequirements forthedegreeof
DoctorofPhilosophy
2007
AdvisoryCommittee:
Dr.Mariam JeanDreher, Chair
Dr. Linda Baker
Dr.MarilynChambliss
Dr.WayneSlater
Dr.DeborahSpeece
ii
TABLEOFCONTENTS
List ofTables.............................................................................................................v
List of Figures............................................................................................................vii
Chapter I. Introduction...........................................................................................1
PurposeoftheStudy......................................................................................1
Rationale........................................................................................................1
Statement oftheProblem...............................................................................8
Research Questions........................................................................................11
SignificanceoftheStudy...............................................................................11
Definitions ofKeyTerms..............................................................................11
Limitations oftheStudy.................................................................................16
Assumptions...................................................................................................17
Chapter II. Reviewofthe Literature....................................................................18
Theoretical Base.............................................................................................20
TheVygotskian Perspective..............................................................20
SchemaTheoryandthe“KnowledgeHypothesis”............................22
ReadingAttitudeAcquisitionandMotivationtoReadTheory.........23
VocabularyandtheRelationshipwithReadingAchievement......................24
Definitional Skill andVocabularyGrowth....................................................33
VocabularyAcquisition.................................................................................36
VocabularyTraining..........................................................................37
Incidental VocabularyAcquisition....................................................43
TheUseof NonfictionTexts withYoungChildren.......................................48
Parent Involvement and Children’s MotivationtoRead...............................56
Home LiteracyExperiences and Parent/Child InteractionDuringReading..58
SharedReadingExperiences andEffects onVocabularyAcquisition..........65
Summaryof LiteratureReviewed..................................................................86
Chapter III. Method...............................................................................................88
Research Design.............................................................................................88
Participants.....................................................................................................90
ImplementationProcedures...........................................................................91
Parent Training...................................................................................91
Pre-Testing.........................................................................................94
Intervention Period.............................................................................95
Post-Testing.......................................................................................97
Control GroupParticipation...............................................................98
Materials and Instruments..............................................................................98
Target Books......................................................................................98
Target Vocabulary..............................................................................101
VocabularyMeasures.........................................................................106
ReceptiveVocabularyMeasure.............................................106
ExpressiveVocabularyMeasure............................................107
iii
MotivationtoRead Measure………………………………………...109
TitleRecognitionTests……………………………………………...111
Parent Home LiteracyQuestionnaire..................................................112
Parent Program EvaluationSurvey.....................................................113
DataAnalysis..................................................................................................114
Implications.....................................................................................................117
Chapter IV. Results.................................................................................................118
Initial Differences betweenGroups: Pretest Results .....................................118
VocabularyMeasures.....................................……………………….119
MotivationtoReadMeasure...............................................................120
Parent andChildRecognitionTests....................................................120
GroupEquivalenceAnalysis...............................................................122
Treatment FidelityMeasures..........................................................................122
Parent TitleRecognitionTest..............................................................123
ChildTitleRecognitionTest...............................................................127
BookClubResponseSlips..................................................................129
Check-inNotes....................................................................................130
Posttest Results: VocabularyMeasures...........................................................132
ReceptiveVocabularyMeasure..........................................................132
ExpressiveVocabularyMeasure: Verbal DefinitionProduction
Task.....................................................................................................134
MotivationtoReadMeasure...........................................................................136
Parent Home LiteracyQuestionnaire..............................................................138
Parent Program EvaluationSurvey.................................................................141
Pearson Correlations amongPre andPost Test Measures…………………..143
SummaryofResults…………………………………………………………145
Chapter IV. Discussion..........................................................................................146
ChoiceofProblem.........................................................................................146
Research Question1: What Effects doParent-led InteractiveRead-alouds of
Target NonfictionBooks HaveonSelectedTarget NonfictionVocabulary
Acquisition? ..................................................................................................147
ReceptiveVocabularyMeasure.........................................................148
ExpressiveVocabularyMeasure........................................................150
Research Question2: What Effects doParent-led InteractiveRead-alouds of
Target NonfictionBooks HaveonMotivationtoRead? ..............................153
DiscussionofResults ofTreatment FidelityMeasures.................................156
ResponseSlips...................................................................................156
“Check-in” Notes...............................................................................157
Parent andChildTitleRecognitionTests..........................................158
Parent Program EvaluationSurvey....................................................159
Implications forEducation.............................................................................159
Implications forResearch..............................................................................161
Limitations.....................................................................................................163
Conclusions....................................................................................................164
iv
Appendix A: Intervention Parent Flyer......................................................................166
Appendix B: Control Parent Letter............................................................................167
Appendix C: Control Parent Consent Form...............................................................168
Appendix D: Parent TrainingVideoTranscript.........................................................171
Appendix E: Intervention Parent Consent Form........................................................174
Appendix F: Home LiteracyQuestionnaire...............................................................177
Appendix G: TitleRecognition Test..........................................................................178
Appendix H: Parent TrainingSession Information...................................................179
Appendix I: Assent Form...........................................................................................184
AppendixJ: Target Book Cycle Log.........................................................................186
Appendix K: Pilot Study............................................................................................192
Appendix L: ResponseSlip...................................................................................... 214
Appendix M: Week5andWeek10“checkin”NotetoParents...............................215
Appendix N: ReceptiveVocabularyMeasure(a-p).................................................. 216
Appendix O: ExpressiveVocabularyMeasure..........................................................240
Appendix P: MotivationtoReadMeasure................................................................243
Appendix Q: Parent Program EvaluationSurvey......................................................247
References..................................................................................................................249
v
LISTOFTABLES
1.Parent TrainingSessionSchedule..........................................................................94
2.Treatment FidelityMeasures.................................................................................97
3.Target Books..........................................................................................................101
4.RelationshipofTarget Books,Target Vocabulary, andAssessment Task............103
5.Grade Level KnowledgeofTarget Words Accordingtothe LWV.......................106
6.RelationshipBetween Research Questions,Measures,and Analysis....................116
7.Means andStandardDeviations forReceptive VocabularyMeasureat Pretest.. 119
8.Means andStandardDeviations forExpressiveVocabularyMeasureat Pretest..120
9.Means andStandardDeviations forMotivationtoReadMeasureat Pretest……120
10.Means andStandard Deviations forC-TRTat Pretest………………………….121
11.Means andStandard Deviations forP-TRTat Pretest………………………….121
12.Means andStandard Deviations forParent TitleRecognitionTest Measure......124
13.ANOVAforParent TitleRecognitionTest.........................................................125
14.Means andStandard Deviations forChildTitleRecognitionTest Measure.......127
15.ANOVAforChildTitleRecognitionTest...........................................................128
16.Means andStandard Deviations forReceptive VocabularyMeasure.................132
17.ANOVAforReceptiveVocabularyMeasure......................................................133
18.Means andStandard Deviations forExpressiveVocabularyMeasure................135
19.ANOVAforExpressiveVocabularyMeasure....................................................136
20.Means andStandard Deviations forMotivationtoReadMeasure......................138
vi
21.ANOVAforMotivationtoReadMeasure...........................................................139
22.Parent Home LiteracyQuestionnaireResponses ................................................141
23.Parent Program EvaluationSurveyResponses....................................................143
24.PearsonCorrelations amongPreand Post Test Measures……………………...145
vii
LISTOF FIGURES
1.Parent TitleRecognitionTest InteractionEffect……………………………………126
2.ChildTitleRecognitionTest Interaction Effect……………………………………..129
3.Verbal DefinitionProductionTask InteractionEffect………………………………137
1
Chapter I. Introduction
Purposeof theStudy
Thepurposeofthis studywas toinvestigatetheeffects ofparent-ledinteractive
read-alouds ofnonfiction books onfirst-graders’vocabularyacquisitionandmotivation
toread.Alargebodyof researchliteraturesuggests vocabularyknowledge is not onlya
potent predictoroflinguisticability,but alsothat wordknowledgeis stronglyrelatedto
readingcomprehension(Anderson &Freebody,1981; Purcell-Gates &Dahl,1991).
Additionally,researchhas shownthat large-scale vocabularygrowthinchildrenis dueto
learningincidentallyfrom oral andwrittencontexts (Nagy,Herman, &Anderson,1987;
Nagy& Herman,1987; Sternberg,1987).Theuniquecontext ofnonfictionread-alouds
appears tooffer arichopportunityforintroducingnewvocabulary,concepts,andtext
structures tochildren (Smolkin&Donovan,2003).Evidencesuggests that nonfiction
read-alouds intheclassroom canimprovechildren’s vocabularyandmotivationtoread.
This studyusedapre/post experimental designtoinvestigate whetherparent-ledread-
alouds canleadtosimilar gains.
Rationale
Whyshould educators be concernedwithvocabularyacquisition? Most
importantly,it has been establishedbytheresearchcommunitythat vocabularygrowthis
closelylinkedtoreadingproficiencyinparticular (Anderson & Freebody, 1981,
Sternberg,1987) andtoschool achievement ingeneral (Walker, Greenwood,Hart, &
Carta,1984; Wells,1987). Infact,Dickinson,Cote,andSmith(1993)have arguedthat if
oneweretoselect asinglevariabletomeasure aspects ofchildren’s cognitivefunctioning