Effects of a shared-reading intervention on the inclusion of evaluative devices in narratives of children from low-income families

Abstract

The impact of a shared-reading program on the narrative skills of children from low-income families was examined. Participants in the study were 4-year-old children ( N=123) enrolled in Head Start. Fifty-eight percent of the sample participated in a 30-week shared-reading intervention conducted in Head Start classrooms and homes. The remainder of the sample experienced the regular Head Start curriculum. The shared-reading intervention was found to have a significant effect on children's inclusion of evaluative devices in their narratives. Specifically, children who participated in the intervention program were significantly more likely to include references to internal states of characters and dialogue in their narratives at the end of the Head Start year than children who did not participate in the intervention program. This study adds to the growing experimental literature demonstrating that preschool literacy interventions can have a positive impact on the language skills of children from low-income families.