Facilitating Reading Habits and Creating Peer Culture in Shared Book Reading: An Exploratory Case Study in a Toddler Classroom

Abstract

Fifteen toddlers (2- to 3-years old, nine boys and six girls) in a university preschool classroom were observed for 7 months while spending time with books during transition time, between story time and lunch. This qualitative case study investigated the ways that teachers can facilitate toddlers’ reading habits by providing literacy opportunities in unstructured learning environments and explored the contexts in which toddlers engage in independent reading activities. The findings of this study show that (1) toddlers can develop literacy through participating in meaning-making activities with peers while reading books together in unstructured environments and (2) toddlers want to read and choose to read in order to satisfy their curiosity, involvement, and social interchange, just as older children do.