“That’s a Big Bad Wolf!”: Learning through Teacher-Child Talk During Shared Reading of a Story Book App

Abstract

Touch screen tablets and story book apps provide opportunities for teachers to support young children’s shared reading experiences. Much research has examined the benefits of digital book reading in children’s learning. However, less is known about how very young children engage with and learn from interactive story book apps and how teachers support these early reading experiences. The case study reported on here was conducted in the north of England and explored how one teacher scaffolded a young child’s learning and interactions during shared reading of a story book app (Three Little Pigs) in her early years classroom. The teacher used a wide range of words, repetition, and questioning strategies to engage the child with the story content and maintain her interest which provided a positive experience for the child. The teacher also offered encouragement and technical assistance to scaffold learning. These important teacher supports afforded opportunities for the child to learn about language and literacy in meaningful ways with a digital device. This generates practical recommendations on how early childhood teachers can effectively engage young children with story book apps in the classroom.