Weaving moral elements and research‐based reading practices in inclusive classrooms using shared book reading techniques

Abstract

Promoting moral, language and literacy development is particularly important for children in inclusive early childhood programs serving disadvantaged children. In the first section of this article, the author: (1) summarizes research about the gap between typically developing children in professional families and most disadvantaged children and children with disabilities in terms of language, social and emotional development; (2) provides evidence that current literacy practices in most early childhood programs serving disadvantaged children are unlikely to close that gap; and (3) describes recent legislation that mandates efforts to close the gap in order for all children to start school ‘ready to learn’. In the second section, the author focuses on shared storybook reading as an intervention and offers five steps to use this intervention to weave social and emotional development with language and literacy. In the final section, the author offers suggestions to improve professional development for early childhood teachers to help them translate this research into practice in inclusive early childhood settings that serve disadvantaged children.