Investigating Informational Text Read-alouds in Greek Kindergarten Classrooms: Differences According to Text Structures

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine teachers’ practices for reading aloud informational texts to kindergarteners and describe whether these are affected by the different text structures. Ten (10) teachers working in public kindergartens located in different regions of Greece participated in the study. The sample teachers read informational texts that were created to represent the most common informational text structures: compare-contrast, description, cause-effect, problem-solution, and sequence. Read-aloud sessions were recorded and analyzed according to parameters that refer to well-documented read-aloud styles and ensure discussion quality and text comprehension. Indicative parameters were the timing of the discussion, teachers’ prompts and techniques for enhancing children’s language production, and their verbal participation in the text discussion. Data analysis showed that the teachers’ read-aloud practices stand more in favor of a dialogic reading style. Furthermore, the predominance of low cognitive demand questions and the children’s few initiatives to ask their own questions were representative of the discussion quality. There were also differences in the teachers’ read-aloud practices according to the structure of the texts, with the compare-contract structure being the most challenging one for the teachers and the children. The results of the present study have several implications for improving teachers’ read-aloud practices and kindergarteners’ text comprehension.