Using Children's Literature in Preschool to Develop Comprehension —
Abstract of

Chapter 3
Supporting Reading Comprehension: Responding to Books

Lesley Mandel Morrow

Elizabeth Freitag

Linda B. Gambrell

This chapter focuses on developing preschoolers' concepts of books and promoting reading comprehension through the sharing of books. The chapter illustrates that through well-planned, interactive activities, teachers can accurately assess a child's comprehension of a given text. The chapter will show teachers how to model concepts of books and how children can demonstrate concepts of books by identifying the author, illustrator, and parts of the book. Next, children can be expected to discuss the story structure and contents of a story through small-group activities. The use of a child's background knowledge, personal connections to the text, and predictions will also aid in reading comprehension. Teachers should plan for shared and repeated readings in whole-group and small-group settings. In addition, because oral fluency facilitates reading comprehension, the chapter also offers guidelines on how teachers can provide opportunities for echo and choral reading. When assessing emergent readers and writers, teachers can make judgments about a child's understanding of a text through oral story retellings.

Morrow, L., Freitag, E., & Gambrell, L.B. (2009). Supporting Reading Comprehension: Responding to Books. In Using Children's Literature in Preschool to Develop Comprehension (pp. 39-67). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.