"I Like B" – Reading and Writing Instructions in Preschool?

The aim of this study is to explore how three-to-five-year-old preschool children and their teacher interact in reading and writing activities. The activities take as their starting point an educational television program Life... [ view full abstract ]

The aim of this study is to explore how three-to-five-year-old preschool children and their teacher interact in reading and writing activities. The activities take as their starting point an educational television program Life in Letter-land [Swedish: Livet i Bokstavslandet]. A program that parallels its predecessor Sesame Street, with similar purpose to develop children’s literacy learning in a playful way. Theoretically the study is informed by sociocultural perspectives where interaction is considered central for children’s learning, and participation in cultural activities are understood as emerging by guidance from the more knowledgeable participants. The present study builds on data in the form of video documentation and concepts such as guided participation, intersubjectivity and structuring resources have directed the analysis of the video recorded sequences. In the findings two activities are presented, of which the first developed into a playful group activity, where the teacher guided the children’s interaction and temporarily sufficient intersubjectivity was established. The second activity evolved into an individual problem-solving situation, where the interplay was constrained by insufficient intersubjectivity in the communication. Our findings show dilemmas associated with literacy activities in preschool related to the paradigm of solving individual tasks that conflict with the group-based collaborative characteristics of the preschool discourse. Despite the fact that both the analysed activities are based on the playful framing of the television program, they turn out in quite different ways. If meaningful literacy activities for children are established is dependent on the teacher’s awareness of the importance of creating intersubjectivity that includes exploration elements, humour and openness to unexpected directions. Therefore, in our conclusion we point to the importance of considering the specific nature of preschool when designing and implementing school inspired reading and writing activities.  

Key words: Reading- and writing instructions in preschool, educational television program, guided participation, intersubjectivity, structuring resources