ERIC Number: EJ1118840
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Dec
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0045-6713
EISSN: N/A
The (Untold) Drama of the Turning Page: The Role of Page Breaks in Understanding Picture Books
Jacobs, Katrina Emily Bartow
Children's Literature in Education, v47 n4 p357-373 Dec 2016
While scholars have recognized the importance of page breaks in both the construction and comprehension of narrative within picture books, there has previously been limited research that focused directly on how children discuss and make sense of these spaces in the text. Yet, because of their nature as dramatic gaps in the narrative, page breaks offer unique and exciting opportunities to understand how children make meaning of picture books (Sipe in "Storytime: Young Children's Literary Understanding in the Classroom," Teachers College Press, New York, 2008). This study explores how explicitly inviting young children to discuss page breaks offers insights into how these spaces function within the children's readings. Drawing on transcribed audio-recordings of a series of read-aloud sessions held with a group of children ages five to eight, the analysis focused on coding themes within the children's talk around page breaks in picture books. Specifically, the children referenced the role of page breaks as aesthetic choices; the utilization of page breaks to comprehend word/picture relationships; and the negotiation of these gaps in the story as they worked construct a cohesive understanding of the narrative. Overall, the data represents the rich possibilities for educators to include explicit talk around page breaks during picture book read-alouds as a pathway toward better understanding children's sense-making of these texts.
Descriptors: Picture Books, Text Structure, Layout (Publications), Young Children, Reader Text Relationship, Reading Aloud to Others, Aesthetics, Video Technology, Childrens Literature, Emergent Literacy, Discussion (Teaching Technique), Childhood Interests, Elementary School Students, Preschool Children
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A