What impact do interactive books have on development?
There are so many different types of books that are available for children within the early years; however experts are suggesting that all children including babies need to have access to a variety of books. Books that are used in baby rooms are often interactive books with flaps, buttons or textures for the children to engage in a multi-sensory experience. Many believe these types of books to be the most effective in getting a child to engage fully with the book and to make the learning experience more valuable. However recent studies have shown that these types of books can in fact cause problems when trying to get children to learn from books.
Books are so important for children to learn about new things, from simple objects as younger children to much greater things as a child grows older and even adults have much to learn from books. Practitioners need to remember this when encouraging children to look through books and read together. It is believe that interactive books provide too much distraction for children when encouraging them to learn from a book.
Children are less able to take in the new information presented to them in a book if there are other things for them to do. It appears that children concentrate more on mastering the physical skills needed to lift flaps or press buttons and treat it as a physical learning experience rather than absorbing the information in the book.
Although this is not a bad thing and developing skills in all areas is important and buttons and flaps do not only support motor skills but also knowledge and awareness in other areas such as cause and effect and technology. It does however mean the choice of book depending on the activity or intended learning outcomes may need to be more carefully selected.
Having a wide variety of books in the story corner that can be viewed independently and shared at story time is the most effective way to promote development. Sharing books with children is so important for development right from a young age to promote very early reading skills such as being interested in pictures, noticing details and turning pages. With so many children leaving primary school without being able to confidently read it is crucial that early years workers are doing their piece and sharing stories and books with children. Also encouraging parents to read with their children on a regular basis is important and will aid development. Many settings choose to create story sacks and share these with the parents, supporting home learning opportunities.
How do you use stories to build on development and provide a positive interest in Literacy?
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