Beginning with Books: Tailoring Formats and Strategies for Infant and Toddler Reading Activities in Early Childhood Education Centers

Abstract

This study examined various formats and strategies used by caregivers in early reading activities, and assessed how they were tailored to the developmental stages of infants and toddlers. Participants included three caregivers from classrooms for ages 0–12, 13–18, and 19–24 months, and the director of an early childhood education center known for emphasizing early reading experiences. Data were collected from observations of reading activities and interviews with the four participants. The findings revealed that the caregivers intentionally organized reading activities in different formats— one-on-one, group, and free reading—each fulfilling distinct objectives and developmental needs. They employed various strategies, including contextualized linguistic, paralinguistic, social, and decontextualized linguistic approaches, which were all adapted to the children’s developmental levels and reading contexts. This study resulted in a scaffolding framework that informs reading practices in early childhood education centers, offering professional training recommendations and particularly highlighting the necessity of decontextualized talk beyond the book text.