E-book reading in kindergarten and story comprehension support

We examined intervention programs using an e-book with expansions for promoting story comprehension developed for this study. In program (a), teachers received coaching on how to support the children while activating the e-book with expansions aimed at supporting the story content; in program (b), the children worked independently with the e-book with expansions; in program (c), the children worked with the e-book without expansions (control). In all three programs, the children read the e-book in the kindergarten six times over the course of three weeks. The participants included 160 kindergarteners (aged 5–6) from LSES neighborhoods. A clear advantage was found for children whose teachers received coaching on e-book reading, followed by children’s independent reading of the e-book with expansions. The control group showed the least progress. Children with a low initial level in story comprehension demonstrated the biggest progress. The findings and their implications are discussed.