Program
Education K-12 M.A.
Number of Pages
69
Year Approved
2026
First Advisor
Amie Grubidge
Second Reader
Lisa Silmser
Abstract
This literature review explores current research about the activities and settings currently in place in preschool classrooms across North America. While a majority of the preschool day is spent in whole-group and free-choice activities, research indicates that instruction provided in small groups and book reading are two important ways to harness engagement and deliver high-quality instruction. Different kinds of teacher-child interactions during book reading can support the development of crucial early literacy skills, such as vocabulary and print knowledge. While time spent on literacy content varied widely across classrooms, teachers responded well to training in both print referencing and dialogic reading, increasing their use of target vocabulary and print references. Students exposed to more print references and a dialogic reading style showed improvements in related skills when done separately. However, focusing on both skills simultaneously may be difficult.
Degree Name
Education K-12 M.A.
Document Type
Masterʼs thesis
Recommended Citation
Turnquist, M. (2026). Supporting Early Literacy in Preschool: The Influence of Activity Settings, Shared Reading, and Teacher–Child Interactions [Masterʼs thesis, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/1298
Terms of Use and License Information
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.