What is Interactive reading?
Interactive reading is when an educator and a child or small group of children share a book. Also known as dialogic reading, it is an intentional and skilful approach that aims to encourage high quality interactions and conversation. Interactive reading is quite different to ‘being read to’ - this is a more passive experience for the child. Over time, the balance of who ‘reads’ the book passes increasingly to the child.
Using prompts to engage the child
During interactive reading, the educator prompts the child to engage with the book. They might point to a picture or talk about a character, for instance.
The EEF describe this prompting as, ‘the act of drawing attention to something related to the book being read that encourages a response from the child, such as asking questions or allowing the children to complete the sentence’.
In this video, we see an educator prompting the child and eliciting their responses. For example, she skilfully prompts the child to open the flap and say “dog”.
Oral language and communication development
There is strong evidence to say that interactive reading can improve communication and language in the early years. As the child participates more, their oral language skills develop, supporting high-quality interactions.
The educator starts by asking open questions specifically about the text - this is to get the children interested and involved. Over time, the educator extends this by asking the children about their experiences and thoughts.
As Nicola Cherry, who was previously the EEF’s Early Years Content Specialist, says in her blog about interactive reading:
‘Spoken interactions, for example word use in exchanges, dialogue and conversations, between the reader and the child go beyond the text in the book; the more the child participates or responds, the more their oral language skills develop.’
This can enable stimulating conversation and foster the child’s language and communication development.
Professional development
If you observe interactive reading, you will see the educator's knowledge and skills in action. It is an intentional practice – one that needs repeating and developing over time.
Educators can find it helpful to video record each other and then reflect together, analysing what works well and what needs further focus. This useful technique is used as part of the Early Years Conversation Project (EYCP) training.
An important finding from the Early Years Evidence Store is that staff are more likely to use interactive reading effectively if they have training or professional development. It is, thus, important for settings to build it into their CPD programme.
It’s fun!
Possibly, most importantly of all, interactive reading is sociable and can be a lot of fun. There are so many wonderful books for children to access and enjoy together.
It’s worth checking your book stock regularly, asking:
- Do the books lend themselves to interactive reading (for all ages)?
- Are they accessible to the children?
- Do the stories and images provide relatable characters for a diversity of children? Some may need weeding out and replacing.
Nurturing a love of books and reading from a young age is invaluable - a lifelong gift.