The Impact of Conversation on Reading Comprehension in Kindergarten Students

Abstract

Learners begin to build up reading and language skills at a very young age. Kindergarten is a crucial time for introducing students to a variety of literacy topics and instruction, including several comprehension strategies and how to engage in purposeful talk. Research has proven that many benefits stem from this purposeful talk and the social experience created in the classroom through interactions between teacher and students, or students with their peers. This action research study explored the impact of student-to-student interaction and conversation on kindergarten students? comprehension after an interactive classroom read aloud. Participants received instruction on reading comprehension strategies as well as strategies for productive talk. Findings have shown that students? comprehension was impacted through the depth of their responses and vocabulary use, and the accuracy of their story retellings and responses to questions. Student engagement also increased.