An Engagement-Focused Framework for Evaluating Storybooks for Young Children's Science Vocabulary Learning

Abstract

Given the emerging evidence on the importance of learning content-specific vocabulary in the early years, many early childhood teachers try to incorporate science vocabulary teaching as part of classroom activities. In this article, the authors argue for the importance of teaching science vocabulary in engaging ways using read-aloud and the usefulness of narrative informational storybooks as an engaging tool to introduce and build science concept knowledge and vocabulary. The authors show how to evaluate and select texts that can be effectively used for explicit and embedded teaching of science vocabulary, based on an engagement-focused framework. The framework targets four aspects of engagement: concept learning engagement, word learning engagement, emotional engagement, and social engagement. The engagement framework empowers teachers to determine which science storybooks are appropriate and how to use them to teach science concepts and vocabulary.