At the time when there is a need for active discussions about picture book reading among elementary school students, it will be an interesting work to apply many valuable elements of picture books discussed in relation to lower graders and young child...
At the time when there is a need for active discussions about picture book reading among elementary school students, it will be an interesting work to apply many valuable elements of picture books discussed in relation to lower graders and young children to middle and higher graders and examine the possibilities of picture books vaguely estimated for them.
This study set out to compare and analyze readers' comprehension response patterns according to their reading development stages while reading picture books and provide implications. For those purposes, the following research questions were set: first, what are the patterns in readers' reading processes according to their age while reading picture books? Second, what differences are there in the patterns of their reading processes according to age while reading picture books? For the theoretical background, the investigator examined the concepts and characteristics of picture books along with the relations between children's developmental stages and picture books.
A preliminary test was conducted through thinking aloud twice before the main test with three students, who included a second, fourth, and sixth grader between whom there were clear differences in reading abilities. In the main test, three more students were added to make the entire subjects six, who took a thinking aloud test based on Gorilla by Anthony Browne, a contemporary picture book author. The investigator examined data from the first thinking aloud test, in which the students were asked to naturally talk about what came to their minds during reading the picture book, from the second thinking aloud test, in which they re-read the picture book with a focus on paintings, and from the transcripts of interviews.
The investigator then divided their reading patterns in such categories as simple responses(simple responses),intuitive responses(naming objects and characters, describing actions, expressing emotions, and depicting pictures), interpretative responses(expressing artistic senses, speaking about motives, presenting opinions, and interpreting), and evaluative responses(mutual text association and assessing)to compare and analyze their characteristics according to the grades and provide implications.
The research findings were as follows:
First, there is a need to expand their concepts of picture books so that picture books can be accepted wide in school.
Second, there should be a picture-based reading process with a focus on pictorial grammar since picture books are texts with mutually complementary visual media elements between text and picture.
Third, the instructional elements for picture book reading should be systemized according to grades to teach the students about the characteristics of picture books.
Fourth, teaching and learning plans for picture book reading should be developed systematically.
Finally, the teachers need to develop professional qualities for picture books.
The study claims its significance in that it investigated the actual reading processes of elementary school students with a focus on the process of reading picture books. Its findings about the response patterns through the tools to analyze picture reading can help to systemize the possibilities of picture books according to grades and offer meaningful implications about how to provide education on picture books in future.