What's Going On In Your Child's Brain When You Read Them A Story? Article by Anya Kamenetz https://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2018/05/24/611609366/whats-going-on-in-your-childs-brain-when-you-read-them-a-story I was scrolling through a Facebook teachers page when an article caught my eye. What’s Going On In Your Child’s Brain When You Read Them A Story? is an online article that compares a child’s brain activity when they listen to a picture book, a cartoon, and an audiobook. 27 children, around the age of four, went into an FMRI machine and were presented with stories in three conditions: the audio only (audiobook), the illustrated pages of a storybook with an audio voiceover (listen to a picture book), and an animated cartoon. “The Goldilocks effect” explains that some kinds of storytelling may be "too cold" for children, while others are "too hot." And, of course, some are "just right.” Too Cold: While listening to the audiobook, language networks in the children’s brain were activated but there was less connectivity overall. Too Hot: When exposed to the cartoon, children’s brains were very active but there wasn’t a lot of overall connectivity either. Children did not comprehend the story as their brain was most focused on just following the cartoon. Just Right: The illustrated pages of a storybook with an audio voiceover provided the best environment for brain activity in this study. Children focused both on the language and on the picture to expand their understanding. Researchers saw increased connectivity among all networks studied in the children’s brains. 21st Century Learning: A concern for the researchers of this study is “"kids who are exposed to too much animation are going to be at risk for developing not enough integration.” When focusing on my overall blog question: how will technology affect reading strategies in students? this makes me slightly worried. We are seeing huge advances in online reading programs. If parents begin to chose audiobooks or a cartoon story over a traditional picture book, we will see an increase in reluctant readers whose brains struggle to get the most out of a book. For a listen to reading station in the classroom, teachers should attempt to use more “book on CD” style where the child listens to the words while holding the book in their lap. The CD will make a musical noise when it is time to turn the page. The Raz-Kids program will also suffice as the student can both see the picture and hear the words. Suggestion for Parents: “In an ideal world, you would always be there to read to your child. The results of this small, preliminary study also suggest that, when parents do turn to electronic devices for young children, they should gravitate toward the most stripped-down version of a narrated, illustrated ebook, as opposed to either audio-only or animation.” There is no better place than your lap to grow a reader.
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