Coconstructing Meaning: Interactive Literary Discussions in Kindergarten Read-Alouds

The new age of digital media and information technologies demands more complex interpretive meaning-making from readers than ever before. Early childhood teachers must therefore incorporate higher-level literacy instruction focused on interpretative meaning to prepare students to meet these increasing literacy demands. This study redesigned the kindergarten classroom read aloud into an instructional context for interpretive meaning-making, rather than only literal level comprehension, where the meaning was constructed through interactive discussion. This article presents four teacher instructional supports for early childhood read aloud discussions designed to foster student engagement in interpretive meaning-making. Integration of the instructional supports created a read aloud climate centered on co-construction of interpretive meaning among the teacher and her students.