Interactive Book Reading With Expository Science Texts in Preschool Special Education Classrooms

Expository texts convey information. The ability to read and process information presented in expository texts is critical to later reading achievement; however many children, especially those with disabilities, struggle with the more complex sentence structures, academic vocabulary, and higher level language endemic to expository texts. To date, research has focused on inclusion of and instruction in expository text for children in elementary school and beyond. Here, we provide a rationale and propose a plan for exposing and engaging children with disabilities in early childhood special education classrooms in the structure and content found in expository science texts. Furthermore, we present a systematic approach for incorporating discussion related to expository structures and content during interactive book reading including talking about the text structure, talking about linguistic features, and using language facilitation strategies. Practitioners can apply these tools and techniques to help children in early childhood special education classrooms build their ability to understand and discuss expository texts and science topics.