Dr Agnieszka Dzięcioł-Pędich has been teaching English for 20 years at various levels of education. She currently works at the University of Białystok, Poland. She is also a member of IP SEN SIG - a special interest group (Inclusive Practices and Special Educational Needs) – part of IATEFL (the International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language). Her research interests lie in inclusive practices in education, resilience for teachers and English for specific purposes. Email: adzieciol-pedich@uwb.edu.pl

 

Introduction

I have always liked reading. I grew up in a small Polish town and I took to books out of boredom and loneliness. I particularly enjoyed thick adventure books with numerous plot twists, simply because I could not travel. Nowadays I read, because reading allows me to restore and strengthen my attention, shattered by social media. Having a book or an e-book reader in my hand also means that I have finally stopped rushing around.

I still enjoy adventure books, especially those which take me to galaxies far, far away, or those that make me wish “to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick”. However, even though I appreciate the adventures and world-building, I pay more attention to relations between the characters and to how and why they feel as the story develops.

In fact, I’m a total sucker for stories about communities coming together in times of crisis, as well as in times of normalcy. That is why my bookshelves are home to every book by Becky Chambers, who embraces, in her novels, diversity, community building, and hope for humanity. As Aron (2021) observes: “Chambers’s characters […] rely on relationships to succeed, picking each other up and dusting themselves down in the face of adversity”.

Last year, in addition to my teaching position at university, I accepted a job as an English teacher in a local kindergarten. I decided to read books aloud for my kindergarteners, as this is what I did when I was a volunteer in this kindergarten and this was what kept my little listeners engaged, helped me maintain classroom discipline, and established a good rapport with my learners.

The article reviews selected theoretical principles and practical tips for reading picture books about emotions aloud to kindergarten children aged 3 to 6. I also included some observations I made while working with literature for children, as I believe that books can save the world from drowning.

 

Emotions and children

Emotions are reactions that people experience in response to events or situations. The type of emotion we experience is determined by the circumstance that triggers the emotion (Cherry 2023). When it comes to children, they understand language before they can use it. The same is true for emotions: children start experiencing emotions before they are able to use words to describe them (Understanding … n.d.)

At the age of 3, children start to understand their emotions, but they still have a very small degree of control over them. In fact, learning to regulate emotions is a complex process and little humans may develop this ability at different times, as it depends on their genetic makeup,  their personality, the environment they grow up in and various external factors (Weir 2023).

Children who know how to manage their emotions are likely to, among others:

• get along with people better;
• express their emotions in a calm and culturally as well as situationally appropriate way (Emotional regulation … n.d.; Understanding … n.d.);
• behave appropriately, i.e. in a way that does no harm to themselves, other people, animals and things;
• understand other people’s emotions and interact with others when one or both parties are emotional;
• rebound after experiencing such strong emotions as disappointment, frustration or excitement;
• and do well in school as “better emotion regulation skills […] facilitate children's ability to independently attend to and learn new information presented by their teachers” (Graziano, P.A. et al. 2007: 11).

 

Picture books about emotions in kindergarten language classrooms

Not only parents and caregivers, but also teachers play a critical role in helping children learn to manage their feelings. Language teachers can do that by incorporating literature or texts that explore emotional themes or situations. In kindergartens these texts and literature should take the form of picture books, i.e. stories in which the illustrations and the text work together to tell the story. Picture books are primarily intended for children aged 3-7 or 3 -6, mainly because older children are likely to be independent readers of chapter books. What is more, most eight-year-olds would not want to be seen with a picture books, for fear of being perceived as babyish (Vitale 2022).

Children can find feelings confusing, especially when they do not have the words to express them (Books about … 2022). Books about emotions expose little humans to a wide range of emotional vocabulary both in English and in their mother tongue, especially when the teacher decides to translate the book (the importance of translation during a read aloud is discussed in a further part of the article).

As I have already mentioned, self-regulation is of crucial importance for our emotional well-being. Picture books about emotions may include examples of how characters cope with different feelings. This can provide children with coping strategies for managing their own emotions in healthy ways. Interestingly, picture books from cultures different than the students’ can introduce children to cultural differences in how emotions understood, labelled and expressed. This can promote tolerance and understanding.

Kindergarten children have not yet fully developed theory of mind and empathy skills. Theory of mind is the ability to understand that others think, acquire knowledge and experience emotions differently than we do. Empathy, on the other hand, is the capacity to share emotional states with others, as well as understand their way of  perceiving and evaluating things and situations (Cerniglia et al. 2019). Picture books about emotions can help children develop empathy, as little humans can easily put themselves in the shoes of the characters.

Conversations about emotions with children can have numerous benefits. However, some parents might not know how to identify or express their own emotions, which can hinder their ability to teach their kids about emotions. Additionally, parents may worry that talking about emotions will overwhelm their children or expose them to emotional topics they are not ready to handle. Parents may also have their own unresolved emotional issues or traumas that make it difficult for them to discuss emotions with their children (Suveg et al. 2008). Consequently, a language classroom may become one of the very few spaces where children can discuss, or at least hear about, the importance of both pleasant and difficult emotions and possible coping mechanisms.

 

Advantages of reading aloud in a kindergarten language classroom

Since kindergarteners cannot yet read, the teacher has to read the books aloud for them. In fact, reading aloud in a foreign language has many advantages for this age group.

The most prosaic reason for reading books aloud to kindergartners is that read-alouds are a source of language input. They offer an opportunity for children to hear the foreign language spoken correctly; the illustrations in picture books make understanding easier; and the fact that speech is delivered by a living human, rather than a recording, facilitates acquisition.

A more modern reason to read books to children is that these days more and more activities in kindergarten are screen-based, thanks to the ubiquitous whiteboards and easily accessible software. Prolonged screen time both in kindergarten and at home might increase central nervous system arousal, which can heighten anxiety (What is … n.d.). Moreover, teachers should bear in mind that screen-based activities might become sensory input that learners with special educational needs will not be able to tolerate. A read aloud is a back to basics approach to teaching a foreign language which is “the perfect ’antidote’ to our frenzied, fractured attention-spans hyper-stimulated by overdoses of screen time and smart technology” (Gurdon in Eichorn n.d.).  

Language teachers should always bear in mind that communication in English outside the language classroom takes on different forms. Consequently, if we want to prepare our learners for this variety, it only makes sense to read aloud books to children, as this activity provides our little listeners with another form of exposure to spoken English than the one they can experience in cartoons such as Peppa Pig or Bluey or in dialogues from course book recordings.  

Research suggests that growing up in a home full of books has a positive effect on literacy in later life (Flood 2018). However, according to National Literacy Trust (2022), in England 1 in 5 children aged 5 to 8 do not have a book of their own at home. In Poland around 7% families do not have any books at home (Harry Potter … 2017). Douglas, chief executive of the British National Literacy Trust (2022), emphasized the importance of having books in order to foster regular reading habits among children and to boost literacy rates (Cornall 2022). Unfortunately, with the rising cost of living and soaring book prices, some parents have been forced to significantly reduce the amount of money they spend on books for children. It is no surprise then that in some cases a read-aloud might be one of the very few opportunities for kindergarteners to come into contact with literature for children.

Kindergartens are thought to be play-based, but for example in the United States, kindergarten teachers are pressured to pack every moment of the day with task kindergarteners are developmentally not ready for (Martin 2020). As a result, children are less and less frequently encouraged to grow and flourish in a play-based environment. My experience as a kindergarten teacher shows that the same thing is happening in Poland. Parents seem to assume that when children are idle the teacher is not doing their job well or not doing it at all. Consequently, teachers rehearse numerous plays or dances with learners , prepare kindergarteners for competitions organized by the city authorities, or pursue academic skill-building. What is more, children have rhythmic classes, Religious Education classes (Religious Education classes are not obligatory in Poland, but the majority of parents want their children to attend them), extra football classes, and speech therapy meetings for those who need them. Consequently, my learners were so tired during their English lessons that some of them refused point blank to do any of the movement-based activities I had in store for them. They were also unwilling to colour yet another worksheet or do another arts-and-crafts project. Hence, the idea for frequent read-alouds.

On the one hand, read-alouds are a source of language input. On the other hand, they become a time when children can finally rest. All they need to do is sit down or even lay down on the carpet and listen. Interestingly, laying down on the carpet was sometimes frowned upon by the group teachers I worked with and perceived as a sign of laziness, lack of engagement, and disrespect towards me and my lessons.

Even though it is recommended to engage little listeners in the story by asking them questions about the plot and the illustrations, by asking them to predict further events or make their own conclusions, a read-aloud can and even should be a time when children do nothing but simply listen to and enjoy the story for the sheer pleasure of it.  

 

How to prepare for a read aloud

Always read the book before you share it with your kindergarten learners. First read it silently to know what the book is about. As you read the book, familiarize yourself with illustrations which are meant to catch the attention of little readers. Being familiar with the pictures allows you to align your reading with the visuals. For example, you can use the illustrations to build your little listeners’ anticipation for what is going to happen further in the story. What is more, your little listeners are likely to have questions about the pictures they see while you are reading. Knowing the illustrations lets you answer their questions with confidence, which, in turn, enhances their understanding of the plot.

As you read the book, take note of all the words which you do not know how to pronounce. You can use dictionaries such as the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries (https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/) or Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online (https://www.ldoceonline.com/) to listen to a word as many times as you need to, before you practise pronouncing it. Remember: your little listeners will copy your pronunciation mistakes and carry them to  further stages of education, especially when you are the only model of spoken English in your language classroom.

Correct pronunciation during a read aloud  is important, as mispronunciations can disrupt the flow of the story and make it less enjoyable for your little listeners. Mispronunciations can also lead to confusion among your kindergarteners, especially when the mispronounced phrase is important to the plot or the context. Moreover, struggling with pronunciation might lead to frustration, which will have a negative impact on both your willingness to read more books aloud in English and your little learners’ enjoyment of the whole process.

It might be a good idea to practise reading with a partner and ask for feedback before reading aloud to your young listeners (Okello 2021), as reading aloud requires more than fluency. If you want to capture the attention of your audience, you need to read a story in an animated and expressive way, especially when it is a book about emotions. Not only will constructive feedback from your partner let you know how captivating your read aloud is, but it will also allow you to focus on appropriate pauses at punctuation marks and between paragraphs, which, in turn, will help your little listeners follow the flow of the text, and consequently the plot, more effectively. What is more, your colleague might be able to tell how good you are at varying your voice, i.e. using your voice to portray different characters in the story or modifying your pitch to convey different emotions both expressed by the characters and embedded in background events. Together with your partner you can also practice drawing your little readers’ attention the events in the story or to the illustrations, or asking them to predict or make guesses about what is going to happen further in the book.

Finally, practising reading aloud allows you to estimate how much time you will need to work with a book. Apart from practicing your stopping points and referring to illustrations, you should add a few minutes for your little listeners to make comments or predictions. Once you have determined the amount of time that you will need, add an extra five minutes just to be safe (How to prepare … 2021). If the group is particularly unruly, you will need to add even more time to tackle potential discipline problems.

 

How to choose a book

If you cannot decide what emotions you would like to focus on during your read aloud session, talk to the group teacher and choose stories to talk about emotions mentioned in the curriculum. Usually, the curriculum addresses common childhood emotions like anger, fear, sadness, and happiness and takes into account the child's age and developmental stage in the proposed selection of feelings and emotions to be discussed.

Choose books that feature diverse characters in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, and background. This can help children relate to and empathize with a wide range of experiences.

Avoid books that promote negative stereotypes or stigmatize certain emotions. At the same time, you might want to choose picture books that challenge harmful stereotypes relating to experiencing emotions, e.g. Big Boys Cry by Jonty Howley. Do not forget to include stories featuring neurodivergent characters, either - e.g. This Beach Is Loud! by Samantha Cotterill.

Think about the length of the book and the time available for read aloud sessions. Longer books may require multiple sessions. However, listening to a book in a foreign language requires more cognitive effort from your little listeners than if they were listening to a book in their mother tongue. That is why I would definitely recommend short or very short books which can be read in one go. An example of such a book could be: Shh! We have a plan by Chris Haughton.

Source: https://www.chrishaughton.com/shh

Apart from being short, the book is written in very simple, repetitive language which reflects the repetitiveness of the events in the story. Consequently, not only will your little listeners be able to easily predict what is going to happen, but close to the end of the story they are like to repeat the phrases they have already heard so many times after you. Another advantage of the simple language is that you may want to translate it into your little readers’ mother tongue as they might become frustrated when they do not fully understand what the plot is and might become restless as a result.

I am in favour of translating a book that I read aloud to my kindergarteners, because reading aloud should not only be about the language, but also about the plot, which can be inaccessible even when the read aloud is accompanied by illustrations, gestures or voice modulation. Moreover, translating can encourage more active participation in the reading session. Your little learners ask questions or make predictions when they feel they have a better understanding of the story and that can happen when the story is translated for them. Obviously, they will do so in in their mother tongue, but acceptance of your little learners’ responses, questions, comments, predictions regardless of the language they come in shows them that they and their ideas are acknowledged, which, in turn, will create more enthusiasm for further reading sessions. Moreover, at kindergarten level, when your little readers’ communicative competence is not fully developed yet even in their mother tongue (especially in lower age groups) and when they have very limited opportunities for using their communicative skills for oral communicative exchanges, we should focus on the development of their listening skills. After all, with ubiquitous access to the Internet, when they leave the language classroom, your little readers are more likely to watch Peppa Pig on YouTube than order ice cream in English. Finally, with private English lessons being popular but quite expensive nowadays, translating ensures that the content is accessible to learners from diverse language backgrounds.

Since translating has so many advantages in a kindergarten class it has to be done well. This means that, among others, it should flow smoothly and naturally, without awkward pauses, hesitations, or frequent errors. That is why I do not recommend reading narrative poems in kindergartens unless you are an experienced translator. However, a good solution might be to read a fragment of a story in English and then translate it with the help of the official version of the book in your learners’ mother tongue. This is how I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle: I read two pages from the English version and then two pages from the published Polish translation.

I do realize that some teachers avoid translating into their language, because they want to maximize their learners’ exposure to English or because they do not share the mother tongue with their students. In such cases I recommend reading the book first and then watching its animated version on YouTube as the combination of moving pictures and sounds can make the story more accessible, while at the same time providing even more language input. For example, the following books have their animated versions on YouTube:

• The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY
• Shh! We have a plan by Chris Haughton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gar9yD_-zEk
• Don’t Worry, Little crab by Chris Haughton - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzWZfaSiXkA

Alternatively, you can read a book which was written on the basis of a cartoon and then watch the cartoon itself. Peppa Pig is a wonderful resource in this respect. There is a wide variety of books about her adventures: from hard backs with a simplified plot and very little text on the pages to relatively lengthy paperbacks containing almost every detail from the cartoons. Interestingly, there are also grade readers about the adventures of Peppa and her brother George. This is the type of books I think works best in kindergarten classrooms, as they are written in simple sentences, use basic vocabulary and have very little text on every page – consequently your little listeners will not have time to get bored waiting for you to move on to another page.

 

Final remarks

When I started teaching English to little humans, I started reading picture books during my lessons because this was what I did and this was what I was good at when I was a volunteer in a kindergarten.

On the one hand, this showed me you do not necessarily have to be an extrovert constantly on the move to be an effective kindergarten language teacher. What also matters is being authentic: I am passionate about books; I love reading them for myself and I love reading them aloud to little children. I am good a picking books for others, because I observe their bookshelves and remember their interests. Another thing is: I always read books that I personally enjoyed to my kindergarteners. I channelled my passion and my skills into read-alouds and they worked.

Thanks to read-alouds, I realized that picture books about emotions allow children, apart from obvious language benefits, to hear about feelings that, for various social reasons, might not be accessible to them. The read-alouds might also be one of the very few opportunities for kindergarteners to have contact with quality literature for children, which boosts their cognitive potential and improves their literacy skills. Finally, read-alouds may become a cure for this success-driven, idleness-forbidding, screen-based madness which keeps kindergarteners constantly occupied. It seems that more and more frequently children need to just sit or lay down and just listen to a story. Let them rest by reading books to them.

 

References

Aron, J. (2021). A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is joyful sci-fi reading. New Scientist. Accessed at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25033410-800-a-psalm-for-the-wild-built-by-becky-chambers-is-joyful-sci-fi-reading/. DOA: 22.09.2023.

Books about Emotions That Help Kids Understand Their Feelings. (2022). Rhythms of Play.

Cerniglia, L. (2019). Intersections and Divergences Between Empathizing and Mentalizing: Development, Recent Advancements by Neuroimaging and the Future of Animal Modeling. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience. Volume 13 Article 212, pp. 1-17. DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00212.

Cherry, K. (2023). Emotions and Types of Emotional Responses. The Three Key Elements That Make Up Emotion. verywellmind. Accessed at: https://www.verywellmind.com/. DOA: 22.09.2023.

Cornall, F. (2022). One in five children in England do not own any books of their own. The Guardian. Accessed at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/02/one-in-five-uk-children-do-not-own-books-of-their-own. DOA: 24.09. 2023.

Eichhorn, N. (n.d.). Review of: “The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction” by Meghan Cox Gurdon. Somatic Psychotherapy Today. Accessed at: https://somaticpsychotherapytoday.com/the-enchanted-hour-the-miraculous-power-of-reading-aloud-in-the-age-of-distraction/. DOA: 24.09.2023.

Emotional regulation: how children learn to manage their feelings & how you can help. (n.d.). sourcekids. Accessed at: https://www.sourcekids.com.au/emotional-regulation-how-children-learn-to-manage-their-feelings-how-you-can-help/. DOA: 22.09.2023.

Flood, A. (2018). Growing up in a house full of books is major boost to literacy and numeracy, study finds. The Guardian. Accessed at: Growing up in a house full of books is major boost to literacy and numeracy, study finds | Books | The Guardian. DOA: 24.09.2023.

Graziano, P.A. et al. (2007). The Role of Emotion Regulation and Children's Early Academic

Success. Journal of School Psychology, 45(1), pp. 3-19.

Harry Potter króluje, a 20 proc. gimnazjalistów nie czyta książek. (2017). Newsweek. Accessed at: https://www.newsweek.pl/polska/czytelnictwo-dzieci-raport-20-proc-gimnazjalistow-nie-czyta/r5e4sc4. DOA: 24.09.2023.

How to prepare for your read aloud. (2021). Stories aby storie. Accessed at: https://storiesbystorie.com/how-to-prepare-for-your-read-aloud/. DOA: 24.09.2023.

Martin, J. (2020). Play Is Disappearing From Kindergarten. It’s Hurting Kids. EdSurge. Accessed at: https://www.edsurge.com/news/2020-02-04-play-is-disappearing-from-kindergarten-it-s-hurting-kids. DOA: 24.09.2023.

National Literacy Trust (2022). 5 to 8-year-old children’s reading in 2022. National Literacy Trust. Accessed at: https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/5-to-8-year-old-childrens-reading-in-2022/. DOA: 24.09.2023.

Okello, B. (2021). The Power of Read Alouds // How to Perform an Effective Interactive Read Aloud. Centre for Literacy Education. Accessed: https://iei.nd.edu/initiatives/notre-dame-center-for-literacy-education/news/the-power-of-read-alouds-how-to-perform. DOA: 24.09.2023.

Suveg, C. et al. (2008). “I'd rather not talk about it:” Emotion Parenting in Families of Children with an Anxiety Disorder. Journal of Family Psychology, 22(6), pp. 875-884. DOI: 10.1037/a0012861. 

Understanding and managing emotions: children and teenagers. (n.d.). rasingchildren.net.au. the Australian parenting website. Accessed at: Understanding emotions: children & teens | Raising Children Network. DOA: 22.09.2023.

Vitale, B. (2022). What Is a Picture Book and What Makes a Great Picture Book! Brooke Vitale Editorial Services. Accessed at: https://brookevitale.com/blog/what-is-a-picture-book. DOA: 22.09.2023.

What is the right amount of screen time for kids? (n.d.) National geographic Kids. Accessed at: https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/parents/screen-time-for-kids/. DOA: 24.09.2023.

Weir, K. (2023). How to help kids understand and manage their emotions. American Psychological Association. Accessed at: https://www.apa.org/topics/parenting/emotion-regulation. DOA: 22.09.2023.

 

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