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Abstract
Informed by Bakhtin’s (1929/1984) notions of heteroglossia and dialogism, Rosenblatt’s (1938/1978) transactional theory of reading, and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (1996) social semiotic multimodality, this qualitative study explores the question: How do readers respond in multimodal ways to nonfiction children’s literature, both individually and as a part of a collaborative learning experience, such as a whole group interactive read-aloud? And ancillary questions: 1) How do members of the classroom (children and teacher) transact with nonfiction picturebooks during whole group read-alouds to individually and collectively construct meaning? 2) What multimodal resources do readers (children and teacher) use to respond to and construct meaning from nonfiction picturebooks? 3) How do children's meaning making experiences with nonfiction picturebooks extend beyond the immediate read-aloud event, if they do? How might this meaning making occur during children’s play? This case study of one Kindergarten classroom in the Southeastern U.S. observed teachers and students as they participated in read-alouds and throughout the school day two to three days a week from January – May. A multimodal interactional analysis was conducted of the 77 video recordings, photographs, audio recordings, daily written observations, and reflective memos collected over the five months. Findings indicate that readers of nonfiction consider the responses of those around them in their takeaways, that making sense of nonfiction is a continual and discursive process, and that all readers responded to nonfiction picturebooks in multimodal ways. Findings also suggest that play is an integral site for children to continue their meaning making of nonfiction picturebooks collectively and individually, even when the play is fantastical or deviates from the nonfiction picturebook. Additionally, children responded to nonfiction books in both aesthetic and efferent ways, even though teachers continued to prioritize an efferent stance when reading nonfiction. This study has implications for elementary teachers and administrators, readers of nonfiction picturebooks, and reading researchers. It suggests that free play provided invaluable opportunities for young children to make sense of the nonfiction picturebooks and their worlds, that readers are always on the aesthetic-efferent continuum, even when transacting with nonfiction, and that young readers respond to picturebooks in multimodal ways.