Responding to Informational Texts Across the Efferent–Aesthetic Continuum in Preschool.

Reading; Preschool teachers; School children; Early childhood education

The author compared preschool teachers' and students' responses to informational texts (nonfiction) as they read together in small groups. Drawing from reader response theory, similarities and differences were found in teachers' and students' reading behaviors. Teachers took a predominantly efferent stance toward the texts because the teachers' primary purposes were to provide students with information on topics of interest and to expose students to academic vocabulary and content. Conversely, students moved fluidly along the efferent–aesthetic continuum as they sought information, engaged in perspective taking, and responded with strong emotions and through dramatic interpretation. Based on these findings, teachers might reflect on their past experiences and reactions to informational texts so they can widen their own repertoires of response and encourage students to respond in a wide variety of ways during read‐alouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]