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Repères, n°50/2014

Repères, n°50/2014

Lire en maternelle : la lecture avant que de savoir lire

Edited by Pierre Sève, Sylvie Cèbe

Repères - Recherches en didactique du français



Reading in preschool : reading before knowing how to read

Speaking about "reading" before one knows reading is paradoxical. Nevertheless, adults read very frequently books to their children. During these moments, children are not passive listeners but they are actively involved with their parents in "shared-reading" interactions. So, for a long time ago, Prescholl and Kindergarden offer multiple activities that we can call "reading". Recent studies showed that these experiences can foster language development and early reading and that those early reading skills heavily determines children's has lasting effects on later reading comprehension. So early school practices can thus contribute to reduce the social inequalities and to prepare the ways of a cultivated practice of reading.

In this issue, Repères proposes several points of view. Some contributions are focused on sometimes underestimated objects of teaching, such the entry in fictional narratives, the early practice of documentary texts or picture dictionaries. Others authors question the specificities of school's reading activities they compare with home practices, when others look at different and uncommon modalities of mediation. Others give fruitful ideas for rich educational device and pedagogic tools. The point of view of pupils is not ignored.

Of course, this set of scientific papers doesn't provide some final models to ensure the successful development of early reading but the full extent of research and the variety of views being presented testify that young children education is an importance preoccupation.