Current research supports the effectiveness of embedding explicit vocabulary instruction within the preschool classroom read-aloud. However, much of the book reading research has made use of story books rather than informational text. This study was conducted to understand the outcomes of using informational books to teach targeted vocabulary to preschool children during book reading. A quasi-experimental design was used to investigate the effects of two read-aloud strategies, using informational books, on preschoolers’ acquisition of novel vocabulary words. The results revealed statistically significant differences in the amount of words learned during the read aloud of an informational book in which vocabulary instruction was embedded. As a result of participating in vocabulary instruction embedded within an informational book read-aloud, preschoolers were able to learn the targeted words. Results indicate the effectiveness of teachers using an interactive approach with informational books when planning read-alouds to support vocabulary development. / Teaching & Learning

The purpose of this study is to illustrate how norms of the human body appears in childrens informational books. To answer the purpose of the study a discourse analysis of text and pictures has been made. The analysis was conducted on eight different informational books which are directed for children. The informational books were borrowed from a major library in central Sweden. The informational books was analysed through four different steps where five different questions was used in each step. The result and conclusion indicates that the norm of the human body who appears in the analyzed childrens informational books are mostly the thinner one. The knowledge that this study may contribute with is the importance of presence of descriptions and portrayals of the human body in literature that children can identify themselfs with. Further knowledge that this study may contribute with is how childrens self-esteem can be affected if there do not occure human bodies they can identify themselfs with. / Syftet med studien är att belysa hur normer om människokroppen framträder i faktaböcker om kroppen riktade till barn.  För att besvara studiens syfte användes en diskursanalys av text och bild. Analysen genomfördes på åtta faktaböcker om människokroppen riktade till barn. Faktaböckerna som analyserades lånades på ett större bibliotek i Mellansverige. Faktaböckerna analyserades utifrån fyra olika steg där varje steg utgick ifrån fem olika frågor som besvarades. Resultatet och slutsatsen av studien visar på att det mestadels är en norm av en smalare eller tunnare kroppsform som framkommer i de faktaböckerna som analyserades. Den kunskap som studien kan bidra med är vikten av att det förekommer beskrivningar och gestaltningar av människokroppar i litteratur som barnen kan identifiera sig med. Ytterligare kunskap som studien kan bidra med är hur barns självkänsla kan påverkas om det inte förekommer människokroppar de kan identifiera sig med.