Abstract :
The use of interactive storybooks in the primary classroom has the potential
to facilitate pupils’ reading, in small groups or individually. However, critics
have expressed concern at the exposure of pupils to interactive storybooks. In
particular, concern has been expressed that the interactive animations and
sound effects in such storybooks may adversely affect pupils’ responses to the
written text. These small scale studies examined whether story recall of small
groups of pupils, respectively in Year 5 and Year 4, was affected by the provision
of cued animations and sound effects. Consideration of the outcomes of both
studies indicates that access to cued animations and sound effects did have
adverse effects on pupils’ story recall.
