Wordless Book Reading in Primary School Lessons: Striving for Greater Engagement of Students with Diverse Abilities

Abstract

Primary education teachers are constantly seeking new teaching methods and tools that would encourage the engagement of students with diverse abilities in the learning process. One such tool is wordless books. For Lithuanian teachers, wordless books remain a relatively new genre; therefore, this article examines the challenges of using them in primary school language education. A particularly under-researched area is classroom activities based on wordless book reading, where the teacher must simultaneously work with students of varying abilities. Thus, the aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of wordless book reading-based activities in fostering the linguistic activity and engagement of third-grade students. The method chosen for the study was participatory action research. During the study, students’ engagement and linguistic activity in traditional versus wordless book reading activities were observed, analyzed, and compared. Data were collected through the analysis of scientific and pedagogical literature and informal natural indirect observation. All activities were video-recorded, and the recordings were later analyzed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. The study involved 24 students from one primary school, selected using convenience sampling. Based on scientific literature and students’ prior knowledge of wordless books, the wordless book reading activities were structured in three stages: exposure, exploration, and engagement. All wordless book-based educational activities followed the same model: activation, learning objective, reading of a wordless book, and student reflection. The study revealed that wordless book reading activities encouraged participating students to become more engaged in the lessons. The most significant positive change was observed among students with lower abilities, slower learning pace, or greater shyness. The use of visually presented information proved particularly effective in stimulating these students’ linguistic activity and engagement, as well as their willingness to share thoughts and understanding.