E-Books for supporting the emergent literacy and emergent math of children at risk for learning disabilities

The purpose of the study reported here was to examine the effect of activity with an educational electronic book (e-book), with/without metacognitive guidance, on the emergent literacy (rhyming) and emergent math (essence of addition, ordinal numbers) of kindergartners at risk for learning disability (LD). Seventy-seven children (M=5.88, SD=.67) participated in the study. The children's cognitive level (verbal and non-verbal), emergent literacy (rhyming) and emergent math (essence of addition and ordinal numbers) were examined pre- and post-intervention. The findings indicate a significant improvement in these variables among the two groups of subjects who worked with the e-book when compared to the control group. The experimental group that received metacognitive guidance as part of their e-book experience exhibited the greatest improvement in rhyming. The findings are discussed in light of the still meager research on the effectiveness of e-books for promoting learning of children at risk for LD.