Educational electronic book activity supports language retention among children at risk for learning disabilities

The main purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of an activity with an educational electronic book (e-book) on language retention among children at risk for learning disabilities (LD) (seven weeks after the intervention). Two modes of the educational e-book were investigated: with and without metacognitive guidance. Seventy seven kindergarteners aged 4.5–7 were randomly divided into three groups: (1) reading an e-book which included metacognitive guidance (EBM); (2) reading an e-book which did not include metacognitive guidance (EB); (3) receiving the regular kindergarten program (control). The children’s vocabulary was assessed before the intervention, immediately after the intervention (post 1) and seven weeks later (post 2). Story comprehension was assessed only following the intervention (post 1 and 2). The findings showed a long-term effect of the activity with the e-book on vocabulary. However, for story comprehension, a decrease in recall of words and quotes and an increase in the recall of main ideas from the story were found seven weeks after the activity with the e-book. No significant difference in retention was found between the two intervention groups (with and without metacognitive guidance). The implications of these results for kindergarteners at risk for LD are discussed.