Aloud to Others IDENTIFIERS *Conversation; Explanations; *Explanatory Speech

This study examined explanatory talk that occurred in families of preschool children during book readings between mother and child, and during mealtimes with the whole family. The study is part of a larger study, the Home School Study of Language and Literacy Development. Three-yearold children eligible for Head Start programs in the greater Boston (Massachusetts) area were recruited for the study. A total of 84 low-income families were visited at home once each year when the children were 3 and 4 years old. Two books, one provided by the researcher and one familiar to the child, were used for tape-recorded book reading sessions. Each mother was also asked to record family conversation during a meal. All recorded conversations were transcribed for analysis. Results indicated that a higher percentage of explanatory utterances occurred during readings of the familiar book than during readings of th