Embodied literacies: an investigation into how young children embody their engagement with the features of wordless picturebooks

Throughout my PhD I will investigate young children's embodied practices as they engage with wordless picturebooks.
Embodied practices are defined here as whole or compartmentalised body movements that communicate meaning
(Strathern & Stewart, 2011). This definition links to the theory of multimodality, which asserts that communication occurs
through a variety of methods (Kress, 2010). The research will analyse young children's use of enactment and physical
object manipulation, as embodied practices, while they engage with wordless picturebooks. Wordless picturebooks has
been chosen for this project due to their narrative and design features (Nikolajeva, 2002; Sipe & Brightman, 2009).
Hassett (2010) has suggested that text types and their features affect the types of responses, for instance gesture may
be used to interpret the spatial relations of a visual text. I will investigate this claim by using qualitative data to analyse
how children use embodied practices as they engage with the features of wordless picturebooks. My PhD will provide
insights into the role embodied practices play in young children's literacy practices in the classroom. Literacy practices
are understood here as the varied ways that individuals respond to texts (Street, 1993). Through using rich qualitative
data to focus on specific embodied practices, a new and nuanced understanding will be generated as to how children
use enactment and physical object manipulation to engage with wordless picturebooks.