Traditional literacy, usually defined as the ability to read print materials, is but one component in a connected series. In an effort to facilitate the concept of connections, this book has been divided into four main sections: The many faces of literacy; the land and people of Iceland; the lessons from Iceland, an examination of the results of 57 interviews with fish factory workers, educators, librarians, community leaders, publishers, and students. The interviews sought the reasons for the remarkable nearly-100% print literacy in Iceland. Numerous tables summarize the interview data; and implications for the future.

Fifteen years ago, Concha Delgado-Gaitan began literacy research in Carpinteria, California. At that time, Mexican immigrants who labored in nurseries, factories, and housekeeping, had almost no voice in how their children were educated. Committed to participative research, Delgado-Gaitan collaborated with the community to connect family, school, and community. Regular community gatherings gave birth to the Comit de Padres Latinos. Refusing the role of the victim, the Comit paticipants organized to reach out to everyone in the community, not just other Latino families. Bound by their language, cultural history, hard work, respect, pain, and hope, they created possibilities that supported the learning of Latino students, who until then had too often dropped out or shown scant interest in school. In a society that accentuates individualism and independence, these men and women look to their community for leadership, support, and resources for children. The Power of Community is a critical work that shows how communities that pull together and offer caring ears, eyes, and hands, can ensure that their children thrive--academically, socially, and personally. It offers a fresh approach and workable solution to the problems that face schools today.

"The ethnics are coming" --and the fear of many observers is that the quality of traditional disciplines will suffer as a result. Immigrant Voices: In Search of Pedagogical Reform is a new book which shows that such fear is unfounded. Ethnic scholars of international repute come together in this new collection of essays to meditate upon the single most important social phenomena in America today: Immigration. Due to the ever increasing ethnic diversity in today's school populations, the need to explore this issue has become more critical than ever. Giving voice to a broad range of complex experiences, contributors from China, Taiwan, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, and Slovakia provide insight into the numerous obstacles immigrants must overcome in order to succeed in both the academy and society at large. Offering broad theoretical perspectives, as well as powerful and unforgettable personal narratives, this book serves as a invaluable resource for continued efforts toward educational equity.

This edited volume discusses how the Gradual Release of Responsibility model evolved and has been applied, how it benefits learners and teachers, and how it can be utilised for years to come.

Exciting, productive connections with authors, illustrators, and storytellers are at your fingertips with this resource. Unlike other author visit guides, this book goes beyond nuts-and-bolts planning to how to create the best possible encounters between students and authors. Successful visits in real space and in cyberspace are described, giving you specific ideas of the many ways to connect with and create meaningful links between bookpeople and children. Choosing the right guest, guidelines for successful visits, making curriculum connections, using e-mail to connect with bookpeople, live chats in virtual space, taking advantage of ITB and satellite technology, and using such props as realia and curriculum guides are some of the topics covered. Lists of author/illustrator web pages and managed Internet sites for author interaction are included.

This edited volume highlights recent research related to how issues of diversity are addressed within literacy instruction for K-12 learners.

"This book documents the latest research findings about the success of free voluntary reading in developing high levels of literacy"--Provided by publisher.