This book is intended to offer an introduction to some major themes in literacy education. Literacy has become an important issue both in the UK and internationally, and this book aims to inform discussions while assisting teachers to reflect on their work as literacy teachers. Literacy is important from the earliest years through all the years of formal education, and so this book covers work with students in the full range of schooling, and in a number of different subject areas. Topics covered include: *the nature and use of texts *the reading positions that are constructed in texts and their ideological implications *the ways in which written texts change as students grow older *moving from the early years through to secondary education *the implications of Information Technology for literacy teaching Frances Christie is Foundation Professor of Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne. Ray Misson is Senior Lecturer in Language and Literacy Education at the University of Melbourne.

Few resources exist to give literacy teacher educators a comprehensive view of effective, innovative practices in their field, making this uniquely practical volume an important addition to the literature. Each chapter describes research findings and pedagogical methods, with an emphasis on what teachers really need to know to succeed. Woven into the text are more than 30 detailed activities and assignments to support teacher development, written by outstanding teacher educators. Links to professional teaching standards and the Common Core State Standards are highlighted throughout. Supplemental materials, including forms, checklists, and handouts, can be downloaded and printed in a convenient 8 1/2" x 11" size.

How can educators improve the literacy skills of students in historically underachieving urban high schools? In this timely book, the author offers a theoretical framework for the design of instruction that is both culturally responsive and subject-matter specific, rooted in examples of the implementation of the Cultural Modeling Project. Presented here, the Cultural Modeling Project draws on competencies students already have in African American Vernacular English (AAVE) discourse and hip-hop culture to tackle complex problems in the study of literature. Using vivid descriptions from real classrooms, the author describes how AAVE supported student learning and reasoning; how students in turn responded to the reform initiative; and how teachers adapted the cultural framework to the English/language arts curriculum. While the focus is on literacy and African American students, the book examines the functions of culture in facilitating learning and offers principles for leveraging cultural knowledge in support of subject matter specific to academic learning. This much-awaited book offers important lessons for researchers, school district leaders, and local practitioners regarding the complex ways that cultural knowledge is constructed and plays out in classroom life, in the life of a school, and in the life of a whole-school reform initiative.

Language, Literacy, and Power in Schooling brings critical ethnographic perspectives to bear on language, literacy, and power in culturally and linguistically diverse contexts, showing how literacy and schooling are negotiated by children and adults and how schooling becomes a key site of struggle over whose knowledge, discourses, and literacy practices "count." Part I examines tensions between the local and the general in literacy development and use; Part II considers face-to-face interactions surrounding literacy practices in ethnically diverse classrooms; and Part III widens the ethnographic lens to position literacy practices in the context of globalization and contemporary education policies. Each section includes a substantive introduction by the editor and a synthetic commentary by a leading literacy researcher. Above all, this is a book oriented toward social action. Unpacking the complexity of literacy practices and experiences in diverse settings, the authors seek not only to build new knowledge, but to inform and transform the pedagogies and policies that limit human potentials. The chapters in this volume have much to teach us about the roots of inequality and the possibilities for positive change. Together, they highlight the urgent need for critical literacy researchers to engage politically, confronting education policies that deny the rich multiplicity of human literacies, thereby carving ever-deeper cleavages between those with and without access to literacies of power. The dual focus on language and literacy with critical-ethnographic accounts of identity and schooling speaks to a growing constituency of scholars and practitioners concerned with the role of literacy and discourse in alternatively affirming or negating knowledge, power, and identity, both within and outside of schools.

An essential resource for educators, speech-language pathologists, and parents--and an ideal text for courses that cover literacy and significant disabilities--this book will help you ensure that all students have the reading and writing skills they need to unlock new opportunities and reach their potential.

Literacy is a perennial ‘hot topic’ in Britain and other English-speaking countries. Concerns about falling standards and a ‘literacy crisis’ are frequently raised. In response, governments initiate new policies and teaching guidelines. This book addresses the current policies, practices and media debates in England, the US, Scotland and Australia. Literacy and Education examines: How literacy is taught to children in primary schools; The place of phonics in current policies and the arguments made for and against it; How teachers deliver phonics lessons and how children engage with the method; The range of literacy practices children engage with throughout the school day and how they contribute to literacy learning; The contributions a social and critical perspective on literacy can make to current debates regarding teaching strategies; A wide range of research conducted in the UK, North America, Australia and other countries. Bringing together policy, practice and public debate and drawing on the author’s extensive research in a primary school, this essential new textbook provides questions and tasks for readers to engage with. Literacy and Education is ideal for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of literacy and education and students on PGCE courses. It will also be of interest to researchers and teachers.