An approach to literacy that understands it as lived and experienced in the everyday across varied spaces and populations. This book approaches literacy as lived and experienced in the everyday. A living literacies approach draws not only on such official, schooled activities as reading, writing, speaking, and listening but also on such routine, tacit activities as scrolling through Instagram, watching news footage, and listening to music. It goes beyond well-worn framings of literacy as an object of study to reimagine literacy as constantly in motion, vital, and dynamic, filled with affective intensities. A lived literacies approach implies a turn to activism, to hopeful practice, and to creativity. The authors examine literacies through a series of active verbs: seeing, disrupting, hoping, knowing, creating, and making. Case studies—ranging from an exploration of photography as a way to shift perspectives to a project in which adults teach young people how to fish—show lived literacies in both theory and practice. With these chapters, the authors position literacy differently. They make it possible to see literacy in everyday activities, woven into the modes of seeing and knowing. By disruption and activism, literacy can encompass a wide array of practices—exchanging information at a school gate or making a collage. Grounding theory in the sites and spaces of their research, working with artists, photographers, poets, and makers, the authors issue a call to action for literacy education.

An approach to literacy that understands it as lived and experienced in the everyday across varied spaces and populations. This book approaches literacy as lived and experienced in the everyday. A living literacies approach draws not only on such official, schooled activities as reading, writing, speaking, and listening but also on such routine, tacit activities as scrolling through Instagram, watching news footage, and listening to music. It goes beyond well-worn framings of literacy as an object of study to reimagine literacy as constantly in motion, vital, and dynamic, filled with affective intensities. A lived literacies approach implies a turn to activism, to hopeful practice, and to creativity. The authors examine literacies through a series of active verbs: seeing, disrupting, hoping, knowing, creating, and making. Case studies--ranging from an exploration of photography as a way to shift perspectives to a project in which adults teach young people how to fish--show lived literacies in both theory and practice. With these chapters, Pahl and Rowsell, along with contributors Collier, Pool, Rasool, and Trzecak, make it possible to see literacy in everyday activities, woven into the modes of seeing and knowing. By disruption and activism, literacy can encompass a wide array of practices--exchanging information at a school gate or making a collage. Grounding theory in the sites and spaces of their research, working with artists, photographers, poets, and makers, the authors issue a call to action for literacy education.

This work explores the lives and literacies of different generations of people living in two areas of London at the end of the 20th century. It contrasts these two to symbolize the link between poverty and wealth in Britain at this time.

Demonstrating what it is like to be an adult learner in today’s world, this book focuses on language, literacy and numeracy learning. The authors explore the complex relationship between learning and adults’ lives, following a wide range of individual students in various formal learning situations, from college environments to a young homeless project, and a drug support and aftercare centre. The study is rooted in a social practices approach and examines how people’s lives shape their learning. Themes addressed range from: how literacy is learned through participation and how barriers such as violence and ill-health impact on people’s lives. Based on a major research project and detailed, reflexive and collaborative methodology, the book describes a coherent strategy of communication and impact which will have a direct effect on policy and practice

Challenges an autonomous model of literacy instruction in favor of one that recognizes and builds on students’ facility in navigating other rhetorical contexts.

The current educational landscape demands more than traditional literacy skills to equip learners with the necessary tools to thrive in the modern world. The traditional focus on reading and writing print text may not be sufficient to comprehend the diverse forms of meaning-making necessary for effective communication and understanding in diverse communities. This poses a crucial challenge for educators who aspire to foster engaged and critically aware learners who can navigate the complexities of contemporary society. Arts-Based Multiliteracies for Teaching and Learning offers a transformative solution by advocating for a pedagogy of multiliteracies centered on arts-based approaches. By redefining literacy to encompass diverse modalities such as dance, drama, music, visual arts, and multi-media, this book challenges educators to expand their understanding of literacy beyond traditional boundaries. The book provides a compelling rationale for integrating arts-based multiliteracies across all levels and curricular areas.

For this essential collection of readings on literacy and language, Teresa Grainger has carefully chosen journal articles and book chapters which offer significant and serious insights into the world of literacy in the twenty-first century.