This popular text examines literacy from a multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective. It "unpackages" the various dimensions of literacy--linguistic, cognitive, sociocultural, and developmental--and at the same time accounts for the interrelationships among them. The goal is to provide a conceptual foundation upon which literacy curriculum and instruction in school settings can be grounded.

Teaching the Dimensions of Literacy provides both the conceptual knowledge to support teachers' instructional decisions in the reading/literacy classroom and a multitude of instructional strategy lessons for classroom use with both monolingual and bilingual students. It proposes that teachers need to help children become code breakers (the linguistic dimension), meaning makers (the cognitive dimension), text users and critics (the sociocultural dimension), and scientists (the developmental dimension). Acknowledging and addressing all four dimensions, this text links literacy theory, literacy research, and literacy practice in a useable way. Covering both reading and writing, it features clear, concise, and useable reading and writing strategy lessons and ways to modify them for different types of students. Changes in the Second Edition: Entirely reorganized, the text is more user friendly, builds a stronger link between theory and practice, and makes it is easier for teachers to locate appropriate strategy lessons to use with their students. Academic literacy is addressed more fully.

This book lays out a new vision for the teaching of English, building on themes central to Wilhelm's influential "You Gotta BE The Book." With portraits of teachers and students, as well as practical strategies and advice, they provide a roadmap to educational transformation far beyond the field of English. --from publisher description

This innovative resource describes how teachers can help students employ "literacy tools" across the curriculum to foster learning. The authors demonstrate how literacy tools such as narratives, question-asking, spoken-word poetry, drama, writing, digital communication, images, and video encourage critical inquiry in the 5-12 classroom. The book provides many examples and adaptable lessons from diverse classrooms and connects to an active Website where readers can join a growing professional community, share ideas, and get frequent updates: http://literacytooluses.pbworks.com

Literacy remains a contentious and polarized educational, media and political issue. What has emerged from the continuing debate is a recognition that literacy in education is allied closely with matters of language and culture, ideology and discourse, knowledge and power. Drawing perspectives variously from critical social theory and cultural studies, poststructuralism and feminisms, sociolinguistics and the ethnography of communication, social history and comparative education, the contributors begin a critical interrogation of taken-for-granted assumptions which have guided educational policy, research and practice.

"In Tools for Teaching Content Literacy Janet Allen put a wealth of research-based instructional tools at teachers' fingertips to help students make connections with information resources and to read critically. More Tools for Teaching Content Literacy extends this treasure trove with twenty-five new instructional strategies - from Expert Groups to Point-of-View Guides to Wordstorming - using the same compact tabbed flipchart format. More Tools is a handy reference that provides instant access to succinct description, practical strategies, and manageable assessments, allowing teachers to save time and be more flexible and confident in meeting students' needs."--BOOK JACKET.