Building on her groundbreaking work in Writing Superheroes, Anne Dyson traces the influence of a wide-ranging set of “textual toys” from children’s lives—church and hip–hop songs, rap music, movies, TV, traditional jump-rope rhymes, the words of professional sports announcers and radio deejays—upon school learning and writing. Wonderfully rich portraits of five African American first–graders demonstrate how children’s imaginative use of wider cultural symbols enriches their school learning. Featuring lively and engaging vignettes of children who are often left behind by our educational system, this book: Provides a detailed view of written language development from inside a particular childhood culture.Shows that children bring a rich folk culture to school and demonstrates how they “remix” their cultural references to accommodate school tasks such as writing.Turns the traditional educational view inside out by starting from inside a child’s culture and looking out toward the demands of school, rather than starting on the outside of the child and looking in.Provides concrete examples of how children’s cultural literacy practices translate into classroom practices and, in turn, into practices of academic success. “The most significant work that has ever been done in this area. It is superior in every respect and Anne Dyson writes like a dream.” —Tom Newkirk, University of New Hampshire “This book is unique in that it features students who draw on the cultural experiences of the Black church, sister and brother play–family games, rap, and Black popular music. It should be ideal in courses on literacy learning.” — Arnetha Ball, School of Education, Stanford University

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER When they were kids in the suburbs of Los Angeles in the 1950s, Diane Keaton and her younger brother, Randy, were best friends and companions. But as they grew up, Randy became troubled, then reclusive. Before he was thirty, he was divorced, an alcoholic, a man who couldn’t hold on to full-time work—his life a world away from his sister’s, and from the rest of their family. Now Diane delves into the nuances of their shared, and separate, pasts to confront the difficult question of why and how Randy ended up living his life on “the other side of normal.” In beautiful and fearless prose intertwined with journal entries, letters, and poetry—much of it Randy’s own—and supplemented by personal photographs and artwork, this insightful, heartfelt memoir contemplates the inner workings of a family, the ties of love and responsibility that hold it together, and the special bond between siblings—even those who are pulled far apart.

Writer Identity and the Teaching and Learning of Writing is a groundbreaking book which addresses what it really means to identify as a writer in educational contexts and the implications for writing pedagogy. It conceptualises writers’ identities, and draws upon empirical studies to explore their construction, enactment and performance. Focusing largely on teachers’ identities and practices as writers and the writer identities of primary and secondary students, it also encompasses the perspectives of professional writers and highlights promising new directions for research. With four interlinked sections, this book offers: Nuanced understandings of how writer identities are shaped and formed; Insights into how classroom practice changes when teachers position themselves as writers alongside their students; New understandings of what this positioning means for students’ identities as writers and writing pedagogy; and Illuminating case studies mapping young people's writing trajectories. With an international team of contributors, the book offers a global perspective on this vital topic, and makes a new and strongly theorised contribution to the field. Viewing writer identity as fluid and multifaceted, this book is important reading for practising teachers, student teachers, educational researchers and practitioners currently undertaking postgraduate studies. Contributors include: Teresa Cremin, Terry Locke, Sally Baker, Josephine Brady, Diane Collier, Nikolaj Elf, Ian Eyres, Theresa Lillis, Marilyn McKinney, Denise Morgan, Debra Myhill, Mary Ryan, Kristin Stang, Chris Street, Anne Whitney and Rebecca Woodard.

The #1 New York Times best-selling guide to reducing hostility and generating goodwill between siblings. Already best-selling authors with How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk, Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish turned their minds to the battle of the siblings. Parents themselves, they were determined to figure out how to help their children get along. The result was Siblings Without Rivalry. This wise, groundbreaking book gives parents the practical tools they need to cope with conflict, encourage cooperation, reduce competition, and make it possible for children to experience the joys of their special relationship. With humor and understanding—much gained from raising their own children—Faber and Mazlish explain how and when to intervene in fights, provide suggestions on how to help children channel their hostility into creative outlets, and demonstrate how to treat children unequally and still be fair. Updated to incorporate fresh thoughts after years of conducting workshops for parents and professionals, this edition also includes a new afterword.

This book provides a rich and nuanced examination of children learning to read and write a second language in primary schools in Kenya, taught by teachers who themselves have often learned English as a second or third language. The author uses two case studies, of an urban and a rural school, to explore how different socioeconomic and cultural contexts can affect the enactment of language policies and their effect on literacy. This book contributes a unique perspective to studies in language and literacy education due to its distinctive exploration of young children learning to read and write in the English language in Kenya, and it will be of particular interest to students and scholars of applied linguistics, language education, bilingualism and language policy.

Parallel Learning of Reading and Writing in Early Childhood explores why it’s important to provide a balanced language learning environment for young children and offers approaches for children to practice and explore language. Writing – a different but parallel process – can open the door to reading, and an effective writing approach in the home and early childhood classrooms leads to the development of phonemic awareness, understanding of phonetic principles, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Effective early childhood teachers are those that extend the knowledge children have amassed at home and use the knowledge of how children learn naturally in the world to inform their practice. This book offers the purpose, context, and outcomes of including writing right from the start in young children’s literacy learning. Through analysis of writing samples, research, and principles of best practices, Shea outlines the essential ingredients for early language learning and provides a developmentally appropriate approach to language learning. Throughout the chapters, Shea integrates discussion of assessment, classroom environment, instructional/teacher scaffolding, and differentiating instruction across developmental levels along with the supporting theory. Special features: vignettes and descriptions of Pre-K, K, and Grade 1 classrooms that incorporate writing across the day artifacts of children’s writing that demonstrate an evolution of knowledge related to both message and word construction concept labeling words and topic specific terms defined throughout the book to support the reader’s understanding of professional terminology discussion of seminal and current research as well as best practices Companion Website with lesson ideas and abundant writing samples from a wide range of demographic, cultural, and language contexts for readers to view, analyze, and discuss. This text offers pre- and in-service early childhood education teachers the content and resources to develop a deeper understanding of language learning, to prompt an examination of current practice, and to stimulate curricular re-designs that foster meaningful, joyful, and motivated learning.

Complex factors affect young children and their families in today’s increasingly diverse world characterized by globalization, the transnational movement of people, and neo-liberal government policies in western and industrialized countries. This book focuses on three of these factors—culture, language and learning—and how they affect children’s development and learning in the context of their communities, families and schools. Taking an ecological perspective, it challenges normative and hegemonic views of young children’s language, literacy and numeracy development and offers examples of demonstrated educational practices that acknowledge and build on the knowledge that children develop and learn in culturally specific ways in their homes and communities. The authors highlight issues and perspectives that are particular to Indigenous people who have been subjected to centuries of assimilationist and colonialist policies and practices, and the importance of first or home language maintenance and its cognitive, cultural, economic, psychological and social benefits. Links are provided to a package of audio-video resources (http://blogs.ubc.ca/intersectionworkshop/) including key note speeches and interviews with leading international scholars, and a collection of vignettes from the workshop from which this volume was produced .