How do secondary teacher candidates learn about their responsibility for the ongoing literacy development of their students? How do they gain the understandings and knowledge of instructional practices necessary to meet this responsibility within their content teaching? The authors document three stages of development their students progress…

This study examined the progress of Hayder, a high school student, in becoming a reader within an English language learner (ELL) reading program. The authors delve into the relationships between this young man's masculinity as a Yezidi Kurdish refugee, the reading instruction he received, his attempts to stay in school, and his successful literacy…

Vocabulary knowledge contributes to comprehension, fluency, and student achievement. The goal of vocabulary instruction should be to build students' independent word-learning strategies. This article provides research and theory in support of nine key ideas about words and vocabulary instruction. These ideas are important for middle and secondary…

The learning difficulties of 23 adults were investigated in order to determine ways to better serve their literacy needs. These adults were all living in poverty, had less than eighth-grade literacy levels, and had failed to graduate from high school. The participants' records were examined and structured interviews were conducted with them; also,…

Bakhtin's language theories give educators a view into how people develop and communicate with language through dialogue. These conceptions can be applied to teaching in a variety of positive ways. The authors explore how teaching based on Bakhtinian concepts might function in the classroom, paying particular attention to the concepts of dialogue,…

Oral tradition has a long and valued history in Native American cultures and communities. In the past and still today, reading has had lesser value among many Native Americans. But oral tradition can be a vehicle toward improved literacy. This article uses literacy stories from Native American people, as well as quotes from prominent Native…

In our rapidly changing global culture, students' social worlds are becoming increasingly multilingual and multimodal, yet school practices do not often reflect the complexities or diversity of students' literacy and language practices. Valuing students' experiences with language and culture is important in creating supportive learning…

The purpose of the study described in this article was to identify the qualities of teaching expertise that correlate with highly effective literacy instruction in grades 6 through 12. Findings draw on survey responses of secondary literacy supervisors at the local school district or state department of education level in every U.S. state. From…

This article presents observations and discussion of the successful teaching of English to pupils, in English primary schools, for whom English is an additional language (EAL). It draws on research in Year 2 (6-7-year old) classes in three inner-city primary schools carried out in 2003 and 2005. Three recognized, effective teachers of literacy…

Children's resourcefulness can be seen in their ordinary, everyday "semiotic work" as they select resources from those ready to hand to create play environments and artefacts. Is this resourcefulness also evident as they make meaning in the highly conventionalized mode of writing? Conceptualizing writing as a process of design opens up the…

This article reports on case study research of seven- and eight-year-old children's discourse about reading. The case studies were selected to provide classrooms in contrasting neighbourhoods within a white "working class" town in the North of England. Mixed methods were employed, but primarily the case studies were ethnographic in character. A…

This article reports on some of the findings of an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded project that looks at the mark-making of children under three years old. The data were all collected in the children's homes, and multimodal transcription and analyses were used. The project focused on an investigation of the principles that…

Compelling aspects I have noticed throughout my teaching life are the multitude of understandings boys have concerning themselves as readers. In this inquiry, as part of a larger year-long ethnographic study, I observed and analyzed how what counts as talk around text accomplishes curriculum mandates and achieves valuable social ends for one third…

This article explores why policy makers in England and Scotland responded so differently to the Clackmannanshire study on synthetic phonics. It suggests that a deeper understanding of the national and local policy contexts can explain Scotland's response. Analysis of the wider context of the Clackmannanshire initiative supports Moss and Huxford's…

Although the recent publication of the Rose Report appears to draw a line in the sand that privileges synthetic phonics over other methods in the UK, history indicates a pendulum swing of preference between whole-word and phonics since the advent of mass education. Suggesting that the current "victory" for exponents of synthetic phonics is merely…