Twenty-seven middle school English learners participated in a study to determine the efficacy of the Think-Aloud Strategy, one of several metacognitive strategies created to help students strategically negotiate appropriate meaning from text. Students were grouped by level of English-language proficiency and were administered a reading…

Mario, an adolescent English-language learner and struggling reader, participated in a university-sponsored summer literacy program. After the program, a follow-up literacy assessment was conducted, and Mario was interviewed about his perceptions of and practices with literacy. The findings of this case study demonstrate the possibility that…

For English-language learners, comprehension can be hindered by a lack of understanding of homonyms, homophones, and homographs, but the right instructional strategies can alleviate this problem. Following a discussion of issues such as the importance of being aware of a student's literacy skills in his or her home language and the need to…

An analysis of what appears initially to be a typical literature circle discussion about the book "Shiloh" illuminates larger issues of the influence of class and gendered discursive practices. Drawing on critical discourse analysis, the author suggests that the ways these fifth-grade students enact class and gender roles actually positions them…

A 13-year-old male adolescent with dyslexia was studied to examine how holistic approaches to intervention can foster academic achievement and emotional well-being. Findings suggest that appropriate strategies can empower learners and raise standards and highlight the importance of teacher empathy in enhancing the quality of the learning…

Alarms about a "literacy crisis" among young people have been sounded on a regular basis for more than a century. Yet as each generation of students matures, it is able to accomplish the reading and writing tasks necessary for society to continue. Perhaps then, rather than sounding more alarms, it is time to consider what anxieties, particularly…

The Talkback Project used blog software to involve eighth-grade language arts students, preservice teachers, and parents in online discussion of young adult novels and their personal connections with them. The author shares the challenges associated with the project--including the implications of Internet safety and legal concerns associated with…

A movement in late 20th-century rhetorical theory asked teachers to encourage writing on personal topics as well as formal, impersonal ones. Thus, to traditional writing goals (pleasing, persuading, and instructing) the exorcism of often deep emotions was added. This movement forced teachers to read and evaluate student writing in a more…

Increased attention on written response to literature has tended to eliminate other forms of student writing in literature classrooms. However, when we allow students to write fiction unrelated to a particular text, their commitment to and understanding of texts are enhanced. This can serve as a means of engaging students with reading. Eight…

Using the assumption that texts actively work to position readers and readers actively work to position texts, the authors argue that moral lessons emerge from the interactions between texts, readers, and the ideological narratives that inspire both. After differentiating versions of Anne Frank's diary and explicating motives behind their…

Research indicates that there is a strong relationship between leisure reading and school achievement, but the leisure reading habits of urban adolescents have rarely been studied. From their investigation of the leisure reading habits of 584 urban minority middle school students, the authors identify these key findings: (1) More than two-thirds…

While agreeing with the authors of the 2005 JAAL article "The Imposter" regarding the importance of critical reading and the need to provide purpose for reading, this article advocates using authentic texts for instruction rather than embedding contradictory ideas, statements, or numbers into reading passages. Teachers can model strategies and…

The Poetry Generating Loop is a new kind of generative writing circle that offers concrete, creative ways to get students involved in and excited about poetry. By writing poems in groups, students are able to learn poetic terms and experiment with techniques through their writing--a process that can shed new light on the world of poetry. (Contains…

This column discusses the 40th anniversary of Guy Debord's "The Society of the Spectacle" and the Situationist International group. The author juxtaposes a few brief historical snapshots with definitions of key terms and paraphrases some important ideas and events. The author also refers to selected texts and Internet sources by and about Debord…

This bibliography was compiled for The Centre for Literacy's 2007 Summer Institute--"Libraries and Literacy: Making It Work." The literature represented here includes research studies, descriptive articles, guides and manuals. Selections address the principles, "best practices" and assessment of library involvement in…