There is an increasing amount of research and discussion about the characteristics and learning needs of "Generation 1.5." These learners share characteristics of both first- and second-generation immigrants; they have grown up and been educated in the United States, but live in homes where English is not the primary language. They often have…

Through access to assistive technology, adult students with learning disabilities can improve their literacy skills and goal attainment as a supplement to regular adult basic education classes. This article describes a project that investigated whether increased engagement with text-to-speech and speech-recognition software could improve…

Teachers can build on students' familiarity with and respect for the Harry Potter books to create source-based vocabulary lessons. The idea is to work with the Latin roots that J. K. Rowling uses to create original names for places, people, and magical charms and then to extend students' knowledge through exploration of additional English words…

An important research paradigm applied to the study of adolescent resistance to reading--listening to student voice--has yielded rich information regarding adolescent literacy practices, adolescent agency, and adolescent identity as components of resistance to reading. Instructional perspectives of teachers and researchers also serve to shed light…

Struggling adolescent readers need interventions that provide them with opportunities to read more and to read better. The authors examine two case studies of interventions at work and propose criteria on which to evaluate intervention programs. Their review of the evidence on these programs for struggling adolescent readers suggests that at least…

In order for students to write like authors they need to read like writers. This requires direct instruction in attending to the writing craft through the use of quality adolescent literature and engagement in reading and writing. This article focuses on writing catchy introductions. The author offers the lesson objective and a teacher script…

Much research has validated procedures to enhance reading fluency in children and adolescents, but more is needed to determine whether such procedures work with adults who have deficits in reading skills. A within-subjects design was used to evaluate and compare the effects of listening while reading (LWR) and repeated readings (RR) on reading…

Using multiliteracies and sociocultural perspectives on language and literacy learning, this article describes three Japanese as a foreign language (JFL) students' literacy development through involvement with Japanese popular culture. As part of a larger qualitative ethnographic study, the author interviewed JFL learners who have a particular…

The authors discuss the challenges encountered by English-language learners (ELLs) as they attempt to interpret the figurative language of their new cultures. Providing ELL students with explicit instruction in interpreting figurative language--a bridge to reading comprehension--is a significant goal for teachers who design instruction for…

Using the framework of social literacies studies, this article illustrates the central role of pleasure as both the motivation for and result of rap composition. Drawing on ethnographic research conducted with four young adults who are part of a rap collective, the author identifies three key sources of pleasure in composition: (1) Discourse…

Elementary teachers lead students on prereading picture walks, engage them in prediction activities, and model previewing processes, secondary teachers often fail to do much more than distribute the textbook. To help middle and high school students learn to use their content area textbooks more effectively, teachers can engage them in previewing…

When asked to reflect on their experiences with writing, preservice teachers attributed their successes and failures to a number of factors. Some of these attributions, such as those made to "effort" and "ability", were internal in nature. However, the most frequently occurring references were to an external factor: "influential others."…

The power of culture to shape gender identities becomes particularly crucial for adolescents as they make the transition from child to adult. Yet as adults we offer little coherent, direct instruction in such matters. The author advocates supporting girls as they explore complex and empowering literacy practices, particularly online.

Although Chinese has become the third largest mother tongue in both Canada and the USA, Chinese/English biliteracy development has received little attention in educational research. This article explores three Chinese-Canadian first and second graders' biliteracy (Chinese/English reading and writing) and trilingual (Mandarin, Cantonese, and…

This article explores the ways in which young emergent bilingual children begin to develop literacy in two languages, Spanish and English. Three case studies of four-year-old Mexican-background children and their families living in southern Arizona are presented from a qualitative socio-psycholinguistic perspective. The children's home and…