The term "discussion" is widely used to refer to any whole-class interaction around a text or experience. However, not everything that is termed discussion is equally conducive to student learning. In most classrooms, class discussion is a time for transmitting and reviewing course content. The authors refer to this activity instead as a…

In this article, the author advocates the use of literacy narratives--assignments in which students are asked to describe and reflect upon their experiences with reading and writing. Among their other uses, she believes that they provide a sense of students' prior literacy experiences and of their general feelings toward reading and writing, and…

When proficient middle school readers enter high school, it is generally expected that they can successfully comprehend high school text. If any literacy instruction is provided in high school, it is generally limited to students with a history of struggling with reading. Is it a reasonable expectation that successful middle school readers will be…

While teaching basic reading to students at a two-year college, the author had the idea to introduce his students to texts as challenging as the traditional material, but less complex. In doing so, he hoped to tap into the students' high competency in "street literacy"--the ability to decode the visual signs that are omnipresent in popular…

Because figurative expressions have become conventional components of everyday language, we are typically unaware of the true extent of the metaphorical nature of language. Some popular idioms, proverbs, and metaphoric expressions are so deeply embedded into language that they are comprehended immediately when used in oral conversations, without…

In this personal essay, the author describes her development as a teacher over a quarter of a century. Specifically, she discusses how, from her originally negative attitude toward content reading strategies, she grew to embrace the concept in her science classes. Drawing on her experiences, she provides examples of how her teaching has changed…

This investigation compares the computer practices of the Garza family, from the first study, with those of the Fuentes family, from the second study. As both families are of Mexican origin, they belong to an ethnicity that has been reported as falling on the "have-not" side of the "divide" (U.S. Department of Commerce, 1999); however, the…

This study explores the importance of competence in boys' literate lives. Participants were 49 middle and high school boys from very different backgrounds, ethnicities, social classes, and levels of academic achievement. They came from an elite, private all boys' school; a large suburban high school; a large urban school; and a small rural school.…

Leaders in the field of literacy regard family literacy projects that seek to involve both children and their parents or caregivers as vital. The importance of parents as a child's first teachers has long been acknowledged. Nevertheless, the topic of family literacy is not one of those receiving attention in the field. In an annual survey of…

The term "visual representation" is used purposefully to include a wide range of visual meaning-making devices and symbols. Although visual representations are considered important as meaning-making devices across theoretical constructs, little has been done to examine their role in the assessment and evaluation of learning in all areas of the…

As a university instructor and a language arts middle school teacher, the authors have been working collaboratively for the last three years. This article describes their collaborative efforts, including what they have learned about their students and about the process of learning through the work they have done together. To introduce their…

The process approach to writing instruction emphasizes a cycle of revision during which students draft, edit, revise, and redraft their work. In this approach, feedback from teachers or peers and the opportunity to revise written work based on this feedback are considered to be keys to students' development as writers, and the role of instruction…

This article presents the personal literacy journey of the author that originated while driving through Scotland. The journey serves as one touchstone of his own personal and professional life. The author shares what he finds on "this" particular journey: (1) Particular (and often peculiar) interest; (2) Active engagement of the four language…

According to recent U.S. census reports, while the population of the United States increased by 10%, the population speaking languages other than English at home increased by 38% between 1980 and 1990. One in six of all youth in the United States, ages 14 to 19, either speaks a language other than English at home, was born in a foreign country, or…

A primary goal of publicly funded adult education programs in the United States is to help adults increase their reading skills so their educational, vocational, and personal goals are more attainable. Adult education teachers are challenged with providing effective reading instruction for a diverse group of adults who have widely varying reading…