Identifying researchers whose work has influenced classroom practice, raises questions about the nature of research and its relationship with practice, and the means through which knowledge is distributed. We argue that normally, influence arises through lines of research more than individuals, that knowing-in-practice distribution systems should…

Drawing from a qualitative case study that examined the language practices and learning in a first grade bilingual classroom, the author discusses one teacher's daily process for the literacy event of the morning message. Primary findings indicate that the ways the teacher listened and responded to students during the morning message provided…

Explicit instruction on the skill of creating mental imagery from text supports reading comprehension and recall. This article shares a strategy for teaching students how to process what they read by comparing mental imagery to "brain movies." It emphasizes choosing appropriate fiction and nonfiction texts to encourage readers to build the skill…

Interviews and observations were conducted in five schools using a Response to Instruction and Invention framework to investigate (a) changes in role-expectations and functions for educators, (b) perceptions about their changing roles, and (c) skills needed to be effective in this systemic effort to improve literacy instruction for all students.…

Teachers often have no preparation for handling the questions and conversations that arise in the classroom when discussing literature having adoption or foster care themes. Instead of relying on personal experiences or stereotypes portrayed through the media, teachers are advised to understand the developmental tasks of children from families…

How might book introductions open up spaces for critical literacy? This is the research question we asked while examining the records of teaching and learning within a yearlong teacher-research project in a second grade classroom. We designed a series of literacy units focused on themes of human rights, freedom, peace, and civil rights. Our focus…

There are approximately 1.5 million children in the United States who go to sleep each night without a home of their own (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2009). In this article, we provide insights into how educators can create greater classroom support, particularly in literacy learning and development, for this population. Drawing from…

Vocabulary knowledge is a critical contributor to reading, especially reading comprehension. A word-rich classroom environment maximizes students' opportunities to learn new words. The teacher's use of language provides an important model for children's vocabulary development. By modeling the use of sophisticated words, teachers can promote…

Informational text presents many obstacles to comprehension for striving readers. Although teachers use many evidence-based practices to support instruction with this type of text, in some situations, readers may be able to increase their comprehension by rereading. Teachers can help students recognize situations in which rereading is helpful.…

Struggling readers need to be taught at their instruction level. But often, separating them from their classmates reinforces their feelings of inadequacy. This article will explain the importance of developing a sense of agency in struggling learners and outline some strategies teachers can incorporate to help make this happen within the classroom.

This study examined teachers' actions during small-group guided instruction as they scaffolded students' understanding. The data suggest that expert teachers use a process that has four components: questions to check for understanding, prompts for cognitive and metacognitive work, cues to alter the learners' attention, and direct explanations. As…

The most important element in the content literacy classroom is the teacher. Effective content literacy teachers engage their students through insistence, make connections across content areas, adapt instruction and are keenly aware of their students' out of class literacy interests. They are successful because they view themselves as learners too.

This article describes how fifth-grade students created collaborative online learning communities while discussing and responding to literature on an asynchronous message board. At their own initiative, students constructed and posted various types of literature response prompts, which elicited rich responses from their peers. Types of identified…

In this article, the author uses Gary Saul Morson's concept of sideshadows to attend to the multiplicity of narratives that occur in a third-grade classroom. The author advocates for experiential learning in order to make more visible to teachers children's internal thinking within language arts, especially English-language learners. Additionally,…

The authors of this article state that, as literacy coaches negotiate complex tasks in their work with teachers, they assume dual roles. The authors review the evolution of International Reading Association (IRA) standards, paying particular attention to the roles of literacy coach and literacy coordinator. The authors then present data on the…