Literacy practices are intimately connected to the economic, social, cultural, educational, and intellectual dimensions of our lives; and similarly so, even the most ordinary events of our daily lives involve literacy practices. We argue that if schools are going to prepare young people to participate in and contribute to a diverse, complex, and…

Discusses six dimensions for analyzing lists used in reading education reform documents (type of list, nominalization, exclusivity and inclusivity, transivity, reading content, and intertextuality), explaining that lists frame who a good reader/good reading teacher is, what they do, and how they behave in particular institutional contexts. This…

New conceptions of reading and writing emphasize the active role of the reader or writer in constructing meaning and the inherently social nature of reading and writing. This suggests that classrooms can be viewed as literate communities using reading and writing to accomplish classroom community goals. (MT)

Learning in classrooms occurs through and is embedded in the interpersonal communication between teachers and students and among students. Classroom communication is negotiated by teachers and students as they act and react to each other through their verbal and nonverbal behavior. (CB)

The use of language in television commercials to promote products and the use of deceptive language in commercials addressing young children are discussed. (JD)

This article argues that (1) basal reading instruction (BRI) is a pervasive context within which school reading is defined; (2) the language and uses of BRI marginalize some students; and (3) children's understanding of BRI depends on how the use and meaning of basal readers marginalizes the children. (IAH)