A teacher educator shares how a school community engaged family in parent-child interactive reading experiences around big ideas found in diverse literature to deepen inclusion beyond the classroom.

In their Four Resources Model, Freebody and Luke (1990) described four roles that readers take as they engage with texts: the code breaker, meaning maker, text user/analyst, and text critic. In this article, we propose the addition of a fifth role, the text actor. In this role, readers engage with texts that can incite, inform, and inspire them to…

In a "post-truth" era in which misinformation permeates digital environments, it is critical for teachers to help students develop media literacy skills by analyzing and evaluating media messages. Through these processes, English language arts teachers can also help students develop digital citizenship skills, in which they can analyze…

Family literacy programs can be effective for supporting the literacy learning of both parents and children. Educators and community members can be constructive in establishing family literacy programs in their school and in the community. Having knowledge of successful family literacy programs is important for both initiating and continuing with…

By implementing carefully selected children's literature into the current reading curriculum, teachers can help students develop into civic-minded citizens who are willing and able to take meaningful action. Much has been written about the need to link learning and culture in our literacy classrooms (Banks, 1995; Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995,…

We explore the concept of remixing existing literacy programs instead of replacing them in light of calls for changes emerging from local, national, and international conversations about literacy research and practice. We explain the evolution of a long-standing community and school literacy program in which pre-service teachers conduct…

This article examines the nature of student-to-student text discussion in a dialogically organized remote classroom. Conducted as teacher research, I investigated student talk in a PreK-1st grade biblical literature class. In the fall of 2020, I taught a biblical literature class to a fully remote PreK-1st grade cohort in a Jewish independent…

In this article, the authors use narrative inquiry methodology to engage with one Prekindergarten teacher and three newcomer parents in a Western Canadian school. Interested in addressing the unique learning and social needs of these particular parents and family members, as a way of strengthening parents and families as well as enhancing…

Young children's engagement with digital tools (e.g., tablets, smartphones, ebooks/storyapps, and mobile apps) is increasing globally. This is inevitable in our digital world. Even though children primarily use digital technology for entertainment purposes, these tools offer valuable learning opportunities too. Importantly, adults can provide and…

Fathers' engagement in their children's education has increased over the years, yet we know less about fathers' perspectives and engagement in children's literacy development. The authors focused on a fatherhood reading program that was initiated in several Title 1 schools in a large school district in the Southeastern United States. Findings are…

Arabic is the second most common home language of English learners in the United States. Educators seek to design culturally sustaining pedagogy to develop Arabic-speaking English learners' English skills while nourishing their heritage language and affirming their culture's values. The authors report on a series of interviews with three Arabic…

Enjoyment of reading books is related to reading proficiency, and fostering students' enjoyment of reading is imperative to support continued reading engagement. However, not all students understand that reading is important, and not all students are regularly engaged in recreational reading. Children typically read for pleasure less often as they…

Gamification uses game elements such as quests, challenges, levels, and rewards to motivate and engage students in the classroom. Given the engagement that students feel during gameplay, it is sensible to include elements of game design to motivate students and create a space for comprehensive vocabulary instruction. Designing a gamified…

Teachers balance many goals when selecting texts for small-group reading. The author explored the impact of one variable that teachers consider, quantitative text difficulty, on students' participation, discussion, comprehension, and fluency in small-group discussions of informational science texts. Six bilingual third graders identified as…

This article explores a variety of contemporary picturebooks that offer the picturebook as an object of construction, as a character, and as portals to other narrative levels. These metafictive devices break the traditional boundaries between fictional and real worlds by involving the reader in the narrative, talking to them directly, and…