In this article, I adopt a practice theory consideration of student agency, that is, I consider students' power to act on their interests and intentions, on their own inclinations; this will-to-act-on-the-world is central to becoming an active, adaptive participant across the life span. As practice theorist Shery Ortner has explained, none of us…

In this paper, I draw on two childhood ethnographies to ask basic questions about the foundation of child writing. The first question is, "where does writing come from in young children's lives?" Answering this question will lead us to childhood play as the foundation of writing. The second question is, "how do educators negotiate…

Focuses on the writing aspect of the language arts curriculum. Introduces six-year-old Jameel, who illustrates a critical appraisal of an enacted curriculum. Rethinks the appropriateness of tensions between "process,""skills," and "heritage." Discusses the open, reflective stance of Jameel's teacher, who illustrates…

Examines the way children use varied kinds of language art forms and traditions as they construct and participate in the complicated worlds of school. Concludes that children must learn to engage in the writing process and to make their writing sensible for others, not just for the teacher. Asserts that teachers must be sensitive to children's…

Focuses on the nature of elementary school classrooms as social contexts for literacy, particularly for writing. Explores the nature of the classroom as the context for literacy, how children come to understand such classroom contexts, and what defines a beneficial context for literacy growth. (HTH)

Presents and considers the vision of children as receptors of adults' ideological messages. Reviews examples of adults' rewriting for children, drawing primarily on the rewriting of folk stories. Reconstructs, using ethnographic data from urban schools, one branch of a classroom chain of communication. Discusses the classroom conditions that…

A case study examined assumptions of current written language pedagogies, particularly the links between oral performance, literacy pedagogy, and the use of the explicit, analytic language valued in school. The subject, a young African-American child enrolled in an urban K/1 classroom, used school writing activities and the music of language to…

This paper focuses on the ways in which one teacher gathered artifacts and reflected on the progress of her first-grade students at a multi-ethnic school in the East San Francisco Bay Area. The paper emphasizes the importance of considering the social beings whose voices are embedded within the artifacts being collected. The paper uses a…

Based on data gathered in a participant observation project that focused on young children's behaviors during school structured literacy tasks, a study examined the relationship between learning to write and learning to perform school writing tasks. (HOD)

Presents case studies of two first-grade children, examining their writing as a linguistic and social process that involves the child in an exploration of both oral and written language within the social context of the classroom. (HTH)

This paper uses a qualitative study of children's symbolic and social use of superhero stories to examine the children's images of power and gender within an urban elementary classroom. The article discusses ways to help children deal with contradictory pressures of growing up in a multicultural society with inequitable power distribution. (SM)

A study investigated one way in which teachers can focus on more than children's products and writing processes by examining their social processes as well, specifically the health of the classroom communities and the individual children's comfort within those communities. Under the supervision of the same teacher, "journal time" in…

Focusing on children's developmental use of written language in kindergarten and first grade, this report looks at connections between the social and academic dimensions of classroom life. The first section examines literacy as an aspect of growing up and becoming a member of society. By highlighting the social and academic divisiveness schooling…

Using data collected from kindergarten and second grade children in a study of young children's concepts about writing as reflected in their school writing behaviors, this report focuses on information gathered from second grade children. The introductory chapter restates the research questions guiding the study and briefly reviews the major…