The emergence of quality multimodal texts such as graphic novels may provide new vistas that allow adolescents access to more complex readings of difficult texts. This is especially true for the large number of graphic versions of Shakespearean text that have recently come on the market. However, it is still unclear as to what students actually…

Schooling can play a role in bolstering a sense of community, but research suggests that curriculum may serve to isolate teachers and students from their rural surroundings. In this qualitative case study, we asked if the literacy curriculum and instruction supported readers to make connections to their rural setting. We analyzed curriculum…

The semiotic world that we inhabit (within and outside the academy) is fast changing in terms of the resources that are used and the practices in which many engage. Yet the institutional norms governing highly consequential academic texts--students' texts assessed as part of their disciplinary-based activity and scholars' papers submitted for…

This paper explores beginning pre-service teaching students' common perceptions of the meaning of the term literacy. The methodology used is described in terms of phenomenographic analyses and the outcome, an array presentation of concepts in diagrammatic form. It establishes that students' conceptions of literacy are embedded predominantly in the…

In this article, three educators share case studies describing racial biases and segregationist practices in early schooling. The authors draw upon critical race theory as a lens and employ critical discourse analysis to uncover classed and raced biases within and across three early childhood contexts. While the cases are situated in specific…

Current thinking about language, learning, and literacy are discussed, focusing on such themes as: literacy as a part of language learning, understanding text and written language modes, the "metas" in language and cognition, and maintaining a clinical focus in classroom contexts and beyond. Four researcher-clinicians offer observations about…

By selecting appropriate reading materials, teachers can engage African American adolescent males with text, particularly students who have not mastered the skills, strategies, and knowledge that will lead to positive life outcomes. This approach takes into account students' four literacy needs--academic, cultural, emotional, and social--and…