We suggest that a healthy literacy diet for beginning readers consists of literacy experiences along a number of dimensions, including experiences with decodable text. As such, this article explores the role of decodable texts in a comprehensive early literacy curriculum that recognizes literacy as a complex, culturally mediated, and multifaceted…

Researchers and educators have explored representations of people with marginalized identities in children's picturebooks for over 30 years. Disability has not been widely acknowledged as a marginalized identity nor explored as an aspect of diversity prevalent in classrooms. In the United States, over seven million students are identified with a…

Presentation of text in picturebooks is an under-investigated field that requires consideration in order to support readers and those selecting books for readers. A unique form of picturebook is the bilingual picturebook which presents a story in two languages. The complexities of language readability and legibility are increased in these books,…

From the authors of the popular blog and resource for teachers, The Classroom Bookshelf, this book offers a framework and teaching ideas for using recently released children's and young adult literature to build a culture of inquiry and engagement from a text-first approach. "Reading With Purpose" is designed to help K-8 teachers tap…

Text classification and text gradation are important for language teachers. Profiling and readability studies examine textual and linguistic features that determine text difficulty. Arabic, as an under-resourced language, suffers from a lack of such studies which results in material developers and textbook writers relying on their intuitions and…

Purpose: Researchers and teachers have noted the power of students reading text sets or multiple texts on the same topic, and numerous articles have been published with examples of and frameworks for text set construction. This study aims to traces the theoretical assumptions of these frameworks and explores their distinct implications and…

Diverse classroom libraries offer opportunities for students to not only see themselves represented in books but also encounter lived experiences and perspectives that are different from their own. As classrooms increasingly include learners with cognitively and physically diverse abilities, teachers are faced with the challenge of selecting…

The purpose of this research paper is to encourage school teachers (with an emphasis on elementary teachers) to recognize and explore the literacy potential of their classroom libraries as a powerful critical literacy tool/asset that when designed and utilized strategically has the potential to reposition their classroom pedagogy and curriculum…

Interracial and multi-ethnic families formed through intermarriage and transracial adoption are on the rise in the context of globalization, transforming familiar assumptions about what a family should be. The trend of diversity in family composition is increasing and will continue to evolve. This article attempts to compile a set of useful…

In a diverse society, teachers must adopt a culturally relevant pedagogy that utilizes culturally responsive teaching practices, such as the incorporation of diverse children's literature. In doing so, teachers build global perspectives and global citizenry in students as they see themselves in text, encounter alternative perspectives, and develop…

There has been lots of quality young adult (YA) literature that addresses queer identity and has the potential for curriculum integration, bibliotherapy, and overall reading pleasure. However, unlike multicultural literature, there are no tools or a set of criteria that can help guide educators through the process of selecting the best of the YA…

In this article, John Macalister draws attention to the fact that the term "extensive reading" can have multiple meanings. It has been used to include breadth of reading and time spent reading, as well as both amount of new reading and amount of text read. It is, therefore, perhaps unsurprising that teachers can hold differing views as…

In the era of the Common Core, teachers in all subject areas and grade levels are seeking ways to help students engage with and reflect on the meaning of texts. In "Interpretive Discussion," Sophie Haroutunian-Gordon guides teachers through a carefully refined process for preparing, leading, and reflecting on these powerful conversations…

The aim of this study was to gain more in-depth understanding of students' emotions in an EFL context by applying dynamic assessment (DA) procedures to the development of learners' emotional intelligence. The study with 50 intermediate learners aged 12-15 used three modalities: a control group, which was taught under institute's normal procedures;…

The authors provide an overview of children's books published in the United States during the last decade (2000-2010) that deal with Mexico and Mexican people. Suggested guidelines for selecting quality books and a list of award-winning titles are included as resources for teaching about Mexico. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)