In this paper I explore four groups of pre-service teachers' teaching of critical literacy in microteaching to examine how they translated critical literacy into teaching practice for secondary/upper middle grade students (the role played by peers undergoing microteaching). Firstly I discuss some key concepts and outline the pedagogical framework…

There is only one practice of solitude: to make a choice and carry it out well. The particulars assemble around this simple principle. One may later regret the choice; one may end up reversing or abandoning it. The choice may consist of doing nothing or refraining from a decision until the time is right. But no matter what it entails, one must…

The aim of this study is to describe and analyse the writing discourse in one classroom and how students learn through studying a topic, i.e. the teaching and learning of written argument. The study takes its stance from a sociocultural perspective and is influenced by discourse analyses, new literacy studies and critical literacy (Fairclough…

In this "prosumer" era in which people seem always to be producing and consuming texts, words matter as much as--or more than--they ever have. Learning how grammar works in the texts they read and write is essential to students' literacy. It is time to reframe English teachers' view to include both writing "and" reading as contexts for grammar…

Authentic learning experiences are those in which students engage with texts as well as the behaviors of reading and writing within contexts of real-world use beyond traditional academic use. This study provides quantitative analysis of how students (n = 200) engaged with an adult pen pal in a shared literacy experience. Findings indicate that…

Despite research and theory to the contrary, approaches to the teaching of reading continue to reflect a transmission model of reading, focused on the retrieval of information from a text. It is argued that writing should be fully integrated with reading to give students experiences of engagement and connection with texts. (66 references)…

Describes a method used to teach freshman students how to make research a conscious part of their reading and writing processes, by helping them use their personal associations with a text and their questions about a text, to compose meaning and become conscious of the activities they are performing. (HTH)

Explains the details of a method of teaching text structure that proved successful in improving both reading comprehension and summary writing of fifth graders. Reports that students quickly learned how to attend to and remember main ideas from problem-solution passages in their textbooks and how to write summaries. (MG)

Describes activities used in a 12th-grade literature classroom that develops students' prior knowledge to help them connect to the literature before reading it. (SR)

Asserts that writing conferences are the heart of teaching writing. Describes use of picture books and writer's circles to improve student reading and writing skills. Reports that students became more confident in analyzing writing genres and more able to write complex narratives. (CFR)

There appears to be a problem in the way students in introductory, nonmajor literature courses read poetry that affects the way they write about it. One widely accepted belief among students is that there is a hidden but identifiable meaning in the poem that they are supposed to discover. The problem with this strategy is that most students lack…

The current writing across the curriculum movement has shown educators that the process of composing focuses writers' attention on producing much the same material that reading exercises asked them only to recognize. Two taxonomic structures and a list of Scott, Foresman's reading comprehension skills may be used to help demonstrate the…

Discusses the following questions: (1) What is the nature of the reading process? (2) How does one bring meaning to print? (3) What sort of knowledge does the reader bring to bear on the text to make sense of it? and (4) What are the implications of these issues for teaching? (SED)

Within the last few years English curriculum, especially at the introductory levels, has changed so that reading and the study of literature is integrated with the learning of writing skills. Consequently, English teachers need to consider the best way to merge the two skills by drawing upon the findings of psychologists and cognition theorists to…

Outlines a process approach to teaching literature which focuses both on meaningful writing and on the ways students respond to what they read. Suggests that such an approach can create in students a life-long love of literature. (ARH)