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English Language Arts/ Parent Participation
Classroom Voices
This issue’s Classroom Voices column includes a look at some
WLU on the Move! President’s Message and Board News
President Caryl Crowell’s message and news of interest to WLU members.
Operationalizing Critical Digital Literacies: A Holistic Approach to Literacy Education in the Modern Age
Ah-Young Song offers many resources and strategies for engaging students with critical digital literacies.
Classroom Voices
This new feature section by Kathryn Mitchell Pierce and her colleagues includes interviews with educators educators’ writings student work samples and photographs from classrooms.
Blogging about Books: How Choice in Modality Influences Upper Elementary Students’ Responses to Reading
Classroom teachers Betsy Cease and Meg Wilmarth share a study investigating the use of a Kidblog as an option for fourth and fifth graders’ responses to literature.
Second School/Education as a Human Right
Rick Meyer invites us to critically reflect on the past and future of our profession.
When Interpretations of Assessment Data Collide
Mary Fahrenbruck provides a detailed case study on the assessment of reading skills for Lily a third grader.
“They Teach Their Hearts Out”:Communicating the Importance of Writing
Sharon Zumbrunn discusses a study concerning students’ (in grades 3–5) perceptions of the ways in which their teachers communicate the importance of writing. The findings—have much to say about effective writing instruction.
WLU on the Move!
President’s Message and Board News
“Even Though You Don't Have Pretty Clothes, You Are Still a Princess”:Unpacking Princess Images in Picture Books
The author critiques princess images in picture books and looks at their influence on children especially girls. She advocates teaching media literacy so children can—become more informed decision makers.
Learning Together in Holistic Online Critical Professional Development Spaces
The authors describe a critical literacy professional development project called Global Conversations in Literacy Research through which participants from all over the—world engage in live issue-oriented discussions around literacy that are based on research and theory.
Making Sense with Informational Texts: The Interactive Read-Aloud as Responsive Teaching
Authors May and Bingham advocate for interactive read-alouds of informational texts as an avenue for supporting literacy development while building on the experiences of culturally and linguistically diverse children.
Professional Resources
This issue’s Professional Resources column includes a short article on inquiry by NCTE president Kathy Short who points out that for inquiry to be student-driven students need to do more than solve a problem presented by a teacher: they must pose the problem themselves. Also included are brief reviews of four recent books about language a list of “classic” books on inquiry and a profile of an early-career teachers study group in Columbia South Carolina.
Socialization to Writing: When Writing Is Not “School-Like”
Cheu-jey Lee and his eight-year-old daughter Penn demonstrate through their written conversations how writing is a social practice that is both situated within and informed by multiple Discourses.
“How Do You Have Two Moms?” Challenging Heteronormativity While Sharing LGBTQ-Inclusive Children’s Literature
Selena Van Horn uses inquiry in a second-grade book club to investigate the rich questions children have about differences among people and to help her students learn to challenge heteronormative texts. A selected list of LGBTQ-inclusive children’s literature is included.
WLU on the Move!
President’s Message and Board News.
WLU on the Move! President’s Message and Board News
Includes news of interest and a message from WLU President Debra Goodman about the upcoming Literacies for All Summer Institute.
“I don’t know how to get there”: Tensions of Transforming Critical Literacy Challenges into Action
Laura Darolia writes about feeling like “the captain of a sinking ship” as she tried to implement a critical pedagogy in a classroom space limited by outside mandates on instructional time.
Professional Resources
This issue’s Professional Resources section includes two short essays reviews of featured books and a brief interview with members of a literacy study group at the University of Louisville.
Miscue Analysis v. DIBELS: A Tale of Resistance
Caryl Crowell pushes back against her school’s assessment policies and uses miscue analysis to learn about the readers in her class finding it to be a valuable tool for informing instruction.
Literacy and Vulnerability: Shame or Growth for Readers Who Struggle
Elizabeth Jaeger draws attention to the vulnerability of learners through the assignment of labels like “struggling reader” and pushes back in her discussion of readers who are vulnerable.
From the Editors
An introduction to the current issue on Learning English as a New Language and the concept of “emergent bilinguals.”
WLU on the Move!: President’s Message and Board News
This message from WLU President Debra Goodman highlights the importance of whole language classrooms in multilingual settings.
“Drive my mind into thinking”: Using Freewriting in an English Language Learning Classroom
The authors examine the benefits of freewriting for three undergraduate English language majors from China.
Transforming Literate Identities: Writing and Multilingual Children at Work
Tasha Tropp Laman’s article documents how writers’ notebooks can be used as mediational tools for meaning making especially the creation of multilingual texts.
Stories from the Past: Using the Language Experience Approach in Correctional Education ESL
Susanne Gardner highlights a unit of study in writing that is grounded in a Language Experience Approach (LEA) and designed to support male inmates in developing and using English to share their life stories.
Common Core: Ignoring Education’s Real Problems
Stephen Krashen discusses current issues related to emergent bilinguals and the Common Core Standards.
Professional Resources: Teaching in Diverse Classrooms
The Professional Resources section provides foundational texts for exploring this topic along with Web tools and a historical timeline.
Exemplars and Epitaphs: Defending Young Adult Literature
The authors explain the value of using young adult literature in the curriculum and argue for its greater use while expressing concern that the integration of the CCSS may work against that goal.
What Every Teacher Should Know
Two long-time teacher educators write passionately about the political nature of the CCSS with a special focus on close reading and text complexity.
Jumping In: Close Reading Instruction
Ambrosini revisits Rosenblatt’s theories in considering the ways readers interact with and respond to texts in this new format called close reading.
WLU on the Move!: President’s Message and News
Commentary from WLU President Debra Goodman plus WLU news.
Text Complexity: A New Way Forward or Two Steps Back?
Sanden explores how students’ increased interactions with texts that both fail to meet them where they are and are a constant source of struggle affect their overall perceptions of reading.
Professional Resources: Close Reading
This section contains reviews of several books on close reading plus a pair of thought-provoking commentaries.
From the Editors
Editors Sally Brown and Deborah MacPhee introduce the current issue which focuses on Close Reading and Text Complexity.
Students as Integral Contributors to Classroom Research
The authors use a classroom inquiry with second graders to show that students are important co-contributors to classroom research.
Talk a Story
In this essay the author questions the use of traditional writing tools.
Readers Coaching Readers?: A Teacher’s Reflection on Discursive Positioning in an Elementary Classroom
Whitecotton looks closely at student and teacher discourse surrounding learning in literature-based Understanding Circles.
A Model Teacher-Researcher: An Interview with Ruth Shagoury
Dick Koblitz interviews noted educator Ruth Shagoury on the subject of teacher research past present and future
Professional Book Talks: “Learning Floats on a Sea of Talk”
The book group reviews some excellent resources on the topic of talking and learning.
Reading and Critiquing: An Analysis of Talk about Strong Books for Girls
In exploring what makes strong books for girls these authors begin by looking at their critical conversations with each other.
WLU on the Move!
Includes WLU news and a brief essay from Rick Meyer WLU’s president.
From the Editor
Carol Gilles introduces the last issue of her editorship themed Talking Learning and Critiquing.
“Remember Most That I Wrote for Democracy”: Louise Rosenblatt, in Her Own Words
The author recounts an interview she did years earlier with Louise Rosenblatt.
Talking, Learning, and Critiquing: Where Are We Headed?
This article includes three short essays written by experts in the field of talk and discourse who discuss where the field is going and remind us of issues of power and critical literacy that are inherent in the discourse.
Examining a Child’s Perception of Mommyhood through Critical Book Conversations
Shonna Crawford uses picture books to interrogate her four-year-old daughter’s views about the kinds of careers that mommies can have demonstrating that even very young children can be critical with literature.
“Why can’t you just say, ‘It’s cute’?” The Role of Audience in First Graders’ Digital Storytelling
Marva Solomon invites us into a first-grade community engaged in digital storytelling suggesting how the genre and surrounding practices can help us rethink the role(s) of audience in transactions with digitally produced stories.
Rosenblatt’s Presence in the New Literacies Research
April Sanders provides an overview of Louise Rosenblatt’s work and of new literacies and draws connections between these two realms of literacy thinking and research.
Professional Book Talks
The book group recommends books about the intersection of reader response and new literacies.
WLU on the Move!
WLU President Rick Meyer suggests that whole language teachers are in a prime position to understand and use new literacies.
Exploring the Lived-through Experiences of a Young Learner
Lenny Sánchez narrates the experience of a young boy as he lives through a self-authored multimodal text linking the boy’s moves with Rosenblatt’s foundational work.
From the Editors
The editors introduce the issue which is themed “Re-Seeing Response Refining New Literacies.”
Where We Are: Responsive Reading Using Edmodo
Mary Styslinger and Emily Eberlin share their collaborative inquiry into using an online space for teaching and learning.
Empowering Children as Critics and Composers of Multimodal Texts [FREE ACCESS]
Phyllis and David Whitin’s work with fifth graders demonstrates what can happen when teachers support students as they investigate the texts that surround them every day.
Talking TAWL
Members of the various TAWL groups update us on their activities and support for teachers.
Nurturing the Writer Within: Meaning-Making and Self-Reflexivity through Found Poetry
Heather Statz shows how creating found poetry can help high school students think more deeply about their world.
Teaching Andrew: My Journey of Discovery into the World of Autism
Eileen Baland puts the person before the label as she recounts meeting and interacting with Andrew a student with autism.
Professional Book Talks: Supporting Students, Teachers, and Families
Books discussed this issue encourage us to collaborate with our students to help them build literate lives.
From the Editors: Supporting Teachers, Students, and Families
The editors preview the current issue themed “Supporting Teachers Students and Families.”
WLU on the Move!
WLU President Rick Meyer invites us to participate in the upcoming Summer Institute. There is also WLU news of interest to members.
How to Kill a Chicken: Valuing Local Knowledge in a Second-Grade ESL/Sheltered Classroom
Gaeckle reminds us that support may be as simple as valuing our students’ life experiences.
Remembering Jennifer Wilson
Friends colleagues and students remember Jennifer Wilson and provide information about scholarships established in her honor.
Definitions and Counter Definitions: Text, Students, and Teachers
Kathy Whitmore William Poock and Anah Malamut present two cases: a third grader labeled “struggling reader” and an eighth grader labeled “learning-disabled.” They explore how the teachers’ and students’ perceptions of abilities changed when they used more authentic learning experiences.
“Two Cars Fighting with Guns”: Literary Strengths in Student Writing
Lucy Spence introduces us to “generous reading” through her story of Vidal a fifth grader. When we read Vidal’s work with a generous lens he is positioned not as a limited English speaker or struggling writer but as someone who can already write well in specific ways.
In Memoriam for Jennifer Wilson
Carol Gilles offers a moving tribute to her coeditor Jennifer Wilson.
Professional Book Talks: Moving beyond Labels
Readers can find expanded resources about the issue of labeling in Kathryn Mitchell Pierce’s thoughtful column Professional Book Talks.
Re-Storying One’s Life: How One Boy Uses Digital Literacies to Transform an Existing Label
Kim-Marie Cortez-Riggio documents how using digital literacy transformed a “resource-room kid” into a fifth-grade classroom expert.
The Trouble with “Struggling Readers”
Curt Dudley-Marling considers the labels we attach to students as metaphors that actually help shape our realities of those students.
WLU on the Move!
WLU President-Elect Rick Meyer connects the issue of labeling to whole language pedagogy.
Beyond Test Scores and Labels: The Importance of Authentic Literacy Learning
Sally Brown describes how Tomás a second grader labeled both ESL and “at-risk” was able to become a resource to others when he engaged in inquiry using technology.
Professional Book Talks: Observing and Assessing
Kathryn Mitchell Pierce and her colleagues share their thoughts about books that have influenced their teaching.
Kidwatching with a Critical Eye: The Power of Observation and Reflexive Practice
Kuby explores the difficulty of engaging in “critical whole language” with her young summer school students as they explore an injustice on the playground.
Using Choice Words in Nonfiction Reading Conferences
The inquiry described in this article is meant to extend the work of Johnston (Choice Words) and others specifically in the area of naming the effective ways teachers use language during conferences with students who are reading nonfiction. In an effort to identify what might occur during this type of conference I audiotaped transcribed and analyzed eight reading conferences with third-grade students who were reading nonfiction texts during a reading workshop.
Preservice Teachers as Kidwatchers: Learning to Observe and Document How Children Read
Liwanag and Kim used miscue analysis to explore the power of kidwatching with their preservice teachers. Doing so helped these college students develop a greater understanding of young readers.
Inquiry into Assessment Strategies: From Kidwatching to Responsive Teaching
Observation (“kidwatching”) is the basis for all the assessment and curriculum development that happen in this third-grade classroom. Professional inquiry into the naturally occurring data from the classroom promotes an expanded view of literacy and gives the teacher a detailed picture of what students are learning.
WLU on the Move!
Includes President-Elect’s Message and Summer Institute Information
How Can You Motivate High School Seniors in an English Class?
Dana Maloney and Monica Taylor share Maloney’s experience of using real-world problems to transform the traditional research process and motivate a group of high school seniors to critically understand their worlds.
WLU on the Move!
President’s Message 2011 WLU Executive Board Nominations WLU Awards Nominations Summer Institute Call for Proposals.
From the Editors
New editors Jennifer Wilson and Carol Gilles introduce their first issue of Talking Points.
Creating Community through Storytelling
The authors explore the transformative powers of storytelling used to build community and literacy among a group of third graders and with members of the larger community outside the school.
Reframing the Reading Process through EMMA (Eye Movement and Miscue Analysis)
Kim Duckett and Brown look at Eye Movement Miscue Analysis (EMMA) as a way to help preservice and inservice teachers transition from a more traditional view of reading to one of reading as meaning-making.
From Teacher to Reflective Practitioner and Researcher: An Interview with Jane Hansen
Brian Kissel and Jody Lawrence interview widely respected educator Jane Hansen about her transition from beginning elementary teacher to reflective practitioner and researcher.
Popular Culture as Possibilities, Paradigms, and Prerogatives for Literacy Learning: Giving Voice to Middle School Students
This paper will argue that young children are rapidly becoming the “new rich†in regard to engaging with understanding and exploiting the many forms of popular culture. Children are tending to ignore school-based texts engaging instead in reading texts that represent internalization of cultural understanding and require a new set of associated reading skills. In this presentation we aim to demonstrate and discuss the nature and elements of the new “societal literacy†and the nature of the engagement with popular culture and community- based texts.
Official and Unofficial Portraits
The official portrait of the students at Mesa Vista Elementary School (MVE) is the one composed of test scores socioeconomic levels and violence. Many of the teachers and students at the school district administrators and members of the community have appropriated this official portrait. In this article I present some of the details of the official portrait and then introduce the idea of counterportraits as they were composed by some of the sixth-grade students their teacher and me. I conclude this article by considering ways in which counterportraits may influence how we consider students at risk.