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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

Includes news of interest and a message from WLU President Debra Goodman about the upcoming Literacies for All Summer Institute.

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.

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.

An introduction to the current issue on Learning English as a New Language and the concept of “emergent bilinguals.”

The authors examine the benefits of freewriting for three undergraduate English language majors from China.

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.

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.

Ambrosini revisits Rosenblatt’s theories in considering the ways readers interact with and respond to texts in this new format called close reading.

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.

Editors Sally Brown and Deborah MacPhee introduce the current issue which focuses on Close Reading and Text Complexity.

Whitecotton looks closely at student and teacher discourse surrounding learning in literature-based Understanding Circles.

The book group reviews some excellent resources on the topic of talking and learning.

Includes WLU news and a brief essay from Rick Meyer WLU’s president.

Carol Gilles introduces the last issue of her editorship themed Talking Learning and Critiquing.