Two long-time teacher educators write passionately about the political nature of the CCSS with a special focus on close reading and text complexity.

Commentary from WLU President Debra Goodman plus WLU news.

This section contains reviews of several books on close reading plus a pair of thought-provoking commentaries.

The authors use a classroom inquiry with second graders to show that students are important co-contributors to classroom research.

In this essay the author questions the use of traditional writing tools.

Dick Koblitz interviews noted educator Ruth Shagoury on the subject of teacher research past present and future

In exploring what makes strong books for girls these authors begin by looking at their critical conversations with each other.

The author recounts an interview she did years earlier with Louise Rosenblatt.

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.

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.

WLU President Rick Meyer suggests that whole language teachers are in a prime position to understand and use new literacies.

The editors introduce the issue which is themed “Re-Seeing Response Refining New Literacies.”

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.

Heather Statz shows how creating found poetry can help high school students think more deeply about their world.

Books discussed this issue encourage us to collaborate with our students to help them build literate lives.

WLU President Rick Meyer invites us to participate in the upcoming Summer Institute. There is also WLU news of interest to members.

Friends colleagues and students remember Jennifer Wilson and provide information about scholarships established in her honor.

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.

Readers can find expanded resources about the issue of labeling in Kathryn Mitchell Pierce’s thoughtful column Professional Book Talks.

Curt Dudley-Marling considers the labels we attach to students as metaphors that actually help shape our realities of those students.

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.

Kathryn Mitchell Pierce and her colleagues share their thoughts about books that have influenced their teaching.

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.