In this volume, renowned literacy and language education scholars who have shaped policy and practice aimed toward social justice and equity address current intellectual and practical issues in the teaching of literacy in classrooms and educational environments across diverse and international settings. Drawn from talks that were presented live and hosted by Global Conversations in Literacy Research (GCLR), an online open-access critical literacy project, this book provides access, in edited written form, to these scholars' critically and historically situated talks. Bringing together talks on diverse topics-including digital and media literacy, video games, critical literacy, and ESOL-Albers preserves the scholars' critical discourses to engage readers in the conversation. Offering a broad and expansive understanding of what literacy has to offer for scholars, teachers, and students, this book demonstrates the importance of positioning literacy as a social practice and brings critical literacy to a global audience.

Literacy researchers at all stages of their careers are designing and developing innovative new methods for analyzing data in a range of spaces in and out of school. Directly connected with evolving themes in literacy research, theory, instruction, and practices-especially in the areas of digital technologies, gaming, and web-based research; discourse analysis; and arts-based research-this much-needed text is the first to capture these new directions in one volume. Written by internationally recognized authorities whose work is situated in these methods, each chapter describes the origin of the method and its distinct characteristics; offers a demonstration of how to analyze data using the method; presents an exemplary study in which this method is used; and discusses the potential of the method to advance and extend literacy research. For literacy researchers asking how to match their work with current trends and for educators asking how to measure and document what is viewed as literacy within classrooms, this is THE text to help them learn about and use the rich range of new and emerging literacy research methods.

"Telling Pieces" is an exploration of how pre-adolescent middle-school children develop a knowledge and understanding of the conventions of art (art as literacy) and how they use this knowledge to create representations of their lives in a small midwestern U.S. town.
Beginning with an overview of social semiotics and emergent literacy theorizing, the authors set the stage for their study of sixth graders involved in art. A galleria of children's artworks is presented, allowing readers/viewers to consider these texts independent of the authors' interpretations of them. Then, set against the galleria is the story of the community and school contexts in which the artworks are produced--contexts in which racism, homophobia, and the repression of creativity are often the norm. The interpretation the authors bring to bear on the artworks reveals stories that the artworks may or may not tell on their own. But the tales of artistic literacy achievement are counterbalanced by reflection about the content of the artworks produced, because the artworks reveal the impossibility for students to imagine beyond the situational bounds of racism, homophobia, and religiosity. The authors conclude by raising questions about the kinds of conditions that make literacy in art possible. In doing so, they explore selected alternative models and, in addition, ask readers to consider the implications of the ideological issues underlying teaching children how to represent their ideas. They also advocate for a participatory pedagogy of possibility founded on ethical relational principles in the creation and interpretation of visual text.
Of particular interest to school professionals, researchers, and graduate students in literacy or art education, this pioneering book:
* brings together the fields of art education and literacy education through its focus on how middle school students come to work with and understand the semiotic systems,
* introduces sociolinguistic, sociological, and postmodernist perspectives to thinking about children's work with art--adding a new dimension to the psychological and developmental descriptions that have tended to dominate thinking in the field,
* includes a galleria of 40 examples of children's artwork, providing a unique opportunity for readers/viewers to interpret and consider the artwork of the sixth graders independent of the authors' interpretations,
* presents descriptions of art teaching in process,
* gives considerable attention to the interpretation of the children's artworks and the influences that contribute to the content they represent, and
* considers varying models of art education along with the implications of introducing new representational possibilities.

Telling Pieces is an exploration of how pre-adolescent middle-school children develop a knowledge and understanding of the conventions of art (art as literacy) and how they use this knowledge to create representations of their lives in a small midwestern U.S. town. Beginning with an overview of social semiotics and emergent literacy theorizing, the authors set the stage for their study of sixth graders involved in art. A galleria of children's artworks is presented, allowing readers/viewers to consider these texts independent of the authors' interpretations of them. Then, set against the galleria is the story of the community and school contexts in which the artworks are produced--contexts in which racism, homophobia, and the repression of creativity are often the norm. The interpretation the authors bring to bear on the artworks reveals stories that the artworks may or may not tell on their own. But the tales of artistic literacy achievement are counterbalanced by reflection about the content of the artworks produced, because the artworks reveal the impossibility for students to imagine beyond the situational bounds of racism, homophobia, and religiosity. The authors conclude by raising questions about the kinds of conditions that make literacy in art possible. In doing so, they explore selected alternative models and, in addition, ask readers to consider the implications of the ideological issues underlying teaching children how to represent their ideas. They also advocate for a participatory pedagogy of possibility founded on ethical relational principles in the creation and interpretation of visual text. Of particular interest to school professionals, researchers, and graduate students in literacy or art education, this pioneering book: brings together the fields of art education and literacy education through its focus on how middle school students come to work with and understand the semiotic systems, introduces sociolin

Literacy researchers at all stages of their careers are designing and developing innovative new methods for analyzing data in a range of spaces in and out of school. Directly connected with evolving themes in literacy research, theory, instruction, and practices-especially in the areas of digital technologies, gaming, and web-based research; discourse analysis; and arts-based research-this much-needed text is the first to capture these new directions in one volume. Written by internationally recognized authorities whose work is situated in these methods, each chapter describes the origin of the method and its distinct characteristics; offers a demonstration of how to analyze data using the method; presents an exemplary study in which this method is used; and discusses the potential of the method to advance and extend literacy research. For literacy researchers asking how to match their work with current trends and for educators asking how to measure and document what is viewed as literacy within classrooms, this is THE text to help them learn about and use the rich range of new and emerging literacy research methods.

In this volume, renowned literacy and language education scholars who have shaped policy and practice aimed toward social justice and equity address current intellectual and practical issues in the teaching of literacy in classrooms and educational environments across diverse and international settings. Drawn from talks that were presented live and hosted by Global Conversations in Literacy Research (GCLR), an online open-access critical literacy project, this book provides access, in edited written form, to these scholars' critically and historically situated talks. Bringing together talks on diverse topics-including digital and media literacy, video games, critical literacy, and ESOL-Albers preserves the scholars' critical discourses to engage readers in the conversation. Offering a broad and expansive understanding of what literacy has to offer for scholars, teachers, and students, this book demonstrates the importance of positioning literacy as a social practice and brings critical literacy to a global audience.

Offering fresh alternatives to common instructional practices that fail to get results, this accessible, highly practical guide highlights ways to motivate middle school students while enhancing content-area learning. Each chapter features an enlightening case study of a teacher whose current strategies are not supported by research; describes effective instructional alternatives, illustrated with concrete examples; and lists online resources and lesson examples. Emphasis is given to supporting critical engagement with texts and drawing on technology and new literacies. The book covers specific content areas--including science, social studies, math, and literature--as well as ways to teach oral literacy and writing across the curriculum.