NCTE's Framework for 21st Century Literacies (2008) prompted collaboration between a university professor and classroom teacher resulting in a professional inquiry project utilizing a Web 2.0 tool, Scrapblog, with fourth-grade students. This article describes implementation of this project, including both challenges and positive outcomes. The…

In this article, we address the ways children collaborate to inquire about text in the context of group discussions, addressing the question: How do students stay on-topic and sustain their discussions of text? We speculate that a framework for dialogic discourse, referred to as exploratory talk, allows students to understand that discussions of…

This article (1) argues that literacy is being redefined as a result of the use of digital media, and (2) provides suggestions for policy makers, budget decision-makers, teachers, researchers, and interested others about literacy and language arts standards, assessment, and teaching related to "new literacies," including: (a) Maximize the…

Although report cards may seem to be a clear-cut means of communication between teachers and parents, on closer examination they reveal a more complicated interaction. Parents of fourth-graders are interviewed about their children's report cards to learn their understandings of the language and discuss expectations for their children in school. A…