Researchers and educators have long argued for the importance of providing time and space for rich conversations around literature. This column draws on research to consider how teachers make room for these discussions inside their classrooms. Particularly, the authors consider different dimensions along which teachers might examine and grow…

When a kindergarten student, after hearing a storybook read aloud by his teacher, proclaims "Now, that was a crappy piece of literature!" his proclamation provides an opportunity for an examination of literacy, identity, agency and power. Critical issues and provocative questions emerge about the importance of "crappy" literature and how we create…

This article describes a project that studied 15 preservice teachers' perceptions of and reactions to responding to children's and young adult literature using a Ning blog. These perceptions and reactions provided insight into various practical aspects of using a social networking blog to facilitate literature response in a teacher education…

The relative absence of nonfiction in literature for young readers may have serious implications because nonfiction literacy matters. Nonfiction material is the crucible within which readers can gain the knowledge and skills that enable them to reach sound decisions in all arenas of life, avoid gullibility born of ignorance, and participate in an…

The way in which the culture of ethnography has been developed in classrooms that encourages teachers and students to question, doubt, reflect, revise and remain open to new possibilities, is discussed. Through the documentation of interactions and talks between teachers and students, a critical examination of the teachers and capabilities and…

Describes how a teacher researcher invited her students to be detectives on the lookout for language and to take a critical perspective on how it varies with each speaker, purpose, and context. Suggests that educators need to be careful about how they present language varieties so that their students appreciate them as more than "quaint artifacts…

Discusses gender issues that arose in a college-level children's literature course. Discusses the use of myth criticism to look at children's stories. Suggests that the growing consensus is that educators owe it to children to teach them to argue with what they hear and see, as well as read. (RS)

A teacher encourages her students to develop a language of critique through their study of candidates' platforms in a presidential election. It is concluded that the critical literacy/social justice curriculum in elementary classrooms is an effective learning experiences for students.