Beginning with the premise that pleasure is a driving force in life, this article examines the relationships between pleasure, schooling and society across the past century. Through the examination of school texts, narratives, and histories of literacy instruction, a case is made that part of the move away from keeping pleasure at the heart 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…

This qualitative work analyzes what parents, teachers, and children say about reading when Accelerated Reader and Reading Renaissance are used for reading instruction. Critical discourse analysis offered a glimpse at beliefs about reading and how power relations were embedded in what teachers, parents, and children said about AR and reading.…

Draws on research in a fourth-grade classroom to show that teachers can teach composing strategies that encourage a variety of ways of interacting socially while writing. Shares various views of social interaction and student choice in writing classrooms as a way of establishing support for exploration of the social interactions that occurred in…

Interviews with fourth grade students about their writing in science revealed their perspectives on purposes for writing, understandings of intended audiences, and use of visuals. A discussion of these themes is situated in a consideration of theory and research on genre. The article includes suggestions for teachers related to the teaching of…

This study involved fourth grade children as co-researchers of their engaged, aesthetic reading experience. As members of the "Readers as Researchers Club," they documented their engagement with text--how they create, enter, and sustain the story world. The children, who self-identified as avid readers, explored the activities central to their…

Uses literature discussion as a vehicle for encouraging fourth-grade students to reflect critically on injustice in their own lives. Notes that reflection is a basic skill and an important reading strategy all too often ignored or unacknowledged. Suggests that reflection is the very core of learning rather than an extra or supplementary reading…

Suggests that good fourth-grade teaching is an expert activity--a complex activity that is not amenable to scripted materials, standardized lessons, or any one-size-fits-all plan for the organization of instruction. Shows that the 30 exemplary teachers discussed produce superior educational gains as measured on standardized achievement tests--not…

Presents a case study of a fourth-grade boy who was an active, intelligent boy who was not coping well with reading and writing in school. Discusses observations of, and conversations with, the boy and his parents in their home. Demonstrates the importance of educators' having a family perspective on students' language and literacy development.…

Examines the discrepancies in engagement that arose when the teachers' instructional and the students' personal stances (regarding the intents and purposes of literacy) are misaligned during literacy events. Discusses the ways in which instructional and personal stances encourage and/or discourage engagement. Considers the opportunity to construct…

Examines the ways in which the boys and girls in three fourth-grade classrooms used writing to perform gender roles. Notes that the characters in girls' narrative writing demonstrated more emotion and more prosocial behaviors (helping, sharing, empathizing), whereas characters in boys' narrative writing exhibited more aggressive behavior and…