As some argue that the system of enacting classroom-level student activist work around literacy assessment isn't worthwhile, this article considers that system and the status quo, largely defined by the standardized testing enterprise. The focus is on the value of everyday, classroom-level advocacy work around assessment--also known as…

Young adolescents are immersed in 21st century literacies in their daily lives, and they bring into schools a level of appreciation and expertise that often goes untapped. This article presents an eighth-grade English classroom's experience with digital video composing and informal classroom drama as multimodal literacy practices. Students in this…

When the author offered the option of writing an article for "Voices from the Middle" to her seventh- and eighth-grade language arts classes, some students were unwavering in their preference to stay on the steady, familiar ground of writing a letter to a peer about a book they had read and loved. Noah McCord, Tobin Feldman-Fitzthum, and…

This article reports on the findings of a photography and literacy project ("Through Students' Eyes") the authors conducted with middle level English language learners and alternative high school youth from a mid-Atlantic (US) ex-urban area. In order to bridge middle and high school settings, the authors used multimodal and photo…

When asked to discuss their middle school language arts classes, talented eighth graders identified concerns and made suggestions for their teachers. Students voiced desire for choices in selecting reading materials, writing topics and genre. They preferred having extended periods of time to engage in reading and writing activities, rather than…

Relates how, throughout the author's life from early childhood well into adulthood, literacy has been a powerful adventure helping her to survive and thrive. Notes that she teaches reading and writing to her students to share these gifts of language with them. (SR)

Presents conversations between the authors (public school teachers and participants in a graduate level teacher action research course) and six people in language education who have greatly affected the teachers' work (Dixie Goswami, Tom Newkirk, Donald Graves, Nancie Atwell, Linda Rief, and Tom Romano) regarding issues these leading educators…

Describes some uses skillful teachers have developed for the unassuming post-it note in assessment, reading, and classroom-based inquiry. Discusses how these uses represent some of the most significant positive trends in literacy instruction for early adolescents, and show increased concern for personalization in an educational system that has of…

Records the musings of a teacher preparing to teach a course on reading and writing in the content area to preservice secondary teachers. Notes that the teacher will trust her students to come with stories, questions, passion, and curiosity, and trust them to discover the power of literacy and to find its role in their future classrooms over time.…

McGinnis draws on the idea of engaged learning as critical and illustrates how school literacy practices do not provide urban Khmer youth (and by extension, other groups whose backgrounds are linguistically or socioculturally distinct) with deep levels of engagement in literacy activities. By looking at the types of writing experiences these youth…