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…

This article synthesizes 15 years of research in middle school classrooms that have started to integrate new literacies into their daily teaching and learning. Trends of the data suggest there are certain salient characteristics of middle school teachers and students in these grade levels that make such innovations more successful with them than…

Can students read difficult but self-selected texts--and if so, how? In this article we describe what we learned about middle school students' use of background knowledge and specific vocabulary from interviews and surveys in our longitudinal study of magazine reading habits. Then we discuss the implications of these findings for structuring…

Using new literacies critically can be an excellent pedagogy for motivating and empowering students who feel alienated from their school and society. This article describes how one middle school teacher engaged his inner-city English language learners with critical media literacy as a way of making their learning more meaningful and motivating.…

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…

In an effort to expose students to a wide array of 21st century literacies, it is easy for teachers to forget the equally important role of leading students in critical inquiry regarding "when" and "why" particular media ought to be used. This results in students who possess knowledge of how to use a medium but lack the wisdom to truly understand…

There is a need to integrate into classroom learning the out-of-school technologies that students interact with every day. We know that reader response approaches to the study of literature engage learners, and we also know that both students and teachers have mixed attitudes about the study of poetry. In this article, a response activity with…

Reluctant and struggling readers, many of whom are boys, are placed in reading intervention classes; however, often the environmental conditions of these intervention classrooms are not conducive for fostering a student's love for reading. This article describes Cambourne's optimal conditions for literacy learning and the results from implementing…

Vocabulary presents a challenge to students in content area classes, making it difficult to understand new concepts and make connections to background knowledge. This article describes the 5 Cs, a tool developed to help content area teachers consider vocabulary as part of lesson planning. By selecting a set of key words for instruction, teachers…

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…

Radcliffe describes how one middle school teacher works with her struggling eighth-grade readers to break the cycle of failure and begin new literacy lives. Five principles guided her over-age middle school students toward success after years of failure: accepting the challenge, building strong teacher-student relationships, creating literacy-rich…

If we listen to them, the words of our students can provide a road map for instructional responses that meet their diverse literacy needs. In this article, Cara Gutzmer, a middle school literacy coach, and Phil Wilder, a teacher collaborator at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discuss how a responsive teaching framework guided their…

Many recent publications describe writing as the neglected "r"; however, there is very little data on what writing instruction looks like in schools, especially in grades 4-6. The purpose of this article is to describe large urban school district literacy leaders' views on the state of writing instruction within their districts--and their…

This article explores our work with African American youth in an after-school community literacy program. We examine how a group of these students used a set of Internet-based technology tools to evaluate whether or not a group of colleges would affirm their cultural identity and help them succeed. What we learned from the students has caused us…

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a term we hear more often these days, and it applies largely to students who fall under the purview of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Shanklin urges us to consider three questions: What students are we talking about? Whose responsibility are these students? What interventions might be helpful,…