Many students of color who are also identified as "struggling" readers are likely to have negative experiences in school. In this article, I discuss the findings of a case study examining how reader identities emerged in and through language for such students. The discourse data analyzed here concern an interactional pattern in which the…

Reading volume is an important consideration for teachers wanting to improve literacy outcomes for students. The authors begin by reviewing evidence for reading volume and the ways in which reading volume can be changed. They identify four factors--access, choice, classroom discussions of texts, and book talks--that composed an intervention…

In this qualitative case study, we examine the texture of talk in the booktalks of a fifth-grade classroom where authentic classroom discussions were common. The discourse analysis of classroom transcripts yielded 13 overlapping move categories describing the talk of the teacher, and nine the talk of the students. A comparison between authentic…

This article explores the possibilities of graphic novels with young readers. During the 2009-2010 school year, while working with four fifth-grade students, the author examined the question "In what ways do readers engage while reading a graphic novel?" The fifth graders took part in book discussions and one-on-one interviews after reading two…

Children's books with characters that have disabilities have been touted as an avenue to introduce children to their peers with disabilities. Children's literature specialists have suggested that the use of these books may result in a more positive attitude on the part of children without disabilities toward their peers with disabilities. Working…