Although literacy coaching is used as a professional development mechanism in many schools to facilitate teachers' learning, few studies have looked carefully at the discourse used by literacy coaches who have successfully increased the professional capacity of teachers with whom they work. This qualitative multiple case study is grounded in the work of sociocultural theory, which stresses the essential role that social interactions play in cognitive development. The study utilized audio-recorded coaching sessions and individual follow-up interviews to examine the coaching interactions of three school-based literacy coaches and the teachers they coached. Artifacts and a field notebook were also analyzed as part of the research process. A case-by-case analysis, followed by a cross-case analysis, was conducted, resulting in the following themes of successful coaching discourse: encouraging client ownership, maintaining focus on coaching conversation, utilizing emotion, infusing academic language, and pushing an instructional practice. Implications for the design, implementation, and evaluation of literacy coaching initiatives are discussed and brief recommendations for future research are provided. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]