Framed in theories of new literacies, this article presents the story of Carol, a ninth-grade English teacher, who constructed lessons around semiotic analysis and constructivist learning in multimodal formats as an integral part of her instruction. Her students constructed identities as more competent, literate beings through guided participation in their new literacies classroom. The author assumed the role of participant-observer in Carol's class, which she attended three to four times a week for more than five months. Findings from the author's data analysis showed the following: (1) By successfully adopting a new literacies stance and constructing a corresponding curriculum in her English 9 class, Carol slowly came to value the elements of new literacies less as a way to "hook" students and more as a way to do the real work of a literacy curriculum; and (2) When new literacies were successfully integrated into their English 9 classes, students did seem to better learn the authorized ninth-grade curriculum; moreover, many came to see themselves as possessing new powers brought about by a growing understanding of literacy as social practice and growing mastery of literacy as a medium of self-discovery and self-expression. (Contains 4 figures.)