Aligning Children's Books With Digital Tools for Reader Response

Through an exploration of three vignettes, the authors share innovative ways young learners and their teachers are responding to children's literature using digital tools in the context of new literacies. In the first example, primary grade students use digital tools to gain agency in their literacy practices as part of project-based learning within a STEAM curriculum. In the second, struggling readers in an after-school program integrate traditional and out-of-school literacies to produce authentic literacy products outside the constraints of standards and established curricula. Finally, an example from a teacher education program shows how the next generation of teachers can become leaders in the use of new literacies through their own experiential learning. Despite the differences in context and content of each vignette, all three demonstrate strong use of literacies pedagogy to guide selection of digital tools for the creation and consumption of text.

Family Literacy Practices Surrounding Homework

Examining authentic literacy practices regarding homework in three demographically different family groups was the focus of this study. Parents of school age children identified as living in subsidized housing, parents of school age children working in a university teacher education program and parents of school age children who spoke a language other than English, the language of their school instruction were interviewed for the study. Implications of the study encourage teachers to be conscious of the importance of homework as a tool for providing meaningful activity, communicating information to the home about the classroom curriculum and mainstream practices. Teachers are encouraged to see the bi-directional potential of homework as an opportunity for teachers to learn about family practices through the returned homework.

Authenticity and Children's Engagement with Writing

Authentic literacy activities engage children with meaningful reading and writing (Duke, Purcell-Gates, Hall, & Tower, 2006), but little investigation has been conducted into the relationship of the kinds of writing children enjoy and the authenticity of the writing activity and experience. This paper reports findings from a study that investigates the question: How, if at all, does authenticity factor into kinds of writing that children like and/or dislike? Findings indicate that children enjoy writing that purposefully engages them with the real world, and is therefore authentic, and do not enjoy writing that they perceive as merely “school work”.

“Knowledge is Power”: Reading, Writing, and Promoting Self-Determination among Adolescents with Multiple Disabilities

Emergent readers and writers with multiple disabilities, who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), require many opportunities throughout the day to engage in literacy. The quality of these literacy opportunities is important; to ensure that reading and writing are consistently motivating and students generalize skills, literacy should always serve an authentic communicative purpose. As students enter adolescence and prepare to exit high school, high-priority literacy skills should be targeted and literacy activities must be age-appropriate. This article provides an overview of emergent literacy for early communicators with multiple disabilities and explores ways that educational teams can identify authentic literacy activities for adolescents with multiple disabilities in a variety of inclusive environments.