This article considers three emergent themes from informal discussions with fourth and fifth graders about their book selections from the Vermont Children's Choice program. Twelve students were interviewed about how they selected books from the list. Student responses showed that they held the DCF nominee list in high regard, that they relied…

This article shares the voices of preadolescent girls as they participated in an eight-month book selection study which enabled them to be active agents in their book and reading experiences. The girls, school-identified as struggling readers and self-identified as resistant readers, complicate current notions of reading, as influenced by…

This study examined the literacy identity development of fourth graders engaged in a writer's workshop, with literacy identity development referring to the ways students come to see themselves as readers and writers or the ways that others come to see them as readers and writers. The researcher collected data through observations during writing…

This article examines the writing of three Grade 3 students and discusses how these girls drew upon their symbolic tools, specifically those developed as a result of their experiences with particular kinds of texts. The students were participants in a multifaceted study that explored Grades 3 and 4 students' understandings of and responses to…