This article presents a case study of a kindergarten girl from a Bangladeshi immigrant family who demonstrates her multiliteracies as she negotiates the multiple demands of the mandated literacy curriculum. The case is drawn from a year-long ethnographic inquiry of the literacy practices and cultural models in a balanced literacy curriculum where…

Provides a case study of a young child's responses to "Hansel and Gretel" over a four-year period, providing insight as to how literary response develops in the early years. (MG)

Examines children's story-writing processes as they develop over a two-year period, from kindergarten through second grade. Observes that children reflect multiple worlds in their writing, including their ongoing social world, the imaginary world of their story, and the wider, experienced world of people, places, and events. (MM)

Examines the writing of a four-year-old child in response to literature. Discusses the child's uses for writing and the concepts and principles of early writing. Demonstrates the child's engagement with children's books. (RS)

Examines three children's early experiences of school literacy lessons to consider what makes a difference in their relative success and failure during the first months of school. Argues that how, whether, and to what extent children take up what teachers make available to them is inextricably connected with the repertoires of practices and…

Presents overall conclusions from research and case studies of four children who showed indicators of emerging biliteracy and cultural sensitivity in a language arts class where the inherent link between culture and language was evident. Illustrates how the language arts instruction in a bilingual classroom affected children's growth in a second…

Illustrates how the making of a reader emerges in the relationship between a supportive adult and an emergent reader. Explores the nature of scaffolding in a tutoring relationship with a first-grade child who is learning to read and write. Analyzes and describes qualities of the interpersonal relationship that allow and contribute to the creation…

Illustrates the influence that different preschool experiences might have on children's literacy development by describing the literary understandings of three capable children from low-income and language minority families. Notes that the parents were highly supportive and, to varying degrees, provided literary resources for their children at…

Argues the importance of dictated stories, with the teacher or other adult as scribe, in children's development as writers. Examines one child's literary influences and her literacy development. (MG)

Shows that teachers often severely underestimate the literacy abilities of Navajo children. Makes the case for creating school literacy environments that build on the literacy orientation children bring with them from home and that provide opportunities to experience literacy in a wide variety of functional and purposive contexts. (RS)

Compares the learning and writing experiences of a child during his kindergarten year (with frequent immersion in reading and writing activities in their writing workshop) to his first-grade year (with worksheets and decontextualized exercises). Critically examines such "serious" literacy learning that lacks a real audience and a real…

Illustrates how a struggling third-grade reader named Maddie used her own writing as a logical place for beginning to become a reader. Describes how her teacher built on Maddie's strengths and immersed her in meaningful activities in order to promote a positive attitude toward reading which became the foundation for her acquisition of reading…

Discusses the inadequacies of standard conceptions of the writing process by relating the experiences of one child in a writing class. Proposes alternative ways to expand the concept of the writing process by incorporating related activities in reading, art, and drama. (MS)

Examines a child's stance toward becoming literate in Spanish at home and school. Discusses the kinds of literacy activities he engaged in and the context in which he did so. Points out this child's ability to make connections between various literacy contexts, and suggests ways that teachers can foster similar connections for other children. (SR)