The lessons learned by this book's authors, who observed literacy events in third- and fourth-grade classrooms, altered their vision of teaching and learning. The book shares their observations of how students engage in literacy events and construct meaning within these events, focusing on three factors that significantly influence the construction of meaning in classroom settings: stance, social positioning, and interpretive authority--as well as how tensions can arise between students and teachers based on the relationship among these factors. Each chapter in the book combines theoretical perspectives with instructional strategies, giving a conceptual framework for evaluating teaching practice. Chapters in the book are: (1) The Hidden Influences Unveiled: The Story Unfolds; (2) Possibilities in Two Classrooms: Literacy in Practice; (3) Making Our Intentions Visible: Examining Explicitness of Stance in Literacy Events; (4) Acknowledging Social Position: When Children Use Evaluative Criteria to Select Partners; (5) Valuing the Response: Examining Alternative Sources of Meaning and Interpretive Authority; (6) Broadening Our Understandings: Flexibility within the Hidden Influences; and (7) New Directions and Treasures to Consider. Also offers classroom vignettes, Reflection Points, discussion questions, and suggested readings. (Contains 76 references. An appendix discusses classroom data analysis techniques.) (NKA)