Prelims

Half Title Page

What’s Hot in Literacy

Literacy Research, Practice and Evaluation

Series Editors: Evan Ortlieb and Earl H. Cheek, Jr

Previous Volumes:

Title Page

Literacy Research, Practice and Evaluation Volume 11

What’s Hot in Literacy: Exemplar Models of Effective Practice

Edited By

Evan Ortlieb

The Citadel, USA

Stephanie Grote-Garcia

The University of the Incarnate word, USA

Jack Cassidy

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, USA

Earl H. Cheek, Jr.

Louisiana State University, USA

United Kingdom – North America – Japan – India – Malaysia – China

Copyright Page

Emerald Publishing Limited

Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley BD16 1WA, UK

First edition 2020

Copyright © 2020 Emerald Publishing Limited

Reprints and permissions service

Contact: permissions@emeraldinsight.com

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying issued in the UK by The Copyright Licensing Agency and in the USA by The Copyright Clearance Center. Any opinions expressed in the chapters are those of the authors. Whilst Emerald makes every effort to ensure the quality and accuracy of its content, Emerald makes no representation implied or otherwise, as to the chapters’ suitability and application and disclaims any warranties, express or implied, to their use.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-1-83909-877-2 (Print)

ISBN: 978-1-83909-874-1 (Online)

ISBN: 978-1-83909-876-5 (Epub)

ISSN: 2048-0458 (Series)

Contents

About the Editors

Evan Ortlieb is a Professor and Dean of the Zucker Family School of Education at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.

Stephanie Grote-Garcia is a certified Reading Specialist and Master Reading Teacher as well as Professor at the University of the Incarnate Word. She is the President of the Specialized Literacy Professionals, a special interest group of the International Literacy Association.

Jack Cassidy is a Professor Emeritus at Millersville University in Pennsylvania and is retired from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi where he was Associate Dean for Graduate Studies in the College of Education. He has previously served as President of the International Reading Association and is a Member of the Reading Hall of Fame.

Earl H. Cheek, Jr. is a Patrick and Edwidge Olinde Endowed Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States.

About the Contributors

Jill Castek is an Associate Professor in the department of Teaching, Learning, and Sociocultural Studies at the University of Arizona. Her research explores the intersection of digital literacies and STEM learning. Her work in disciplinary literacies explores how reading, writing, communicating, and collaborating digitally can support language development, knowledge building, and collaboration.

Megin Charner-Laird is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Salem State University, where she also co-chairs the programs in educational leadership. Her research, focused on teacher leadership and professional learning, has appeared, recently, in the American Journal of Education, Journal of School Leadership, and Educational Administration Quarterly.

Earl H. Cheek, Jr. is a Patrick and Edwidge Olinde Endowed Professor Emeritus at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States.

Crystal D. Cook is a Family and Community Engagement Advisor with Shelby County Schools in Memphis, TN. She has served as an elementary and teacher of English Learners (ELs) for 17 years. Her research focus is on family engagement, literacy and language acquisition for ELs.

Edwidge Crevecoeur, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and Coordinator of ESOL in the Education Department at Flagler College in Florida. She serves as Co-director of Agrilti, Kominote, Alfanèt (AKA), a literacy center in Petit Goâve, Haiti. She earned a doctorate in Applied Linguistics and Bilingual/Bicultural Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Allison Swan Dagen is a Professor in the College of Education and Human Services at West Virginia University, where she also serves as Program Coordinator for the Literacy Education/Reading Specialist program. Her interests include effective professional learning for literacy leadership and reading specialist preparation. She was a Lead Standard Writer of ILA Standards 2017.

Samuel DeJulio is an Assistant Professor of literacy in the Department of Interdisciplinary Learning and Teaching at the University of Texas at San Antonio. His work is focused on literacy teacher preparation, particularly on experiences within field-based courses and partnerships with local schools, teachers, and families.

Christina L. Dobbs is an Assistant Professor at the Wheelock College of Education and Human Development at Boston University. Her research focuses on adolescent writing in the disciplines, academic language, and disciplinary literacy professional learning. Her recent books include Investigating Disciplinary Literacy (2017) and Disciplinary Literacy Inquiry & Instruction (2019).

Susan Dougherty is an Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Services at Rider University. She is a former elementary classroom teacher. Her scholarly and professional work focuses on preservice teacher development, family literacy, and preschool and early elementary literacy instruction. She is co-editor of Pivotal Research in Early Literacy: Foundational Studies and Current Practice.

Evelyn Ford-Connors is a Senior Lecturer and Literacy Education Program Director at Boston University’s Wheelock College of Education and Human Development where she co-directs the Donald D. Durrell Reading and Writing Clinic. Her professional interests focus on classroom discourse, literacy coaching, and the instructional needs of struggling readers and writers.

Janis Harmon is a Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her research interests include children’s and young adult literature and effective middle school and high school literacy programs with a special emphasis on vocabulary acquisition and instruction and comprehension. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate literacy courses for educators interested in teaching at the middle school and high school levels.

Jacy Ippolito is a Professor in the School of Education at Salem State University. His research focuses on the intersection of adolescent literacy, literacy coaching, and leadership. His recent books include An UnCommon Theory of School Change (2019) and Cultivating Coaching Mindsets (2016).

Bonnie Johnson teaches courses in Literacy and Curriculum and Instruction at St John’s University, New York City. She is the Author, Co-author, and Co-editor of nine books, numerous chapters, articles, and a newspaper column. Her research focuses on social injustices in the early years, word origins, and aspects of figurative language.

Diane Kern is a Professor of English Language Arts and Literacy Teacher Education, School of Education, University of Rhode Island, USA. Her research interests include literacy teacher education, standards for the preparation of literacy professionals. She was Co-chair of ILA Standards 2017 and currently serves as ILA’s National Recognition program coordinator.

Rachelle Kuehl is a recent graduate of Virginia Tech, having earned both a Ph.D. and an Ed.S. in curriculum and instruction and specializing in early literacy practices. She is a former teacher whose articles about reading and writing instruction have been published in the English Journal, Reading in Virginia, the Virginia English Journal, and the Teacher Educators’ Journal.

Julia B. Lindsey is a doctoral candidate at the University of Michigan School of Education. Her research interests focus on phonics, early reading instruction, and developing early reading programs and materials that can impact reading outcomes while also engaging children in meaningful, culturally relevant instruction.

Michael Manderino is a Director of Curriculum and Instruction at Leyden High School District 212 in the metro area of Chicago and a graduate faculty scholar at Northern Illinois University. Her research focuses on the intersection of digital and disciplinary literacies. He is Co-author of three books and several articles.

Miriam Martinez is a Professor of Literacy at the University of Texas at San Antonio where she teaches children’s literature and literacy courses. Her research has focuses on content analyses of children’s literature and the nature of children’s literary meaning-making. She serves on the Board of the Children’s Literature Assembly.

Heidi Anne Mesmer studies beginning reading instruction and text difficulty, and her work has been published in The Reading Teacher, Reading Research Quarterly, and The Educational Researcher. She is the Author of Letter Lessons and First Words: Phonics Foundations that Work (PreK-2) and three other books for reading educators.

Florin M. Mihai, Ph.D., is a Professor of TESOL and the Director of the Undergraduate TEFL Certificate in the Modern Languages and Literatures Department at the University of Central Florida. His research interests and publications focus on language and content-area assessment for English learners and pre- and in-service teacher education.

Kouider Mokhtari, Ph.D., is the Anderson-Vukelja-Wright Endowed Professor of Literacy Education at the University of Texas at Tyler. His research focuses on the acquisition of language and literacy by first and second language learners.

Aimee Morewood is a Professor in Literacy Education in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Literacy Studies at West Virginia University, USA. Her research interests include professional learning opportunities, online instruction, and teaching adaptations. She is on the Board of Director for the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers.

Joyce Nutta, Ph.D. is a Professor of World Languages Education and the ESOL Endorsement and TESOL Ph.D. Track Coordinator at the University of Central Florida. She is devoted to equipping teachers of all subjects and grade levels with tools and techniques that support English learners’ academic achievement and language development.

Evan Ortlieb is a Professor and Dean of the Zucker Family School of Education at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.

Jeanne R. Paratore is a Professor Emerita, Literacy Education, at Boston University Wheelock College of Education. She is an elected member of the Reading Hall of Fame, a former classroom teacher, and reading specialist. Publications relate to grouping, interventions for struggling readers, coaching, integrating multimodal resources in classrooms, and family literacy.

J. Helen Perkins is a Professor of Literacy and the Literacy Coordinator at the University of Memphis. She has served as a reading specialist, classroom teacher, literacy coach, and in various other capacities. Her scholarly work focuses on children of poverty, their literacy promising practices; she has published several articles, book chapters and books.

Yvonne Pratt-Johnson is Professor of Education at St. John’s University in New York City. Her research and scholarly work focus on first and second language acquisition, literacy development in first and second language learners, and issues associated with English-based Creoles and the teaching of dialect-different students within a “standard English” instructional context.

Dana A. Robertson is Executive Director of the Literacy Research Center and Clinic and Associate Professor in the School of Teacher Education at the University of Wyoming. He is a former classroom teacher, literacy specialist, and coach. Areas of professional interest include classroom discourse, comprehension, reading and writing challenges, literacy coaching, and teacher professional learning.

Misty Sailors is a Professor of language and literacy studies and department chair in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration at the University of North Texas. Her scholarly work focuses on literacy tools found in classrooms; the professional development of reading teachers and literacy coaches; and literacy program development.

Carine Strebel, Ph.D., is a Teacher Educator, focusing on building pre- and in-service teachers’ efficacy in educating English learners. She also serves as a Subject Matter Expert at the University of Central Florida on a National Professional Development Grant. Prior to joining the TESOL field, she taught French and German.

Sue Oakes Verlaan is an Adjunct Professor of secondary ELA instruction and a Student Teacher Supervisor at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She has co-authored several publications addressing various aspects of the writing process and language learning.

Wolfram Verlaan is an Associate Professor, Department Chair, and Coordinator of the M.Ed. Reading Specialist Program at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has authored and/or co-authored numerous publications addressing ELA instruction including articles appearing in the Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Voices from the Middle.

Thomas DeVere Wolsey teaches in the Graduate School of Education at The American University in Cairo, Egypt. His research interests include assessment, language learning, and intersections of these with technology. With colleagues Lenski and Grisham, he wrote Assessment Literacy: An Educator’s Guide to Understanding Assessment, K-12 published by Guilford Press in 2020.

Casey D. Wright is an Early Childhood Educator at Porter-Leath, an NGO in Memphis, TN. She has a high level of experience working with English Language Learners of various age groups in academic settings. She has received numerous awards for her work with early childhood – first grade students.

Foreword

Evan Ortlieb

Understanding how to address current trends and issues in literacy education is more important than ever, as local, state, and inter/national legislation and agendas are increasingly recognizing literacy as a foundation for success in all disciplines in education. Learning the languages of mathematics, science, and history is quintessential to content knowledge acquisition and dissemination. As a result, this text not only addresses hot topics in literacy but also features current practices across the globe that foster literacy success in K-12 classrooms.

With its first chapter on digital literacies for disciplinary learning, this volume begins with Manderino and Castek calling for pedagogies that youth deserve. Dobbs et al. showcase promising practices, with extended foci into the home, school, and neighborhood through Johnson and Pratt-Johnson’s chapter on early literacy initiatives. Specific suggestions for English Language Learners are explicated in Mokhtari et al.’s chapter that precedes Wolsey’s influential work discussing the nuances between assessment, instruction, and learning in K-12 settings.

How adolescent literacy is different today is discussed in Ortlieb and Cheek’s chapter before an explicit focus on building purposes and engagement in writing assignments is discussed by Verlaan and Verlaan. Perkins et al. stress the importance of social, emotional, and cultural learning in literacy. Robertson et al. discuss the need to re-conceptualize literacy instruction to accelerate student progress, and Lindsey et al. remind us that core literacies like phonics and phonemic awareness must remain cornerstones of effective literacy instruction.

Educators are always in search of professional development that supports their increasingly diverse learners’ language and literacy acquisition in print and digital spaces, as antiquated instructional practices still prevail in classrooms worldwide. Engaging learners in purposeful instruction in skills and strategies is a cornerstone in every classroom. This text provides exemplar models of effective practice involving hot topics in literacy, prompting teachers, specialist, coaches, and administrators alike to be empowered to reconsider and improve their curricular planning and instruction.