Becoming Literate in the City

Becoming Literate in the City
Author: Robert Serpell
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 340
Release: 2005-01-10
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780521772020

Literacy is one of the most highly valued cultural resources of contemporary American society, yet far too many children in the nation's cities leave school without becoming sufficiently literate. This book reports the results of a five-year longitudinal study in the city of Baltimore, Maryland, tracing literacy development from pre-kindergarten through third-grade for a sample of children from low and middle income families of European and African heritage. The authors examined the intimate culture of each child's home, defined by a confluence of parental beliefs, recurrent activities, and interactive processes, in relation to children's literacy competencies. Also examined were teacher beliefs and practices, and connections between home and school. With its broad-based consideration of the contexts of early literacy development, the book makes an important contribution to understanding how best to facilitate attainment of literacy for children from diverse backgrounds.

Growing Up Literate

Growing Up Literate
Author: Denny Taylor
Publisher: Heinemann Educational Publishers
Total Pages: 264
Release: 1988
Genre: Education
ISBN:

Through their focus on children who were successfully learning to read and write despite extraordinary economic hardship, this multiracial team presents new images of the strengths of the family as educator.

Literacy Reframe

Literacy Reframe
Author: Robin Fogarty
Publisher:
Total Pages: 248
Release: 2020
Genre: Language arts
ISBN: 9781951075132

"For decades, the education system has poured time, money, and effort into helping young students learn to read well, but nearly every attempt at reforming literacy among the youth has failed. So instead of reforming, why not reframe? Literacy Reframed seeks to reframe literacy in the education system by removing the current obsession with examinations and skill work. Instead, authors Robin J. Fogarty, Gene M. Kerns, and Brian M. Pete introduce the three pillars of literacy: phonics, vocabulary, and knowledge, which serve to create a reading environment built on students' continual acquisition of knowledge and need to learn. By reading The Big Three, educators will learn how to create literacy-reframed classrooms, where students are consumed by the sound of reading, engrossed by the words on the page, and thirsting to learn more about anything and everything"--

The Deep Places

The Deep Places
Author: Ross Douthat
Publisher: Convergent Books
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2021-10-26
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0593237366

NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS’ CHOICE • In this vulnerable, insightful memoir, the New York Times columnist tells the story of his five-year struggle with a disease that officially doesn’t exist, exploring the limits of modern medicine, the stories that we unexpectedly fall into, and the secrets that only suffering reveals. “A powerful memoir about our fragile hopes in the face of chronic illness.”—Kate Bowler, bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason In the summer of 2015, Ross Douthat was moving his family, with two young daughters and a pregnant wife, from Washington, D.C., to a sprawling farmhouse in a picturesque Connecticut town when he acquired a mysterious and devastating sickness. It left him sleepless, crippled, wracked with pain--a shell of himself. After months of seeing doctors and descending deeper into a physical inferno, he discovered that he had a disease which according to CDC definitions does not actually exist: the chronic form of Lyme disease, a hotly contested condition that devastates the lives of tens of thousands of people but has no official recognition--and no medically approved cure. From a rural dream house that now felt like a prison, Douthat's search for help takes him off the map of official medicine, into territory where cranks and conspiracies abound and patients are forced to take control of their own treatment and experiment on themselves. Slowly, against his instincts and assumptions, he realizes that many of the cranks and weirdos are right, that many supposed "hypochondriacs" are victims of an indifferent medical establishment, and that all kinds of unexpected experiences and revelations lurk beneath the surface of normal existence, in the places underneath. The Deep Places is a story about what happens when you are terribly sick and realize that even the doctors who are willing to treat you can only do so much. Along the way, Douthat describes his struggle back toward health with wit and candor, portraying sickness as the most terrible of gifts. It teaches you to appreciate the grace of ordinary life by taking that life away from you. It reveals the deep strangeness of the world, the possibility that the reasonable people might be wrong, and the necessity of figuring out things for yourself. And it proves, day by dreadful day, that you are stronger than you ever imagined, and that even in the depths there is always hope.

Courtyards, Markets, City Streets

Courtyards, Markets, City Streets
Author: Kathleen Sheldon
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2018-03-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0429980876

Although women have long been active residents in African cities, explorations of their contributions have been marginal. This volume brings women into the center of the urban landscape, using case studies to illustrate their contributions to family, community, work, and political life. The book begins with a rich introduction that discusses how women's work in trade and agriculture has been the foundation of African urbanization. The contributors then focus on patterns of migration and urbanization, with an emphasis on the personal and social issues that influence the decision to migrate from rural areas; women's employment in varied activities from selling crafts to managing small businesses; the sometimes unavoidable practice of prostitution when options are limited; the emergence of complex new family formations deriving from access to courts and the continued strength of polygyny; and women's participation in community and political activities. The volume includes material from all regions of sub-Saharan Africa and brings together scholars from all the social sciences.

Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy

Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy
Author: Teresa L. McCarty
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 421
Release: 2004-05-20
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135630151

Sociocultural Contexts of Language and Literacy, Second Edition engages prospective and in-service teachers in learning about linguistically and culturally diverse students, and in using this knowledge to enrich literacy learning in classrooms and communities. The text is grounded in current research and theory that integrate sociocultural and constructivist concepts and perspectives and provide a framework teachers can use to develop strategies for teaching reading, writing, and thinking to diverse students. The focus on English literacy development does not imply advocacy for "English only" or ESL as the primary mode of literacy instruction. Rather, the authors take the position that learners need to develop literacy in their native language and that the concepts and skills learned in developing the native language create a foundation of strength from which students can develop English literacy. Part I introduces relevant research and language learning theories. Part II provides research reviews and information about literacy learning within specific culturally and linguistically diverse communities. The chapters in Part III challenge the reader to view the multiple social, intellectual, cultural, and language differences children bring to the classroom as an opportunity for learning and building on the diversity among students. Activities and suggested readings at the end of each chapter involve readers in reflection, observation, meaning making, and the construction of application processes for their new understandings. New in the Second Edition: *updated research and theory on multilingual and second language literacy; *a focus on the interpretation of these research findings to make them useful for teachers and teacher educators in understanding and articulating the research bases for literacy practices; *attention to current intensely debated issues, such as standards, the phonics movement, and high-stakes testing; and *new activities and suggested readings.

Literacy, Culture and Development

Literacy, Culture and Development
Author: Daniel A. Wagner
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 400
Release: 1993
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9780521398138

Literacy is thought to be one of the primary cultural transmitters of information and beliefs within any society where it exists. Yet, when considered as a social phenomenon, literacy is remarkably difficult to define, because its functions, meanings, and methods of learning vary from one cultural group to the next. This book compares and contrasts our understanding of literacy and its acquisition and retention. It addresses major debates in education policy today, such as the importance of 'mother-tongue' literacy programs, the notion of literacy 'relapse', and the concept of educational poverty. The author focuses on Moroccan children whose parents are unschooled, whose language is often different from that used in the classroom, and whose first instruction often involves rote religious teaching.

Handbook of Literacy and Technology

Handbook of Literacy and Technology
Author: David Reinking
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 569
Release: 1998-04-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1135684618

The major shift going on today in the technologies of reading and writing raises important questions about conventional conceptions of literacy and its role in education, society, and culture. What are the important characteristics of electronic forms of reading and writing distinguishing them from printed forms? To what extent and in what ways is literacy being transformed by new technologies? This central question is addressed in this volume from diverse, multidisciplinary perspectives. The contributing authors focus on a guiding question in one of the following areas, which correspond to the major sections of the book: *Transforming Texts. What are the new differences between printed and electronic texts, and what are the implications of new textual forms for defining literacy, especially in regard to teaching and learning in schools? *Transforming Readers and Writers. How do electronic reading and writing change conceptualizations of literacy development from childhood through adulthood? *Transforming Classrooms and Schools. What are the effects of introducing new reading and writing technologies into schools and classrooms? *Transforming Instruction. How can instruction be adapted in response to the changing literacy landscape, and how can teachers and students exploit forms of reading and writing to enhance teaching and learning? *Transforming Society. What are the broad societal implications of the increasing prevalence of electronic forms of reading and writing? *Transforming Literacy Research. What are the questions that must be addressed as digital reading and writing become more common, and what approaches to research will be most useful in addressing those questions? This volume is the result of an interactive process. The contributors met as a group to discuss drafts of their chapters at a one-day meeting convened and sponsored by the National Reading Research Center, and had read each others' chapters prior to this gathering. That meeting was followed by a two-day conference attended by approximately 180 researchers, educators, and policymakers who responded to an open invitation to present papers and to attend sessions focusing on the six major themes of the book. Contributors then revised their chapters based on interactions with fellow contributors, conference participants, and volume editors. Thus, this work is more than just a compilation of the individual authors' views. Rather, it represents a synthesis of a broad range of current thinking about how literacy is being and may be transformed by technology.

Foregrounding the Role of Gender in the Interpretation of Meaning : A Study of Select Women’s Fiction

Foregrounding the Role of Gender in the Interpretation of Meaning : A Study of Select Women’s Fiction
Author: Dr.Mrs.F.Mary Judy Benno, M.A., M.Phil., Ph.D.,
Publisher: Benno Rayan
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2024-05-12
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN:

Foregrounding the Role of Gender in the Interpretation of Meaning: A Study of Select Women’s Fiction delves into the intricate ways gender shapes the understanding and interpretation of literary texts. Through a meticulous examination of select women's fiction, Dr. F. Mary Judy Benno brings to light the nuanced perspectives and unique experiences that female authors contribute to literature. This groundbreaking work challenges traditional literary criticism by highlighting the pivotal role gender plays in the construction of meaning, offering fresh insights and a deeper appreciation of women's narratives