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Language and Literacy Education Commons™
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Articles 1 - 30 of 80
Full-Text Articles in Language and Literacy Education
Bank Street School For Children’S Story Of Integrating Structured Phonics Into A Progressive Literacy Approach, Melanie Bryon, Douglas R. Knecht, Emily Linsay, Emily Schottland
Bank Street School For Children’S Story Of Integrating Structured Phonics Into A Progressive Literacy Approach, Melanie Bryon, Douglas R. Knecht, Emily Linsay, Emily Schottland
Occasional Paper Series
This article explores how the Bank Street School for Children (SFC), a historically progressive institution rooted in child-centered, experiential learning, has successfully integrated structured phonics into its literacy program. Traditionally focused on whole language practices, SFC recognized inconsistencies in student reading outcomes and, beginning in 2017 undertook a multi-year evaluation of its literacy approach. Guided by the core values of child development and equity, and research in cognitive science, the school adopted a research-based phonics program, implementing it across Kindergarten through fourth grade over multiple years. This shift aimed to ensure all students—not just those with strong language backgrounds—gain the …
“It Was Hard, But It Worked:” Children’S Theories Of Learning To Read, Cristina Valencia Mazzanti, Laura Tiktin-Sharick, Madeleine Zuck, Tiphareth Ananda
“It Was Hard, But It Worked:” Children’S Theories Of Learning To Read, Cristina Valencia Mazzanti, Laura Tiktin-Sharick, Madeleine Zuck, Tiphareth Ananda
Occasional Paper Series
In this paper we come together as teachers, a school leader and a professor to examine children’s theories of learning to read captured in written and illustrated texts created by 143 children currently enrolled in kindergarten to sixth grade. This collection of children’s theories of reading was created in the context of a progressive elementary school located at Smith College, a women's liberal arts college in Massachusetts. Our hope in examining children’s theories is to humanize and historicize current debates about how reading is taught. We also hope to offer a counter narrative to the dichotomies currently shaping reading education, …
“This Curriculum Has No Real Reading:” A Case Study Of Student Activism In Response To A Centralized Curriculum Mandate, Alina Lewis
Occasional Paper Series
The widespread implementation of “science of reading” policies across national and local contexts in the past few years is yet another chapter in the reading wars (Preston, 2022; Thomas, 2024; Goldberg & Goldenberg, 2022). This is not the first time that a national panic about literacy has incited fierce debates over how best to teach reading. Since the publication of “Why Johnny Can’t Read” in 1955, the question of “how, when and how much phonics instruction” has been hotly contested among scholars and practitioners (Thomas, 2024; Flesch & Sloan, 1955). However, the current literacy policy landscape--in the wake of the …
When Science Of Reading Policy Meets Classroom Reality: The Nonsense Word Problem, Lisa Dewing-Birno, Luis Lopez
When Science Of Reading Policy Meets Classroom Reality: The Nonsense Word Problem, Lisa Dewing-Birno, Luis Lopez
Occasional Paper Series
A central feature of many Science of Reading (SoR)-aligned curricula is the use of nonsense words in early literacy assessment to measure a student's ability to decode unfamiliar words using knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. However, the research base for using nonsense words as an instructional tool is much weaker and more contested. Through two narratives, we illustrate how the implementation of SoR instruction with nonsense words can be particularly problematic. We argue that effective literacy instruction demands what we call pedagogical clarity, the ability to integrate pedagogical practices with deep understanding of individual learners, their cultural and linguistic resources, and …
Uplifting The Legacy Of Black Teachers: Loving And Liberatory Pedagogies In A Science Of Reading Context, Natasha A. Thornton, Amanda L. Armstrong, Brooke Blacknall, Jordan Freeman, Elaine Nevers-Williams, Mukkaramah Smith
Uplifting The Legacy Of Black Teachers: Loving And Liberatory Pedagogies In A Science Of Reading Context, Natasha A. Thornton, Amanda L. Armstrong, Brooke Blacknall, Jordan Freeman, Elaine Nevers-Williams, Mukkaramah Smith
Occasional Paper Series
This article explores Black liberatory pedagogy (BLP) as a critical approach to navigating current Science of Reading (SoR) mandates, which are often restrictive and fail to honor the literacies and linguistic practices of Black children. Through the narratives of six educators—classroom teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher educators—the article examines how they have experienced and responded to the implementation of SoR standards and curriculum shifts. These stories also illuminate what becomes possible when teachers are in spaces that allow for autonomy, imagination, and culturally responsive pedagogy. The educators’ experiences, expertise, and cultural wisdom are centered, demonstrating how they enact BLP through …
Utilizing And Creating Indigenous Children’S Literature To Reclaim The Endangered Hoche Language, Jue Wang
Utilizing And Creating Indigenous Children’S Literature To Reclaim The Endangered Hoche Language, Jue Wang
Occasional Paper Series
Stemming from a large ethnographic study exploring young Indigenous children’s literacy and language practices in and out of school in a Hoche elementary school in rural Northeast China, this paper focuses on the navigation of Indigenous literature, language, and literacy learning of young Hoche children. Particularly, this reflective paper challenges the efficacy of Hoche language education in the oppressive context of the public schooling system, inviting Indigenous and non-Indigenous educators in China and across the world to rethink the urgency of reclaiming this endangered language and the power of Indigenous literature in understanding Hoche Indigenous ways of knowing, belonging, and …
“I’M From The Federal Government And I’M Here To Help”: An Examination Of How Firekeeper’S Daughter Educates About Settler Colonialism, Robert Petrone
“I’M From The Federal Government And I’M Here To Help”: An Examination Of How Firekeeper’S Daughter Educates About Settler Colonialism, Robert Petrone
Occasional Paper Series
This essay offers an examination of various ways Angeline Boulley’s best-selling, award-winning Indigenous Young Adult novel, Firekeeper’s Daughter attends to and educates about settler colonialism. At the core of this analysis is the guiding question: In what ways does Firekeeper’s Daughter illuminate the ongoing social structure of settler colonialism within the context of what is currently known as “The United States”? Specifically, this analysis focuses on the topics of Native identity, including colonial mechanism of blood quantum; and the ways institutions such as the FBI operate from values and epistemologies of compartmentalization and deficit notions of Native Peoples. Across this …
Social Imagining In “Youth Taking Action:” Documenting Immigrating And Settling Through A Hybrid Youth Participatory Action Research Project, Natacha Monestel Mora, Julia Iriarte, Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, Sediqa Temori, Mathias Abraha
Social Imagining In “Youth Taking Action:” Documenting Immigrating And Settling Through A Hybrid Youth Participatory Action Research Project, Natacha Monestel Mora, Julia Iriarte, Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur, Sediqa Temori, Mathias Abraha
Occasional Paper Series
This paper is a memoir of our experiences with Youth Taking Action (YTA), a YPAR program that took place during the COVID-19 pandemic. YTA, a collaborative effort organized by a non-profit based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, provided a space for 6 newcomer youths and 4 immigrant adults to engage in active dialogue. Through these conversations, we explored stories of immigration and settlement, identified barriers that limit opportunities for young newcomers and discussed possible actions to address these issues. The youth also learned documentary filmmaking techniques, which helped them collect data and generate more dialogue. This process revealed that linguistic …
A Little Cuckoo: A Book About Finding Your Place, Elizabeth Berkowitz
A Little Cuckoo: A Book About Finding Your Place, Elizabeth Berkowitz
Graduate Student Independent Studies
The research collected in this study aims to support students, teachers, and families in understanding that friendships take many forms and that neurodivergent students don’t always make friends in the same way as their peers.
Teaching Comprehension To Students On The Autism Spectrum With Hyperlexia: A Case Study, Shannon Monahan
Teaching Comprehension To Students On The Autism Spectrum With Hyperlexia: A Case Study, Shannon Monahan
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This curriculum unit describes an 8-lesson intervention using a graphic novel to develop comprehension skills for a hyperlexic 2nd grade student with autism spectrum disorder in a special education classroom.
What Makes A Best Book?, Zach Libresco
What Makes A Best Book?, Zach Libresco
Graduate Student Independent Studies
Stories affect how people see the world and themselves. Stories matter. This is a study of what makes a “best” book. This study considers conversations that discussed and evaluated whether a book should be on a “best of the year” list, how evaluators thought about selecting books for children, and how the lens of looking at children’s literature has changed over time. The researcher conducted six interviews with members of the Children’s Book Committee, observed over fifty hours of Children’s Book Committee meetings, eight hours of awards committee meetings, and reviewed relevant literature. Three topics emerged as central to the …
Hangul Zoo: Alphabet Book On Korean Consonants, Alice Kang
Hangul Zoo: Alphabet Book On Korean Consonants, Alice Kang
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This independent study is focused around the development of an original alphabet picture book (Hangul Zoo) that aims to support Native English Speakers with their learning of Korean as a second language. Those who have prior experience and knowledge of the English alphabet will benefit from using this book as a tool for bilingual learning. This book will help bilinguals be able to differentiate the two unique alphabets (English and Korean), while still making cross connections. While most alphabet books are catered towards children of ages birth through 5 and are often used in early childhood settings (daycares and preschools) …
Indigo Letters: Supporting Children Navigating Endings Through Letter Writing, Maggie Brummer
Indigo Letters: Supporting Children Navigating Endings Through Letter Writing, Maggie Brummer
Graduate Student Independent Studies
In the realm of children’s literature, substantial resources are missing as it pertains to supporting students through the universal experience of navigating change, specifically something ending. Indigo Letters was inspired by Blue School’s closure at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. In conducting my own research, I quickly learned resources regarding this type of ending are nonexistent. Stories touching school closures are missing on Early Childhood bookshelves because prior to COVID-19, that was rarely a reality of private institutions. According to the Center For Educational Freedom, as of April 2021, there were “132 private schools that announced closures due …
Educating English Language Learners In New York City Following The Covid-19 Pandemic: Observations And Recommendations For Primary Instruction, Emilia Curcic
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This literature study addresses the unique experience of educating English Language Learners (ELLs) in New York City during and following Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) that occurred as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Language Values Guide, Bank Street College Of Education. School For Children
Language Values Guide, Bank Street College Of Education. School For Children
All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations
Designed to be used as a tool and to provide useful information on our daily interactions with both adults and children. The purpose of this guide is to continue educating our community toward maintaining a safe and inclusive community by recognizing what we say does matter. This guide will be used as a support document throughout the College, including with our partners, so we share a common language that respects both individuals and groups.
Empowering Students Toward Empathy, Awareness, And Respect Through The Discussion Of High Quality Children’S Literature, Jesse Blumberg
Empowering Students Toward Empathy, Awareness, And Respect Through The Discussion Of High Quality Children’S Literature, Jesse Blumberg
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This paper explores the importance of utilizing high quality books with elementary-aged students to encourage their ability to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate similarities and differences in our society.
The Name Curriculum: Exploring Names, Naming, And Identity, Isabel Taswell
The Name Curriculum: Exploring Names, Naming, And Identity, Isabel Taswell
Graduate Student Independent Studies
The act of naming, or using and respecting one’s name, is a humanizing act: it is foundational to one’s sense of identity and belonging. Conversely, the act of ‘de-naming,’ or changing, forgetting, or erasing one’s name, is an act of dehumanization: it denies one’s sense of identity and belonging. The Name Curriculum provides an opportunity for third grade students to explore the role of names and naming as they relate to one’s sense of self and community. It draws on the role of developmental psychology, the urgency of historical context, and the power of children’s literature. Specifically, it explores how …
Playing Through Tragedy: A Critical Approach To Welcoming Children’S Social Worlds And Play As Pedagogy, Cassie Brownell
Playing Through Tragedy: A Critical Approach To Welcoming Children’S Social Worlds And Play As Pedagogy, Cassie Brownell
Occasional Paper Series
Children’s play frequently reflects the ways they understand and cope with personal life experiences and those in the wider world. Drawing connections to many of the tenants of Jonathan Silin’s lifelong work, the author offers illustrative examples of why play and children's social worlds matter as well as why adults should pay attention to what children do and say in their play. Through personal stories, the author shows how integrating play(full) experiences into the daily life of a classroom can foster children's understanding of seemingly "difficult" or "adult" ideas and events that may be confusing, fear-inducing or represent significant loss. …
Learning Language In A Written World: An Analysis Of The Nyseslat, Christine Johnson
Learning Language In A Written World: An Analysis Of The Nyseslat, Christine Johnson
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This research project is an analysis and critique of the New York State English as a Second Language Achievement Test (NYSESLAT) and how it is used as a way to classify English Language Learners (ELL).
If I Knew Then What I Do Now: Fostering Pre-Service Teachers’ Capacity To Promote Expansive And Critical Conversations With Children’S Literature, Stephen Adam Crawley
If I Knew Then What I Do Now: Fostering Pre-Service Teachers’ Capacity To Promote Expansive And Critical Conversations With Children’S Literature, Stephen Adam Crawley
Occasional Paper Series
In this article, I reflect on my practices as a teacher educator and respond to the following questions: How do I foster the capacity of pre-service teachers to use children’s literature to promote expansive and critical conversations in the classroom? How do pre-service teachers report their stances and sense of preparedness when reflecting on the course? To address these questions, I share two strategies I employed in my undergraduate course for elementary education majors: 1) emphasizing children's literature as windows and mirrors and 2) considering stakeholder responses. For each strategy, I include preservice teachers’ (PTs’) statements that reflect how the …
Shattering, Healing And Dreaming: Lessons From Middle-Grade Literacies And Lives, Carla España
Shattering, Healing And Dreaming: Lessons From Middle-Grade Literacies And Lives, Carla España
Occasional Paper Series
In the summer of 2018, I had the opportunity to read the words of Renée Watson, Jewell Parker-Rhodes, Jacqueline Woodson and Nikki Grimes alongside seventh and eighth graders. Our conversations were grounded in the students’ lives and in stories and poems crafted by Black women. I had the responsibility and honor to select the texts, develop the curriculum and co-create a space with students. The authors’ words helped students process not only the authors’ craft but also how students navigated issues from microaggressions to tensions in friendships, from the oppression experienced at the intersections of their identities to the role …
Focus On Friendship Or Fights For Civil Rights? Teaching The Difficult History Of Japanese American Incarceration Through The Bracelet, Noreen N. Rodríguez
Focus On Friendship Or Fights For Civil Rights? Teaching The Difficult History Of Japanese American Incarceration Through The Bracelet, Noreen N. Rodríguez
Occasional Paper Series
Japanese American incarceration is one of few Asian American historical topics addressed in P-12 curriculum. A dearth of children’s literature is available about Japanese American incarceration, yet given young learners’ limited exposure to World War II historical narratives, simply reading a picturebook about the topic does not ensure that students and teachers will address the injustices involved in the event. This study contrasts the distinct pedagogical approaches taken up by two Texas elementary educators who read aloud Yoshiko Uchida’s The Bracelet, a picturebook that details a young Japanese American girl’s forced removal from her home.
We Are All Learning About Climate Change: Teaching With Picture Books To Engage Teachers And Students, Ysaaca D. Axelrod, Denise Ives, Rachel Weaver
We Are All Learning About Climate Change: Teaching With Picture Books To Engage Teachers And Students, Ysaaca D. Axelrod, Denise Ives, Rachel Weaver
Occasional Paper Series
The topic of climate change and climate justice is politically charged, doesn’t sit neatly within a single subject or content area, and raises concerns of not being ‘age appropriate’ for young children. In this paper we describe how teacher educators in an elementary education program support a student teacher who took up the topic of climate change and climate justice in her 1st grade teaching placement. She designed a unit around a picture book that focuses on the words and work of Greta Thunberg, and used a diverse set of texts to support students’ understanding of the complexity of climate …
Discovering Joy Within Literacy Instruction: How My Study Of Structured Word Inquiry (Swi) Transformed My Understanding Of Teaching Children To Read, Chelsea Genn
Graduate Student Independent Studies
In this thesis a second grade teacher at a school for children with language based learning disabilities (LLD’s), begin by describing my teaching experience using the OG based Fundations approach which I used in my classroom of six children. I then present my experiences with designing and implementing a 10-lesson unit on morphology/orthography based on Structured Word Inquiry (SWI), an inquiry based approach that is rooted in constructivist principles of meaning making. A comparison of these two approaches is presented along with an original analysis and critique.
Language Acquisition And Development, Esther Ramirez
Language Acquisition And Development, Esther Ramirez
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This Integrated Masters Project focuses on first language development in developing children, and how variant it can be, especially in the early years of child growth.
Center-Based Learning In A First Grade Classroom, Ariana Beers
Center-Based Learning In A First Grade Classroom, Ariana Beers
Graduate Student Independent Studies
This thesis provides a review of literacy that supports incorporating phonics within a balanced approach to literacy approach and using center-based literacy instruction that can target individual students needs and provide engaging and hands-on instruction.
A Reason To Read: Discovering A Purpose For Books Through Play, Sara Russell Dewey
A Reason To Read: Discovering A Purpose For Books Through Play, Sara Russell Dewey
Graduate Student Independent Studies
Children need desire and motivation to learn. This study examines the responsive, child- centered teaching practices of a reading and literacy specialist as she helps a student, with low motivation for reading, find a reason to want to read. Although her student is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and aspects of autism come up in this study, the focus here is not on teaching children with autism. Since no two children with a diagnosis present similarly, teaching to a diagnosis is not individualized or sensitive enough to meet the educational and emotional needs of a student. Instead, teachers must …
Teaching Students With Language-Based Learning Differences (Lbld) To Write: Examination Of The Explicit Approach Versus Embedding Authentic Writing Into The Curricula, Jane Moskowitz
Graduate Student Independent Studies
Writing is, arguably, the most difficult skill for students to master and is particularly challenging for children who have language-based learning variations. There are different schools of thought about effective writing instruction; some, like Judy Hochman, believe that writing should be taught in a systematic and explicit manner, with heavy focus on the sentence-level and building on mastery of sentence skills to move students to paragraph and compositions writing. There are others, like Ralph Fletcher, who lean more heavily on mentor texts, student choice, and embedding rich literature into the curricula, as a means to cultivate authentic writers in the …
Choosing Advocacy
Occasional Paper Series
Two articles comprise this publication. In "Beyond the Story-Book Ending: Literature for Young Children About Parental Estrangement and Loss," Megan Matt analyzes over 30 books for young children on the topics of abandonment, estrangement, divorce, and foster care. She observes that this loss might appear as an event within the story or as a fear articulated by a young child. She states that, as an educator, she hopes that she can make the children realize that their own stories are "real" and legitimate, no matter what messages they might encounter or fail to encounter in the media. In "Walking the …
Exploring Learning Differences: A Social Emotional Curriculum For Second Grade, Sophie Paci
Exploring Learning Differences: A Social Emotional Curriculum For Second Grade, Sophie Paci
Graduate Student Independent Studies
Exploring Learning Differences is a four-week social emotional learning curriculum designed for second grade students by Sophie Paci. The purpose of the curriculum is to encourage students to reflect on themselves as learners and to promote awareness about different learning needs in a community. Students explore this theme through class discussions, interactive read-alouds, group activities, art projects, and independent writing. As a literature-based curriculum, each lesson utilizes a children’s book to engage students in dialogue about learning differences. The literature collection features eight “core books” that are used in interactive read-alouds and ten supporting books students can read independently. The …