Teaching K-8 Reading Disrupting 10 Literacy Myths

Accessible and engaging, this methods textbook provides a roadmap for improving reading instruction. Leland, Lewison, and Harste explain why certain ineffective or debunked literacy techniques prevail in the classroom, identify the problematic assumptions that underly these popular myths, and offer better alternatives for literacy teaching. Grounded in a mantra that promotes critical thinking and agency?Enjoy! Dig Deeply! Take Action!?this book presents a clear framework, methods, and easy applications for designing and implementing effective literacy instruction.

Numerous teaching strategies, classroom examples, teacher vignettes, and recommendations for using children?s and adolescent literature found in this book make it an ideal text for preservice teachers in elementary and middle school reading, and English language arts methods courses as well as a practical resource for professional in-service workshops and teachers.

Key features include:

• Instructional engagements for supporting students as they read picture books, chapter books, and news articles, and interact with social media and participate in the arts and everyday life;
• Voices from the field that challenge mythical thinking and offer realworld examples of what effective reading and language arts instruction looks like in practice;
• Owl statements that alert readers to key ideas for use when planning reading and language arts instruction.

Dedication

Preface

Acknowledgements

1. Introduction

2. Disrupting Commonplace Knowledge

3. Classroom Practices that Help Students Disrupt Commonplace Knowledge

4. Interrogating Multiple Perspectives

5. Classroom Practices that Help Readers Interrogate Multiple Perspectives

6. Focusing on Sociopolitical Issues

7. Classroom Practices that Help Students Focus on Sociopolitical Issues

8. Taking Action to Promote Social Justice

9. Classroom Practices that Support Taking Social Action

About the Authors

Bibliography of Children’s and Adolescent Literature

Bibliography of Professional Publications

Index

Christine H. Leland is Professor Emerita of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, USA.

Mitzi Lewison is Professor of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.

Jerome C. Harste is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Language, Literacy, and Culture at Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.