Becoming Readers and Writers

Centered around the idea that literacy teaching is more than the transmission of strategies and skills, this volume serves as a foundation for approaching literacy from an identity perspective. Through incisive and accessible chapters from top scholars, it introduces readers to the concept of literate identities, examining them across ages and grade levels to present an overview of how scholars and educators can use this concept in their research and teaching.
Organized by developmental level with sections on early childhood, middle childhood, adolescence, and cross-age research, contributors reveal how literacy can be framed as an identity practice to engage students and support their development. Applying a range of theoretical perspectives and frameworks, each chapter identifies the identity theory used, explains the relevant methodology and research questions, covers implications for practice, and includes questions or prompts for discussion. The volume reveals how understanding literate identities is at the heart of effective and inclusive literacy instruction by addressing key topics, including culturally relevant pedagogy, intersectionality, and transnationalism, among others. Illuminating multiple pathways to understanding students as readers and writers, this book is essential for teachers, scholars, and researchers in literacy education, research methods, and multicultural education.

Christopher J. Wagner is an Associate Professor of Elementary and Early Childhood Education at Queens College, City University of New York, USA. Katherine K. Frankel is an Associate Professor of Literacy Education at Boston University, Boston, USA. Christine M. Leighton is an Associate Professor of Education at Emmanuel College, Boston, USA.

List of Illustrations Editor Biographies Contributor Biographies Introduction: Approaching Literacy from an Identity Perspective Christine M. Leighton, Christopher J. Wagner, and Katherine K. Frankel Section I: Literate Identities in Early Childhood Introduction to Literate Identities in Early Childhood Christopher J. Wagner Chapter 1 Exploring, Analyzing, Interpreting, and (Re)Presenting Positive Visions of Young Children's Literate Identities Lindsey Moses Chapter 2 Assessment as a Tool to Enhance Students' Identities as Readers and Writers Through Assessment Bente Rigmor Walgermo and Per Henning Uppstad Chapter 3 Language and Multilingualism in Young Children's Literate Identities Christopher J. Wagner Section II: Literate Identities in Middle Childhood Introduction to Literate Identities in Middle Childhood Christine M. Leighton Chapter 4 A Sociocultural Approach to School Literacy: Navigating Identity Through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Chantal Francois Chapter 5 Designing Literacy Instruction to Support Reading Identity Negotiations: The Case of One Fifth-Grade Classroom Kierstin Giunco, Christine M. Leighton, and Lisa M. O'Brien Chapter 6 "They Will Shut You Out If They Think You Can't Read": Navigating Diverse Models of Identity in an Eighth-Grade Classroom Leigh A. Hall Section III: Literate Identities in Adolescence Introduction to Literate Identities in Adolescence Katherine K. Frankel Chapter 7 How Youth Construct Literacy-Related Identities: The Role of Tracking and High-Stakes Testing Julie E. Learned, Laura C. Dacus, and Kewsi Burgess Chapter 8 Transnationalism, Writing, and Identity Within a Caribbean Classroom Context Allison Skerrett Chapter 9 "Learning to Code...with a Goal that I Get to Determine": A Latina Girl's Literate Intersectional Identities at a STEAM Workshop Tisha Lewis Ellison, Bradley Robinson, and Tairan Qiu Section IV: Literate Identities Across Childhood and Adolescence Introduction to Literate Identities Across Childhood and Adolescence Christopher J. Wagner, Katherine K. Frankel, and Christine M. Leighton Chapter 10 Longitudinal Identity Construction: Intersectionality, Figured Worlds, and Assemblage Catherine Compton-Lilly Chapter 11 Becoming (Un)Labeled: Challenging Socially Constructed Notions of Normalcy in Literate Identities Bobbie Kabuto Chapter 12 Literate Identities and/in the Body: Tracing Embodiments of Literacy Across Grade Levels Grace Enriquez, Stavroula Kontovourki, and Elisabeth Johnson Conclusion: Advancing Identity in the Literacy Field Katherine K. Frankel, Christine M. Leighton, and Christopher J. Wagner