Literate Lives

Book excerpt: Literate Lives: Teaching Reading and Writing in Elementary Classrooms invites readers to consider the complexities of the reading process in diverse settings. The text is designed to meet the challenges and needs of undergraduate and graduate teacher candidates in elementary education programs, helping them to have a better first year (in the classroom) experience. The text introduces teacher candidates to the notion that reading is a complex, multi-layered process that begins early in a child’s life. Reading by all accounts, is more than decoding symbols on a page. While this is one component of the reading process, it is important for teacher candidates to see a broader more complete picture of reading. Given the role that reading plays in the elementary school curriculum, it is imperative that teachers have a well-developed understanding of the reading process and what it means to be a teacher of readers. Literate Lives: Teaching Reading and Writing in the Elementary Classroom covers the major theories and application strategies of the reading process as well as current debates in the field using a unique framework that builds upon the following themes: believing that literacy is based in social, cultural, and historical contexts assuming an inquiry stance - being ‘problem posers’ and wondering ‘why’ using “kidwatching” (Goodman, 1985) as an assessment tool to make informed instructional decisions recognizing and using the multiple literacies that children bring to the classroom lingering and reflecting on one’s decisions in light of what one knows and believes.