Widening the Lens

Book excerpt: Drawing on an asset-based approach to adolescents and their literacy practices, this book is a powerful resource for secondary teachers across all content areas. The authors encourage a “widened lens” approach that considers varied perspectives and research findings when engaging in multiple and often competing initiatives, issues, and pedagogies. Using examples from their own and others’ classroom experiences, the authors explore numerous theoretical and practical understandings of literacy to inform classroom instruction. They discuss different theories of literacy instruction and the ways that sociocultural and cognitive approaches to literacy like the Science of Reading and Whole Language can work in concert with each other. Readers will find relevant information about adolescents’ multiliteracies, text selection and complexity, and meeting the needs of diverse learners. With suggested resources, teaching strategies, and discussion questions throughout, this is an ideal text for teacher education courses, professional learning communities, and professionals who want to learn more about how to support adolescents’ literacy development. Book Features: Research-based strategies to improve the reading ability of adolescents.Concise descriptions of current literacy approaches commonly referenced in educational policy and the media.Application suggestions with scenarios from middle and high school classrooms.Guiding questions to help beginning teachers reflect on their own literacy experiences and their adolescent students.Tables and a glossary of key terms to support readers’ understanding of complex concepts.