"Lewis' ethnography is rigorously developed and well written. She raises many interesting points about
how school works for children in predominately middle class settings. Those with related interests will find Lewis'
book valuable reading."
-- TCRecord.org
"Lewis's focus on fifth and sixth graders brings a much needed perspective; those grades too often are neglected
in literacy research. Her identification of class (along with perceived ability, age, and gender) as an important
factor in classroom dynamics is even more unusual. As Gee points out in his Foreword, Lewis's study 'speaks...in
crucial ways to how class works in regard to (children's) affiliation, an issue that has been heretofore badly
confounded with race in educational studies'."
-- The Reading Teacher
"By providing a theoretical foundation and a clear glimpse into the realities of the classroom, Lewis enables
the reader to meaningfully reflect on common literacy practices, and draw conclusions about how they may be shaped
by the power, status, and cultural norms of the classroom."
-- Antrhopology and Education Quarterly
Testimonials:
"This is the next generation of literacy research, with power and politics and identity jumping out of the
pages."
-- Allan Luke, The University of Queensland, Australia
"This probing and provocative study promises to be a vital addition to the field of research in literacy education....
Educators, researchers, and policymakers alike will be captivated by this book."
-- Susan Hynds, Syracuse University
"Meshes a focus on social context with performance theory to examine the roles, footing, positioning, and
dramatistic aspects of classroom interaction....A primary strength is the analysis of the subtle social dynamics
of classroom talk about literature that draws on a range of current theory. This analysis should provide teachers
with a lens for analyzing their own classrooms, particularly in terms of students' social positioning through language."
-- Richard Beach, University of Minnesota
"At last, a book that explores the subtleties and ideological underpinnings of four common literacy practices
in literature-based reading programs: read-alouds, peer-led literature discussions, teacher-led literature discussions,
and independent readings. This book will change the way literacy teacher educators think about these practices.
Just as importantly, it will provide them with concrete examples of how the social politics of classroom discourse
simultaneously shape, and are shaped by, such practices. Cynthia Lewis's solid grounding in classroom pedagogy
comes through clearly, particularly in the way she is able to help her readers understand why any idealized notion
of classroom community must give way to a more sensitive explanation of the assumptions underlying that concept.
In this book, Lewis is at her finest--a teacher scholar and literacy researcher who knows how to tell an engaging
story that makes us sit up and take notice."
-- Donna Alvermann, University of Geo
"A careful study of literacy-related social practices and the ways in which they do and do not recruit children's
affiliation. It speaks, as well, in crucial ways as to how class works in regard to such affiliation, an issue
that has been heretofore badly confounded with race in educational studies. In treating literacy in terms of value-laden
social acts, [this book] has the capacity to place the public discussion of literacy back where it belongs."
-- James Gee, University of Wisconsin, Madison, From the Foreword
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Web Site, June, 2003
Summary
This book examines the social codes and practices that shape the literary culture of a combined fifth/sixth-grade
classroom. It considers how the social and cultural contexts of classroom and community affect four classroom practices
involving literature--read aloud, peer-led literature discussions, teacher-led literature discussions, and independent
reading--with a focus on how these practices are shaped by discourse and rituals within the classroom and by social
codes and cultural norms beyond the classroom. This book's emphasis on intermediate students is particularly important,
given the dearth of studies in the field of reading education that focus on readers at the edge of adolescence.
Table of Contents
Preface
Foreword
Part I: Contexts
The Social Politics and Performance of Literature
A Social Geography of the Classroom and Surrounding Community
Part II: Literary Practices
Enacting Classroom Culture Through the Ritual of Read-Aloud: What Do We Have in Common?
Negotiating Classroom Culture in Peer-Led Literature Discussions: What Are Our Social Roles?
Probing Cultural Norms in Teacher-Led Discussions: Why Do We Believe What We Believe?
Appropriating Cultural Norms Through Independent Reading: What Will We Accept, Reject, or Reinvent
Part III: Reflections and Implications for Pedagogy
Literary Practices as Social Acts
Appendix: Methodology