Grounded in cutting-edge theory and research about literacy development, this book is filled with practical assessment and instructional ideas for teachers of pre-K through grade 3. Engaging vignettes show how everyday conversations and activities offer rich opportunities both for evaluating children's current level of knowledge and for helping them progress toward more sophisticated and rewarding interactions with reading and writing. Throughout, the book highlights ways to work effectively with English language learners and their families, a theme that is the exclusive focus of two chapters. Other timely topics covered include creative uses of technology and ways to incorporate popular culture into the classroom. Over two dozen reproducible assessment tools and handouts enhance the utility of this volume as an instructional resource, professional development tool, or graduate-level text.

About the Author: Diane M. Barone, EdD, is Professor of Educational Specialties at the University of Nevada, Reno. Her research has centered around longitudinal case studies of young children's literacy development. The first one of these studies investigated the literacy development of children prenatally exposed to crack cocaine. The second longitudinal study is nearing completion, as the students she selected to follow in kindergarten are now completing their elementary school experience as sixth graders. This work has centered on the children's literacy development as well as the instruction provided to them in their school. Dr. Barone has written or edited several books, including Literacy and Young Children, Resilient Children, Developing Literacy, and The National Board Certification Handbook.

Marla H. Mallette, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Literacy Education at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Her research interests include literacy teacher education, literacy instruction and learning with students of culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, and the convergence of early literacy and technology. She is very interested in research methodologies, has used various methodologies in her own work, and is coeditor (with Nell K. Duke) of a book entitled Literacy Research Methodologies.

Shelley Hong Xu, EdD, is Associate Professor of Teacher Education at California State University/n-/Long Beach, where she teaches graduate and undergraduate literacy courses. Her research interests include early literacy development of English language learners, preparing preservice and inservice teachers for diversity, and integrating children's experiences with multimedia texts in outside-school settings into a school literacy curriculum. Dr. Xu's work has appeared in literacy journals and edited books. She is the incoming essay book review editor for Reading Research Quarterly.