1st Edition
Literacy for All A Framework for Anti-Oppressive Teaching
An equity-conscious, culturally sustaining approach to literacy education.
Every student comes to the classroom with unique funds of knowledge in addition to unique needs. How can teachers celebrate and draw upon the valuable literacies each child already possesses to engage them more effectively in school literacy practices?
In Literacy for All, Shawna Coppola shows how a literacy pedagogy founded on anti-oppressive principles can transform the experiences of teachers and students alike. Using her framework, which highlights the social and cultural aspects of literacy, teachers can help students participate in literacy experiences that illuminate their individual strengths.
Coppola’s book, an ideal introduction for equity-conscious literacy educators, shows how to design instructional and assessment practices that reflect both the cognitive processes and the social practices inherent in learning to read and write.
0.Introduction. 1.The Anti-Oppressive Literacy Education Framework. 2.Literacy Involves Both Cognitive Processes and Social Practices. 3.Literacy and Identity Are Inextricably Linked. 4.All Human Beings Engage in Literacy and Language Practices That Are Both Valid and Valuable. 5.Meaning-Making Occurs Within a Variety of Equally Valid Communicative Channels or Modes. 6.Literacy Can Be Used as a Tool for Liberation as Well as a Tool for Oppression.
Biography
Shawna Coppola, MA, a former classroom teacher and literacy specialist, is an active school consultant, a community leader, and a faculty member in the Learning Through Teaching program at the Literacy Institutes of the University of New Hampshire. She lives in Madbury, New Hampshire.
“With incisive precision, clarity, and refreshing veracity, Coppola’s Literacy for All offers a framework that equips readers with the tools needed to engage in expansive literacy practices that underscore the cognitive and social aspects of literacy, support the internal and external work necessary to sustain liberatory literacy practices and honor the research and scholarship of those whose expertise, though critical, is often not centered. This work is a vital addition to your literacy instruction toolkit."
Afrika Afeni Mills, Author of Open Windows, Open Minds: Developing Antiracist, Pro-Human Students, Education Consultant, Adjunct Instructor, and CEO of Continental Drift, LLC
“Literacy for All: A Framework for Anti-Oppressive Teaching walks readers through literacy movements and current debates while maintaining a critical lens on how our identities and relationships to communities impact our teaching. Coppola brings a wealth of knowledge about the definitions of literacy, sociocultural approaches to literacy, and ways to unmask the oppression embedded in dominant narratives of literacy instruction. This book carefully looks across literacy theory and methods through the lens of a thoughtful framework that recognizes the role of our positionalities, the internal and external work that is necessary when teaching, and the research-based approaches we must be aware of if we are indeed doing literacy work that is transformative and liberating. Literacy for All is a must-read for all teachers, literacy coaches, and those who want to nurture an anti-oppressive literacy culture in their schools. This book will impact our teacher journeys and help transform institutions."
Carla España, Assistant Professor of Bilingual Education and Puerto Rican/Latinx and Latin American Studies, Department of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies, Brooklyn College, City University of New York
“Literacy for All is a call for a more focused, complete, and unflinchingly honest approach to building literacy. Coppola brings expertise, experience, and, most importantly, humanity to the national discussion around literacy education. Melding important research from many different realms of education and holding them all up equally for important findings and critical analysis, Literacy for All is a book that anyone involved in education will find helpful, meaningful, and thought provoking."
Tom Rademacher, Author of It Won't Be Easy and Raising Ollie
“Wow! Shawna Coppola has created a comprehensive yet digestible literacy framework that envelops an enormous breadth of research and history without overwhelming readers. She lays out why we must enact classroom and systemic change but more importantly, she shows educators how. Yes, this is the path to Literacy for All. More aptly, even, Required Reading for All.”
Nawal Qarooni, Educator, Author, and Literacy Expert
“Literacy for All is an active book. In its pages, Coppola demonstrates the ongoing, alive, and continual excavation required to challenge our enculturated norms. More than a simple how-to, the book is a conversation that asks you to dig and then keep digging. Grounded in scholarship, while remaining utterly approachable, Literacy for All will help you peel back the layers of your instruction, question who is best being served, and challenge you to do better."
Christopher Lehman, Founding Director, The Educator Collaborative
