In today's results-based classrooms, student engagement and fulfillment are too often left behind as teachers strive to meet external standards. This innovative book explores best practices and projects designed to meet the literacy learning needs of a diverse range of students. It is committed to connecting student knowledge, experience, and interests to literacy learning that is relevant and valuable.

Providing detailed descriptions of actual classroom practices and practical suggestions for positive change in the classroom, the authors challenge teachers to reflect on both the projects described and their own teaching style:

• how were learning outcomes, objectives, or standards addressed?
• how did the teacher support and extend student literacy learning?
• how did classroom assessment practices support student growth?
• how were parents and the wider community involved from the beginning?

Based on decades of work in schools and rooted in extensive research, the book presents an effective framework for designing a curriculum that fosters student engagement. It explores all aspects of evaluation and suggests novel ways to use student self-assessment to help students recognize their own individual learning style.