"Educators discuss integrating diversity, literacy, arts" (Standard-Times, 02/10/09)

Conclusion: The arts can play a powerful role in helping students make the most of their education — and their individual potentials.

"Immigrants in Little Havana learn the language of community" (Miami Herald, 02/10/09)

What started out as a place for immigrant parents in Little Havana to learn English has become a launching pad to a better life in a new country.

"School improves literacy through brain fitness" (Salt Lake Tribune, 02/07/09)

Scientists now widely believe the brain is "plastic," not rigidly wired, and can rewire itself given the right training. Applying that idea, FastForWord doesn't aim to teach students to read, but to improve their capacity to read. The games are like mental aerobics, "retraining" kids' brains for learning and literacy.

"NEA reports rise in reading, but increase may be partially reluctant" (Ledger Dispatch, 02/02/09)

More people are turning pages, but they may be turning fewer of them, says a recent government study that reports a surprising and welcome increase in the number of adults who recently read a novel, short story, play or other work of literature.

"Tackling illiteracy in Phila." (Philadelphia Inquirer, 02/02/09)

The U.S. Department of Education last month released a national report on illiteracy. The study, based on 2003 data, estimates that 22 percent of Philadelphia residents cannot read or write well enough to handle even elementary school material.

"Coaches help lift up literacy in schools" (IndyStar, 01/29/09)

Coaches -- also called literacy teachers and literacy coordinators -- train teachers about reading strategies so students better understand what they're reading, retain the information and achieve a higher level of thinking.

"Early phonics success 'may wane' " (BBC, 01/26/09)

Initial success in improving the way young children are taught to read may peter out if teachers' commitment wanes, a government adviser has warned.

"Mobile Devices Seen as Key to 21st-Century Learning" (EdWeek's Digital Directions, 01/09/09)

Children’s lives have been caught up in a tide of mobile digital technologies—games, cellphones, and smartphones—that if carefully managed could significantly boost their learning, concludes a report released today by a research center based at the Sesame Workshop.

Graphic Storytelling and the New Literacies: An Interview with NCTE Educator Peter Gutiérrez

Referring to The NCTE Definition of 21st Century Literacies, Gutiérrez notes, "Yes, new technologies encourage non-traditional, often non-linear ways of engaging with text, but there's a danger in supposing that what makes the new literacies 'new' is the technology per se -- it's the literacies that are new; . . . they speak to the idea of 'participatory culture.'" Diamond Bookshelf, September 2008

Literacy and Online Reading

NCTE member Donald Leu, holder of the John and Maria Neag Endowed Chair in Literacy and Technology and director of The New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut, is interviewed. Focus 580, WILL Radio, September 4, 2008 (scroll down to program)

Donald Leu is a contributor to NCTE's Secondary School Literacy: What Research Reveals for Classroom Practice.

Tots show benefits from early emphasis on reading

Initial test results of the Early Reading First program, which focused on teaching 3 and 4 year old children early literacy skills, show the children came a long way.