This popular text, now in its fourth edition, ?unpacks? the various dimensions of literacy?linguistic and other sign systems; cognitive; sociocultural; and developmental?and at the same time accounts for the interrelationships among them. Distinguished by its examination of literacy from a multidimensional and interdisciplinary perspective, it provides a strong conceptual foundation upon which literacy curriculum and instruction in school settings can be grounded.

Linking theory and research to practice in an understandable, user-friendly manner, the text provides in-depth coverage of the dimensions of literacy, includes demonstrations and ?hands-on? activities, examines authentic reading and writing events that reflect key concepts, and summarizes the concepts in tables and figures.

Changes in the Fourth Edition
? Addresses academic language, new literacies/multiliteracies, and their relationship to literacy learning

? More fully develops the developmental dimension of literacy in separate chapters on adult mediation and learner  construction

? Expands the discussion of multimodal literacies

? Extends and integrates the discussion of bilingualism and biliteracy throughout the text

? Integrates instructional implications more fully throughout