Literacy in Australia: Pedagogies for Engagement

Literacy means so much more than decoding symbols on a page orscreen. It encompasses social, cultural and historical processeswhich begin early in children’s lives. Literacy inAustralia: Pedagogies for Engagement caters to the corerequirements of a one semester, Prep-Year 6 undergraduate literacycourse. With a socio-cultural and multiliteracies approach, thebook equips students with a contemporary, practical framework forpre-service teachers.

Literacy benchmarks are fundamental across the entire AustralianCurriculum; literacy education is no longer confined to the Englishclassroom. Literacy in Australia provides students with aclear understanding of how to navigate the Australian Curriculum inreal terms through the exploration of topics such as:

• Culturally relevant practices for reading and writing,including Indigenous literacy and supporting EAL/D (English as anAdditional Language or Dialect) literacy practices
• Theories of literacy development
• Oral language learning in and out of the classroom
• Beginning readers and writers
• Awareness of – and respect for – the literature ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples, includingstorytelling traditions as well as contemporary literature
• Examining literacy in the twenty-first century
• Literacy programs and approaches
• Effective assessment practices
• How to work with struggling readers and writers

Literacy in Australia presents a visually appealinglearning design with the inclusion of real student work throughoutthe book, as well as examples of classic children’sliterature through to cutting edge multimodal texts. At onceengaging and challenging, Literacy in Australia givesstudents the tools and confidence to successfully embark on theircareer as a future literacy educator.