Hidden Literacies

This work asserts that children learn some of their most powerful literacies - literacies that can remain unknown and unacknowledged - far from their teacher's eyes. The author provides a window into children's home lives and learnings, uncovering multiple literacies to be valued in their own right, which can become additional tools in developing print literacy. The author tells the stories of three fourth-grade children and shows how they interact and learn in their homes and describes their teacher's efforts to tap into their varied literacies in school. Influenced by Howard Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and Denny Taylor's research on family literacy, Voss shows how familial influences on children lead them to develop particular strengths, and she describes the features of home learning that teachers should understand and consider. She suggests the concept of literacy be broadened to include more than print - media literacy, consumer literacy, and especially interactive and mechanical literacy - so that the multiple literacies children acquire might be seen and valued.
The book's final chapter acknowledges the difficulties of translating knowledge into practice and suggests ways to begin.