This website combines a tour of literacy instruction with a journey around the world to provide insights for matching the curriculum to the needs and interests of today's students. We will explore literacy instruction across the curriculum. An overview of effective instructional practices launches this journey.

On pages for ECE 3320, the section on emergent literacy begins with the image of young children learning ABCs to explore the magical world of storybooks. On pages for ECE 4404, elementary-aged children use literacy skills to explore the multicultural world of Earth. This website provides a toolkit for consructing and enlarging our own literacy knowledge and skills. More significantly, we will learn how to help students in preschool to grade six construct and enlarge their own literacy knowledge and skills.

Effectiveness and influence go hand in hand, and the best teachers have an ongoing impact even after the school year ends. Influential teachers cause children to gaze in wide-eyed wonder as they make new discoveries about the world. These teachers help students to walk into the classroom anticipating adventures that awaken and stir the imagination. As we embark on a journey around the world, we will discover ways to design engaging educational adventures in classrooms without borders where children use their imaginations to explore the world.