DIVERSE LEARNERS PARTICIPATING IN REGULAR EDUCATION BOOK-CLUBS

THIS STUDY explores the literacy experiences of diverse students within a regular education setting, specifically the students' participation in small-group literature discussions and their strategies for drawing on their own knowledge and the diverse knowledge of their peers in the social construction of meaning. The students participated in Book Club, a regular education literature-based reading program. Using qualitative methods, we observed and documented the meaning construction done book club group containing five fifth-grade students, three of whom in previous years had received their reading instruction from pull-out programs (i.e,, Chapter 1, ESL, and Special Education Resource Room). Theoretically, this study extends our understanding of a social constructivist perspective and its application of literacy learning, particularly with respect to social interactions, discursive practices, and situated views of literacy. Pedagogically, the study provides insights into the value of nonmainstream learners engaging in academic interactions with their regular education peers, as well as raising questions about issues pertaining to ''group work'' in content area subjects and small-group interactions during literature discussions.