Literacy in America: An Encyclopedia of History, Theory, and Practice.

The definitive encyclopedic resource on literacy, literacy instruction, and literacy assessment in the United States.

Literacy, the bedrock of all education, used to be a simple matter of reading and writing.

No longer. In today`s schools and today`s America, literacy means many things: conceptual understanding of texts, familiarity with electronic content, and the ability to create meaning from visual imagery and media messages.

Once upon a time, the three "e;R"e;s sufficed.

Not any more-not for students, not for Americans. Gone the way of the little red school house is simple reading and writing instruction.

Surveying an increasingly complex discipline, Literacy in America: An Encyclopedia offers a comprehensive overview of all the latest trends in literacy educationconceptual understanding of texts, familiarity with electronic content, and the ability to create meaning from visual imagery and media messages.

Educators and academicians call these skills "e;multiple literacies,"e; shorthand for the kind of literacy skills and abilities needed in an age of information overload, media hype, and Internet connectedness.

With its 400 A-Z entries, researched by experts but written in accessible prose, Literacy in America is the only reference tool students, teachers, and parents will need to understand what it means to be-and becomeliterate in 21st-century America.