Rief's latest [book] will entrance you with innovative ways of helping students find literate voices.
—Voices from the Middle
Vision & Voice is based on the premise that art slows us down, forcing us to stop and consider a wondrous world that we too often rush past. Extending our notions of the literacy spectrum to include the visual and oral arts in the reading and writing classroom encourages students to develop their imaginations as they envision possibilities for their lives and their worlds.
Vision & Voice embraces some profound understandings about teaching, learning, research, curriculum, and multiple ways of knowing. Two comprehensive research projects form the core of the book. The first is an environmental study of the rainforest, which integrates reading, writing, science, art, and math. The second, centered around textile mills of the Industrial Revolution, connects reading, writing, and music. As readers listen to the CD included with the book and explore colored photographs that showcase the two projects, they will discover, both literally and metaphorically, the visions and voices of adolescents in a language-rich classroom.
Extensive pictures and appendixes take the reader through each comprehensive project. In addition, brief, practical vignettes show how to extend the literacy spectrum to include the visual and oral arts in the language arts classroom on a day-to-day basis. Readers will learn how several teachers dismantled the barriers that separated their disciplines, enabling their students to make sense of their learning in ways that, ultimately, enhanced the meaning of their lives.
NCTE Edwin A. Hoey Award