ABSTRACT
Meaning is not inherent in texts but rather created through social interaction. This is true even in schools where authorities attempt to stabilize curricular contents through the distribution of uniform textbooks, and thus to guarantee a common basic education. Students’ relationship to school texts is largely mediated through surrounding interactions both in and out of the classroom. The teachers’ oral discourse has particular import, as it models, guides, and evaluates students’ relationship to textbook lessons, providing cues to ways of interpreting and producing meaning while reading the text.
