ABSTRACT
In this chapter, how reading, writing, and talk are used to complete assignments in a secondary school biology classroom are examined. Instead of evaluating these literacy acts from a perspective outside of schools, the are described and interpreted from the participants’ lived experiences as they socially construct meaning in day-to-day lessons. Before the study is presented a conceptual framework is provided to explain why the traditional functionalist perspective on secondary school reading and writing across the curriculum should be extended to a social constructionist perspective and an expanded view of texts and text structures or genres.
