ABSTRACT
José (a pseudonym) was an energetic 6-year-old first grader at the time of this study. He was full of curiosity and wanted to know everything there was to know about locomotives and ships, especially the Titanic. Learning to read in school wasn’t easy and he was often assigned reading materials that were of little interest to him. Yet out of school, at an afterschool literacy center that engaged in eye movement research and supported children coming into their own literacy, José met with much success as a reader. He lived in two curricular worlds, one that was rigid and prescribed (school), the other a place of joy, wonder, and curiosity. We suggest that the latter (home) is a reclaimed space in which José is the center of the curriculum and that such child-centeredness can occur for him and the children in his class.
