ABSTRACT
The previous chapter considered the ways in which the literacy curriculum constructs a social hierarchy of learners in class. The social hierarchy becomes visible both through where children are asked to sit, but more particularly through the kinds of fiction texts they are asked to read. The chapter suggested that the preference for non-fiction texts on the part of boys who were designated less able readers stems in part from their desire to escape from their place at the bottom of the reading ladder. They seem to have most to lose from being seen with fiction texts that match their competence.
