Dr. Amy M. Vetter

Associate Professor, Teacher Education and Higher Education
Professor, 2019

Choice Words
by Peter Johnston

For me, teaching is about more than transmitting content knowledge and utilizing significant instructional strategies. Powerful instructors pay attention to the language they use with students to facilitate multiple learning opportunities within the classroom community. Choice Words illustrates how what we say and do not say impacts the ways in which youth construct and enact literate identities. Specifically, the book provides classroom examples about how teacher talk shapes students sense of agency, identity, and accomplishment in the classroom. Overall, the book reminds educators that our language is one of the most powerful tools in the classroom.