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Because schools place such high importance on text-based analysis often devoid of opportunities to draw on home knowledge, diverse ways of making meaning from books are often ignored. This qualitative study of a bilingual second-grade classroom examined the manner in which four young Latina students told stories about their life experiences in order to make meaning from the books they read for literature discussions. The findings illuminate that the stories told by the young Latinas were told for specific purposes; to make sense of their own and others' life's experiences, as responses to questions, connections to texts, and connections to each other. The study speaks to the necessity to include children's talk in all classrooms, particularly those with a high Latino population. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)

Describes how the authors introduced and organized small-group literature discussions in a first-grade bilingual class. Discusses the four most frequent types of student responses in discussions: living through the experience; looking closely at text and illustrations; exploring social issues; and making connections (to other books, life experiences, and oral stories). (SR)

Tells the story of a primary classroom in which bilingual children engaged in thoughtful dialogue about critical issues, such as racism and discrimination, through small group literature discussions. (SR)