Abstract

In recent years, language teaching has clearly taken on a social orientation (literacy pedagogy), keeping in line with contemporary social developments in today’s globalised world (multiliteracies). A basic term introduced by multiliteracies theory is that of Design, a term that comes to replace traditional terms such as “writing” or “written speech production”. By implementing a process of Design in its three dimensions (designed, designing and redesigned) in four aspects of teaching (situated practice, overt instruction, critical framing and transformed practice), we can ensure the students’ active participation in the teaching process, while at the same time giving them the opportunity to analyse and effectively use a variety of genres, modes and meanings. The present paper investigates the extent to which the new Greek elementary school language arts textbooks provide for the implementation of practices such as the ones mentioned above. More specifically, the paper attempts to identify whether the offered options of texts and text-related activities are consistent with the logic of literacy pedagogy and multiliteracies.