1. Introduction This Teaching and Learning Initiative (TLRI) research project explored ways of teaching literature effectively in multicultural and multilingual classrooms. It involved primary and secondary school teacher-researchers working in partnership with university-based researchers over two years on a series of case studies, within an action research framework. The case studies involved classroom-based interventions carried out by individual teachers and developed collaboratively with the larger project group. 1.1 The project context The project took as its starting point two contextual factors: The New Zealand classroom, at primary and secondary levels, is becoming more multicultural and multilingual. In a number of ways schools and teachers are under increased pressure to find constructive