Writing As Communication: Creating Strategic Learning Environments for Students

Many social factors influence the building of literacy in the classroom. One of these is the set of assumptions educators make about the relationship of children's proficiency in English to instructional reading and writing programs. Too often, educators assume that a child's level of oral proficiency in English indicates a similar level of proficiency in reading and writing. For example, in classroom studies I conducted with my colleague Stephen Diaz (Moll & Diaz, in press-a), we documented the tendency to reduce the curriculum's level of complexity to match limited English speakers' level of English proficiency; thus relegating children who were competent readers in Spanish (and conversationally fluent in English) to very low-level English reading lessons. Recent research has documented the importance of selecting a level of instruction that can academically challenge students (see, for example, Gallimore, 1985; Graves, 1982; Vygotsky, 1978). Children's literacy development is fostered when they engage in literacy activities that require them to go beyond what they are already capable of doing by themselves. Conversely, if instructional activities do not require children to go beyond what they can accomplish independently, literacy development is likely to be hindered. Thus, the role of educators is to help children achieve beyond their current levels of development.