Learning About Building Literacy Communities in Multicultural and Multilingual Classrooms From Effective Elementary Teachers

Over the past decade, the concept of community has been at the center of reform in literacy education. Most literacy educators agree that community-oriented environments are critical for students ’ literacy learning, yet many have difficulty building these communities in multicultural and multilingual classrooms. In this article we draw upon the expertise of successful community builders by highlighting the instructional and classroom practices of two literacy teachers who are effective with culturally and linguistically diverse students. Using qualitative case study methodologies we explore how these exemplary teachers created vibrant multicultural and multilingual literacy communities. Analyses revealed four practices both teachers used to build literacy communities: (a) building relationships amongst community members, (b) fostering collective responsibility within the community, (c) promoting ownership of literacy for all community members, and (d) reflecting on community learning. The findings demonstrate that while teachers used these four common practices to establish successful literacy communities, they also developed specific community-building strategies that were congruent with the strengths and needs of the culturally and linguistically diverse students in their classrooms. Implications for literacy educators are also discussed