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This wiki is to discuss about **Sociocultural Influences on Literacy Development and Instruction.**

Building successful reading and writing programs is the main goal of our education system which emphasizes the need to address the implications of children's multiple literacy skills in classroom instruction. This information is focused on developing the following points:

o The importance of an awareness of sociocultural influences on literacy and literacy instruction o The relationship between best practices and the success of culturally and linguistically diverse students o The relationship between research on sociocultural influences on literacy and best practices in the classroom

In searching for a clear view of aspects that influence students' sociocultural development, I found this picture from labspace.open.ac.uk: This picture clearly shows how the child's life is developed and influenced by internal and external factors that form the **socioculture approach**. The socio-culture approach are the roles of different ethnic groups, gender and the culture; with all these elements combined it forms a personality. Socio culture is the way people act and develop based around their surroundings. Socio cultural factors involve self-concept and self esteem. The socio-culture approach also is based apon peoples beliefs and what they stand for. Read more: [] . The culture, family nucleous, and language are essential components of a child's development and have a direct impact on literacy skills. It would be difficult to understand the importance of awareness of sociocultural influences on literacy development without paying attention to the contributions of **Vygotsky's** **Social Development Theory.** Social Development Theory argues that social interaction precedes development; consciousness and cognition are the end product of socialization and social behavior.
 * The importance of an awareness of sociocultural influences on literacy and literacy instruction**

Once of the most interesting articles I found about sociocultural development states that //"Educators should not categorize children from different social backgrounds as having language disabilities; rather, they should recognize that a sociocultural factor has influenced the children's verbal performance and has pinpointed the area that must be addressed by oral language instruction in the classroom (Ruiz, 1991).// Developing sociocultural awareness and researching will enhance better classroom practices that accommodate to students' needs and will promote growth during second language acquisition skills. The following video introduces Vygotsky's Theory:
 * The relationship between best practices and the success of culturally and linguistically diverse students**

media type="youtube" key="hx84h-i3w8U" height="315" width="420"

According to Wilkinson & Silliman (2001), the classroom is a unique context for learning and exerts a profound effect on students’ development of language and literacy skills, particularly in the early years. Researching on sociocultural influences can help teachers provide with opportunities to integrate oral and written language in the classroom that support and encourage the development of literacy. For example, researching on the importance of **the zone of proximal development** can help teachers recognize the positive impact that it could represent in students language learning. Vygotsky believed that when a student is at the zone of proximal development for a particular task, providing the appropriate assistance (scaffolding) will give the student enough of a "boost" to achieve the task. Once the student, with the benefit of scaffolding, masters the task, the scaffolding can then be removed and the student will then be able to complete the task again on his own. Let's take a look at the following illustration:
 * The relationship between research on sociocultural influences on literacy and best practices in the classroom**



According to to the article "12 Principles of Effective Practice in Literacy Instruction K-3", the teacher’s knowledge, ability to make principled, insightful, instructional decisions for individual children, and the ability to orchestrate effective instruction for the group of children being taught are more influential factors in student literacy achievement than knowing particular procedures for instruction or following scripted lesson plans".

Reccommended link: This website [] provides a list of useful links for teachers and parents to research about effective literacy instruction.

Web Sources: [] [] [] [] [] []