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Teacher flexibility and judgment: A multidynamic literacy theory

In an age of restrictive standards and accountability measures, teachers often find themselves in a position where they have to struggle to keep play with language and literature as a focus of their early literacy instruction, as `scientifically based' reading programs, phonics, or scripted instruction take center stage. In order to counter this trend, this article offers a `multidynamic' theory for early literacy instruction that combines researched foundations of early reading success with sociocultural theories of language and literacy. Combining these two fields of thought creates a theoretical stance where reading skills and methods cannot stand on their own, but instead must be dynamically reinvented to fit specific sociocultural contexts. The study analyzes the texts of `scientifically based' reading programs as compared to examples of children's literature as a way to explore three basic tenets of a multidynamic literacy theory: (1) that literacy is multifaceted; (2) that literacy is socially constructed; and (3) that literacy skills must be relevant within the lived worlds of children. The analysis overall (re)situates talk, play, and the instructional use of children's literature as essential components of early literacy programming. More importantly, a multidynamic literacy theory offers teachers the pedagogical basis to insist upon a great deal of flexibility and judgment in choosing the best materials and approaches to meet their students' early literacy needs as well as their sociocultural contexts for learning.