Exploring biliteracy: Two student case examples of writing as a social practice

This article addresses issues related to biliteracy development in children. It presents 2 case examples as illustrations, 1 of "incipient" biliteracy, obtained in a kindergarten classroom, and 1 of "instructed" biliteracy, obtained in a third-grade classroom. Both examples highlight how children use the social processes and cultural resources at hand to develop their literate competencies in Spanish and English. In addition, special challenges, such as the predominance of reductionist forms of schooling, and special resources, as found in "additive" circumstances for learning, are discussed in relation to the formation of biliteracy in classrooms.