In the diagnoses and guiding documents on public policies in education, children coming from low-income communities are commonly associated with the idea of school failure. Believing that the discussion on literacy only makes sense if it is approached taking as its starting point conditions that make possible their contextual understanding and not as yet another "educative vogue", this research investigated the practices and events of literacy in a community in the city of Recife based on moments of interaction of children with the written word, from the perspective of the social networks to which they belong. The methodological approach was characterised by the application of the map of networks with children, interviews and observations. The recognition of literacy practices constitute redefinitions in situations of interaction, because, as the children begin to trust in the "other", they build a valuation factor which leads them to consider that it is meaningful to take part in events in which reading and writing are crucial for making sense of their social relations.
social networks; literacy; popular environments
