Critical Literacy
CRITICAL LITERACY
As a novice how are we going to start the process of engaging students in critical literacy practice?
DISRUPTING COMMONPLACE
INTEROGATING MULTIPLE VIEWPOINTS
FOCUSING ON SOCIOPOLITICAL ISSUES
TAKING ACTION AND PROMOTING SOCIAL JUSTICE
Just like the study of teachers like Nancy and Kevin in, Taking on Critical Literacy: The Journey of Newcomers and Novices, (2017, Lewison, Seely Flint, & Van Sluys, pp. 383-391) – we may not have all the pieces together to teach all four dimensions of critical literacy when we begin teaching. And it's ok!! I don't know about you, but I've been a little overwhelmed thinking about the way I would implement all the different critical practices we have been learning about, in my own classroom. Every time I read a new article I want to take pieces out and be that kind of teacher. It's alot. After reading this article I was able to relax a little. Both Nancy and Kevin did so much to make positive experiences for their students, but still had some way to go as Critical Literacy teachers. That didn't negate the good they were doing already. I realized we also have a little bit of a head start with what we are learning in these courses. We've been shown concrete examples of how to use critical texts in our classrooms and are going to have the opportunity this year to try some of those skills out.
--- Dee's light bulb moment!
It's one step at a time.
What is important is our continual growth as educators who desire to use literature to: make difference visible, give voice to the voiceless, explore dominant systems of meaning in our society, question why some groups are more dominant than others, and show how our students can take action on important issues.--- Dee's light bulb moment!
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What was your light bulb moment? |
Coursework Connection
I think about last semester’s Literacy course with Dr.Penalva and the assignment where we read aloud picture books that were culturally situated. I feel like we spent a lot of energy finding books that connected with multiple cultures. We, as students, looked at the books with a critical perspective and discussed who had power and why? I think these articles showed us how to take what we’ve learned from assignments like this, about viewing literature through a different lens, and moves us forward to how we teach our students to interrogate the world around them.
After reading these articles would you change the book you chose for Dr. Penalva's class?
Critical Literacy and Eastbrook Connection
I also come back to Eastbrook Elementary. We’ve all been exposed to the reading program within our classrooms.The students spend so much time with the curriculum reading, reading instruction, and the assessments that follow.
- In your classrooms do you think the texts used for the reading program are Enabling Texts? Or are they Disabling?
- Have you experienced any awesome examples of a teacher helping students problematize subject matter?
Support Mechanisms
What does that look like when we begin teaching?
It was refreshing to read that it’s a process and that everyone has a starting point and can change their practices over time. I think the key is to engage with support mechanisms that evolve the vision of critical literacy and how it might be implemented in the classroom.
- Can we, as new teachers, create a group in our schools to support each other in ongoing critical literacy practice? Or does this seem forward, considering we’re new teachers...
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| DOSOMETHING.ORG |
THIS SITE PROVIDE A LIST OF THE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS STUDENTS CAN ENGAGE IN MAKING A CHANGE.
Both Nancy and Kevin had things they did well and practices they needed to grow in after they began learning how to teach critical literacy. However, both fell short of taking action to promote social justice.
Here are some ideas and supports to helping teachers promote social justice.
Educator Greg Curran’s podcast covers a range of educational topics, but quite a few episodes circle around issues of social justice. Recently, he curated these resources into a Social Justice Resources Collection. These episodes will be mainly useful for teachers to educate themselves about social justice education: what complications and questions come up, helpful do’s and don’ts, and why it’s worth it. He interviews practicing teachers and administrators who are walking the walk with social justice teaching. Listening to them will give you a template from which to build your own practice.
Texts that Matter!
"There are several pedagogical and student benefits of using the text to teach the text. It provides a strategic advantage for struggling readers while allowing teachers to introduce the text and strategies together" Enabling Texts: Texts that Matter (Tatum, p. 4)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd1FlXxpVIw
This video was an awesome example of how to take this article, which focused on upper grade levels, to our elementary students!
After reading Enabling Texts: Texts that Matter by Dr. Alfred Tatum, I wondered what teaching the text from the text would look like in an elementary classroom. I found this video that I believe is a great example of how to use the text to teach the text with younger students. The teacher in the video does a great job of modeling and teaching a strategy to help students connect with the text. I thought her strategy was great – but thought the text was a little superficial, until I got to the end of the video. When I realized that there is also an environmental issue that causes harm to the characters in the story. The teacher moves beyond the teaching of “how” by engaging in conversations that asked them to consider the critical issue. Awesome!!
Final Questions:
- Both Nancy and Kevin had an initial definition of what critical literacy was and how they were going to implement that in their classrooms. Which one of these teachers did you identify with most?
- How would you design your classroom to enhance literacy discussion?
- When you begin teaching, what are some ways you plan to learn about your students and families?
- How do you see having families in your classroom?
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I feel like I identify most with Kevin's initial definition of critical literacy and how it would be implemented in the classroom. Based on the reading, he has a really solid understanding of what purpose critical texts should serve. Kevin knew that critical literacy opens student's eyes to the social issues around them, but lacked when it came to having his students use their individual voices to take a stand. I feel like I am extremely prepared to START the conversation with my students about social justice and social issues, but I think I also lack the skills to encourage my students to use their voices in a variety of different ways to take a stand and work towards making a change. Not only are we encouraging our students to "interrogate the world around them," but we are encouraging them to speak up when they notice things.
ReplyDeleteHi Stephanie! One of the things that I found interesting was how Kevin was an activist in his own life but still lacked this facet of critical literacy with his students. That makes me wonder if critical literacy practices are a process that takes time to grasp all areas. The study was 8 months long. That seems like a long time but considering everything that needs to take place during the school year, that is not a lot of time. I wonder if the students knew about his activism? I think that modeling how you, as a teacher, use your voice to take a stand would be an appropriate way to help the kids experience what they can do. Although it’s not their voices, nor may it be an issue that they are grappling with, this could be a good example. Have you had teachers that you knew stood for something and did something about it? I feel like the teachers that were passionate about issues and did something about it are the ones that stick out in my mind the most.
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ReplyDeleteI loved the video you shared with us. She really modeled and helps students connect with the text by giving them prompts to kind of start their thinking. I really like that she gave them the option to share questions with the students around them, so not only are they critically thinking about theirs, but now they also have another question to think about and discuss later on. I think I relate more with Kevin based on his ideas of what critical literacy is. I think he understands what critical literacy is and how it should be implemented in his classroom, but I also think that he fell short when allowing his students to come up with ways to “take action.” The classes we have taken have really started to show us how to implement critical literacy into our classrooms, but like you, I was very overwhelmed when thinking about how I would actually do this. After reading this article, I think I’ve kind of chilled out and realize it’s all about learning and putting the effort in to making sure that students are reading books that connect with their lives, what is happening in the world around them, and critically thinking about issues and how they could maybe take action.
This was Emily.
DeleteHi Emily! I'm glad you liked the video. We talk a lot about how we, as teachers, should model lessons for our students. This video was a great model for us. I agree - the turn and talk portion of the lesson was like icing on the cake. This week in our readings for Special Ed we read about how important it is for students feel accepted and encouraged by the teacher and by each other, in order to create a culture of tolerance and respect. You could see that the students in the video felt empowered to talk freely about what they were learning. Creating a space where all students are accepted and encouraged by each other, regardless of their backgrounds has to be the starting point to teaching critical literacy. We learned how to implement morning meeting in order to facilitate this culture last semester. Have you seen any different ideas on how to facilitate a supportive classroom culture?
DeleteI think it's really important that you mentioned families at the end of your blog! While we may be able to incorporate critical literacy into our classroom, the understanding is deepened when students can tangibly see a connection to what they discuss in class. If you are covering a concept with your students that they may be facing in their own lives, it would first of all be important to allow them to openly discuss that in class, but also to have other important adults in their lives participate in the conversation. One simple way of doing this is to involve families in the everyday functioning of your classroom. I think a good place to start with this is to give parents an opportunity to volunteer in the classroom. This would allow them to become regular, familiar faces in the classroom and to witness and become involved in what their child is doing in class. There are also ways that students can bring their family experiences into the classroom through different assignments. One idea that I like is allowing each student to have a day/time set aside for them where they can teach the class about what makes them (or their family) special and bring in things from home that represent their individual culture. Activities like this can create an environment where students feel like they and their families have a place in the class.
ReplyDeleteHi Samantha! I love that you are so passionate about involving families in the classroom! As my girls were growing up I noticed more and more teachers moving away from parent volunteers and it really made me sad. I recognize how it could be more work for the teacher to prepare and organize for parent volunteers but the benefits to the kids is worth it! I think it's worth it in urban, rural, and suburban settings. All students want to feel valued. Having parent volunteers can free up your time to focus on more relational individualized time with students. I also think parent volunteers help the students see that their classroom community extends beyond the students and the teacher. I loved your idea about having each student have a day where they could bring something from home to represent their culture. I remember when we read and discussed having parents become the "teacher" of something that is their specialty, in Penava's class. I thought that was a great idea. I wonder how to go about surveying families for what they would like to bring or do? I also wonder, how would you make that invitation for families who don't speak English. I know our teacher sends notes home in Spanish as well as English, but for something as involved as having them come into the class, I think you would have to establish a personal connection with the families before they would feel comfortable coming in. How do you do that if you don't speak their language? Are we creating an inequitable situation when we do these kinds of things?
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