Critical+Literacy+-+Margaret

Critical Literacy After much reading on the subject I settled on a definition based on the work of Paulo Freire and Donald Macedo:

......................................... Critical Literacy is the ability to read the world in which you live ..................................................

There are far more complicated, and perhaps sophisticated definitions out there, however I like the simplicity of this statement. It is a short statement that puts the skills associated with critical literacy into a much bigger context. According to Dr Allen Luke from Queensland University of Technology without critical literacy skills "we will make poor choices & we will have very little understanding of the world in which we live." Is there any more valuable skill that we can teach our students? A student does not have to be headed to university or college in order to be taught how to 'read' the world around them: they just have to be headed towards 'life'. Critical literacy is truly a 'life skill' that allows an individual to be fully engaged with, & to comprehend the realities of, the world around them.

I made the Worldle below by typing in about 3/4 of a page of text that I collected from a number of different sites. I did this after I had done my own reading. What I find the most satisfying about this Wordle is that it really does highlight the important concepts around critical literacy. (Note: what I did not find satisfying was the process of getting this Wordle on this page. It took an exceptionally long time and, ultimately, I do not know which stroke of what key actually got it here! If anyone has an abbreviated insertion process - anything less than a day - I would appreciate hearing from you!) Thoughts on Concepts Associated with Critical Literacy ﻿Text: it is through learning to read & analyze text that students gain critical literacy skills. Text refers to anything that is 'read' - novels, newspapers, advertisements and even the fine print on a banking document. Active Learning (Thinking) & Questioning: in order to be critically literate students must begin to see reading as an active process. The brain must truly be ON. There is general agreement that the 'active' part of reading comes in the form of asking questions. The significant questions appear to be:
 * who is the author/voice of the text?
 * What is the purpose of this text?
 * What does the author want me to think/do?
 * What is being said in the text, literally & figuratively?
 * What is the construction of the text?
 * Who/what is not being heard in this text? (Referred to as "gaps & silences" on one site.)

Information: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">critically literacy has always been important. However, the amount of information that we are receiving on a daily basis makes critical literacy skills essential. Information is text, and students have to know how all of this information is constructed. Clearly there is a link between critical literacy and information literacy. I read an interesting blog on the crossover that exists between critical literacy and information literacy. It is located at []

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Different Perspectives: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">﻿two of the important questions to ask when examining text are, firstly, whose voice are we hearing? and, secondly, whose voice are we not hearing? So often students see only one text, giving on one perspective. Encouraging the search for different perspectives is an essential part of developing sound critical literacy skills. Below I have included an example of how this can be achieved in the classroom:

//"An example of this practice would be offering students the choice of reading To Kill a Mockingbird,// //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">an American novel written by a white, southern female; Wolf Whistle, a novel with a similar theme // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">of racial discrimination written by Lewis Nordan, a white, southern man; A Lesson Before Dying by // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Ernest J. Gaines, a southern African-American man; or the play A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Hansberry, an African-American woman from the Midwest. All of these authors wrote about similar // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">topics and themes during the same time period and were born in the pre-Civil Rights Era. By reading // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">the diverse perspectives of analogous themes and evaluating the voices of these authors, students // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">can assess the perspective of the authors in order to better understand their value systems and why // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">characters were portrayed in a certain manner. A comparative study of these four authors and novels // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">would offer students the opportunity to explore how race, gender, and socio-economic status are // //<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">portrayed by authors with dissimilar backgrounds." // []

<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 120%;">Teaching: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">﻿The reason that I think it is so important to see 'teaching' as a concept associated with critical literacy is because if we are conscious of the 'teaching' we are doing, then we are also conscious of the fact that critical literacy, as with other literacies, is a 'skill'. Critical literacy doesn't fall on students like manna from heaven. They don't learn critical literacy by just 'being'. Critical literacy & its associated skills set has to be actively taught.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">Implementation Ideas <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">1. One of the things we are doing in the library in the spring is having an "images in advertising" week. During this week we will be displaying strong images from ads, with questions underneath. We are working collaboratively with the English Dept. who will be showing award winning ads to students in class and discussing the 'real' messages. We are combining these 2 activities with a 'honest ad' competition.

2. As part of our general literacy program in the library, we have the grade 10s come in to the library and watch 3 videos. One is a video of a Remembrance Day assembly from a number of years ago. (The contentious issue was a dance performed at the assembly. It caused quite a stir among both staff & students - very divisive.) The other 2 are speeches. Here are the steps:

(i) watch assembly video.

(ii) At the end of the video ask students to take sides with regard to whether or not the dance should have been included.

(iii) Divide students in supporters & non-supporters of the dance.

(iv) Get each group to outline the points for their own side.

(v) Each group (in a different room) watches the speech that opposes what the group thinks.

(vi) At the end of the speech ask the groups how many of them have now changed their opinion. (Many do.)

(vii) Bring the groups back together. Students get a copy of both speeches & in groups they analyze the way in which language is used to 'persuade' you to form a particular opinion. We discuss 'loaded' language.

This can also be done with history issues, environmental issues or social policy issues. In this instance I wrote both speeches & used totally loaded & manipulative language for both speeches! Finding a factual video can be an issue. We just happen to have our own 'issue' on tape.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">3. Wordle is a great tool for getting students to 'weight' different aspects of texts. For example in Lord of the Flies students can take different symbols and images from the story & weight them differently for a variety of characters: Piggy would weight the conch shell and clothing higher than Jack would weigh either of these things. Students print & defend their Wordles. I have done a couple of these weighting exercises & the students do extremely well.

<span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%;">Resources for Building Critical Literacy <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;"> With regard to resources, one the 'gurus' of critical literacy is Vivian Vasquez. Her books range from academic/theoretical to the practical implementation of critical literacy in classroom programming. A search will bring many results.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">Stevens L.P. and Bean T.W.: //Critical Literacy: Context, Research & Practice in the K-12 Classroom//
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">This book puts critical literacy in an educational context, giving good background information and practical ways to implement critical thinking in the classroom. While I am sure that not everyone wants to read something like this, I really like the background information and the broader contextual information it gives.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">McLaughlin, M. and DeVoogd G.L.: //Critical Literacy: Enhancing Students' Comprehension of Text//
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">While I have not used this text, it was recommended by a colleague who said that while it is recommended for up to grade 8, she uses some of the ideas for grades 9 and 10.

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">[|This article] outlines an exercise in critical literacy that involves podcasting. The steps & reflection questions are included.

[|This site] contains a number of downloadable audio podcasts on new & critical literacies.

[|This site] contains the Critical Literacy document that formed the Ontario Government's (Literacy & Numeracy Secretariat) Capacity Building Series from 2009. I really like the line in this document that describes critical literacy as a "lens for learning".

[|This .pdf] is an interesting chapter from a larger work on not only critical literacy, but the implementation of multiple literacies at The Education Video Centre (EVC) in New York City. It outlines some quite practical projects & approaches to teaching critical literacy. The writer pulls from the work of three theorists to define critical literacy, resulting in a definition that acknowledges: <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">I really like the three key practices & principles that make up the pedagogy of critical literacy: teaching multiple literacies, teaching coninuous inquiry and teaching reflection. I found this to be a great read.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">power structures,
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">social injustice,
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">the need for personal engagement with, & critique of, the world,
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 110%;">the importance of understanding aural & visual text.

[|This You Tube clip] shows the complexity of advertising & why we need to teach our students how to read advertising text. As does this [|You Tube clip]. OK, bits of this are also funny! (Or maybe it is my Australian sense of humour!) I love understanding advertising & I really like this show.