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Grade Level: 8

Activity: Read aloud and model thinking strategies on the book, “The Day GoGo went to Vote.”

For example:

On page 3, it states “she tells me stories that her GoGo told her about how our ancestors lived before the white people came” which will give students an opportunity to think about themes of equity in terms of justice (who lived in the land first and who has taken over the land that GoGo is living in). The teacher would remind students to keep in mind that GoGo rarely goes out of the house as it will be important for the end of the story (understanding how badly she wanted to leave the house and go vote). After reading the book, the class will discuss words that indicate privilege and underprivileged. The teacher will ask students where they hear these words in their daily lives which will lead them to many questions listed in the Ontario workshop teaching resource, Questions to promote critical literacy:

What does this writing/text/dialogue mean to me?

Who’s voice is represented here? Who’s voice is missing?

Connections to course:

Read alouds and model thinking are effective strategies that may lead to guiding students to learn how to critically think. As teachers and students are experiencing the story together during read alouds, it creates opportunities for conversation between students and teachers. As (Bellingham, 2015) describes it, reading aloud is a “special kind of access to the transformative power of story and experience about real reading is about, to deeply understand, to think, to learn and discuss big ideas about the world, about the lives of others and about ourselves.” From this, I understand now that without read alouds, some students may not be able to understand or “decode” these big ideas that the author is trying to convey unless it is read or presented to them with a particular voice, tone and manner. I believe that promoting social justice by reading aloud “The Day GoGo went to Vote” will definitely contribute to supporting social and emotional learning as described in Peg Sawyer (2012). Peg Sawyer (2012) mentions that part of social and emotional learning is being able to take the perspective of someone who is seeing and experiencing the world differently than they do.” Model thinking can help students be emotionally aware in order to understand social justice issues as it will guide students in thinking and asking the right questions.

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According to Jocious et al. (2018), book clubs are an excellent way to reinforce “strategies for discussing, responding, and critically analyzing texts; enabling students to make meaningful text-to-text connections; and sparking authentic interest in literature (p. 694). Book clubs, or literature circles, require a lot of planning and scaffolding on behalf of the teacher, however the experience can be quite rewarding for students.

Objective: Grades 10 (however this can be used at various grade levels): critically engage with a piece of literature and complete a series of roles throughout the period of the book club.

1. After being given the option of a variety of texts, rate your top three choices.

2. Once given your selected novel, students will meet in their literature circles (up to 5 students)

3. Students will review the various roles they are expected to fill over the 6 week period and determine a reading plan

4. Each student must fulfill all of the roles during their time in their book club and will compile the work they complete for each role and submit it in the form of a portfolio

5. Students will also create one additional assessment based on their novel, and will be given a few different options to choose from

Reference

Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018). Critical book clubs: Reimagining literature reading and response. The Reading Teacher, 71(6), 691-702.

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Activity: Reading Aloud - Mental Health Awareness

Grade Level: 5-8

It is important that older students are read aloud to as it will promote critical thinking and lead students to understand the world and themselves in a more meaningful manner (Bellingham, 2015). When reading aloud, it takes away the students need to decode the meaning behind the writing, allowing them to explore their imagination and understanding of the book (Bellingham, 2015). When selecting books for the class, it is important that students are able to make connections to their lived experiences and apply their emotions to the material. The discussions in class also allow students to understand different perspectives and build a community (Jocius & Shealy, 2018; Lesesne et al. 2018). A fantastic novel that can be used as a read aloud is Lucy’s Blue Day by Christopher Duke. This book has the potential of rich discussion about mental health and dealing with emotions. My grade 5/6 class loves read alouds and this was a favourite of theirs. It allowed them to have a healthy and meaningful discussion about mental health and understand different perspectives. It is critical for you as an educator to create a space where these discussions can happen and students feel safe and curious to learn about different perspectives. I believe that reading aloud can provide the perfect opportunity to do so.

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Literature Circles

Rosenblatt (1968) as quoted in Joicus and Shealy (2017) defines literature circles as a way to “draw on theories of reader response, which focus on transactions between texts and readers’ prior knowledge, experience, and emotions” (p. 692). When connecting prior knowledge, experience, and emotion to a selection of books, educators are engaging in critical literacy, as opposed to didactic literacy, and giving agency to students to select the text they will engage with (Kalantzis & Cope, 2017). This allows for student choice and student voice to be at the forefront of this unit.

Here is the literature circle unit plan that I use frequently  in my high school classes:

1. Select a few copies of different texts to present to students (enough books so there will be 5 students per group). Depending on the book selection of the school, try and pull books by a variety of authors and topics. Presentations include synopsis of each, a display, and gallery walk so students can touch and flip through them. In my last unit with a grade 11 university class, I used Memoirs of a Geisha (Golden), Maus (Spiegelman), The Virgin Suicides (Eugenides), and Persepolis (Satrapi).

2. Have students list their top 3-5 books and hand in their selections. Similar to Joicus and Shealy’s (2017) policy of providing students with one of their top choices, I try my best to give everyone their first selection of text.

3. Arrange students into their groups and hand out texts along with graphic organizers to help keep ideas, themes, questions easily accessible throughout this collaborative activity.

4. I negotiate a timeline for chapter milestones, check-ins with each group, and a date where all books must be finished.

5. The culminating activity is always a choice board, where each student decides on how they will show what they know.

References
Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018). Critical book clubs: Reimagining literature reading and response. The Reading Teacher, 71(6), 691-702.
Kalantzis. M & Cope, B. [Education at Illinois]. (2016, February 1). Critical literacies pedagogy: An overview [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHn2GGFswww&t=8s

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Objective: Understanding barriers, overcoming fears, defining racial segregation

The text explores a true story about Jackie Robinson, who was famously the first African-American baseball player in the MLB. While it delves into the history of his story, it also tackles his own fear of swimming and drowning as seen through the perspectives of his children. The book can be used to critically analyze not only race, and some of the more prolific racial battles to increase equality through history (breaking the colour barrier,) but also the ideas around personal strengths and fears and growing past them

In terms of a lesson, I would use this book to look at perspective. Using charts, student could come up with ideas regarding the different perspectives from the books. What were Jackies Robinsons kids perspective? Their friends? What was Jackie Robinsons perspective? What are some of the fears he may have had in breaking the colour barrier? Relating fears to students own lives. Do they have any fears? How can they overcome fears? I would also suggest using the idea from the Leland, Harste, Huber article. Kim suggested in the article, to draw images of the characters regarding what they would be feeling during the story. I would expand this to the students by allowing them to choose a character in the story and a moment, and drawing what they may have been feeling. They could draw visuals (think dark and black images for fear or anger or light and bright images for happiness.)

References
Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

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Audience: Age 10+

Objective:
To develop social awareness (recognizing and respecting different perspectives) and encourage students to question issues and social justice.

Activity:
1. Read aloud. Students will read Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank.
2. Sharing how they feel about Anne Frank and the Nazis. Discuss the challenges and how the character overcome the hardship. Revise the false information and prejudice that might have been built while reading the book.
3. Group presentation. The students will have more opportunities to explore and find more information about two different sides. The students can study history in depth. As a teacher, it is crucial to provide legit online resources. Also, provide various books from different authors. Later the students will share what they have and have a Q&A session.
4. Will discuss among the students and compare how they felt after reading the book and presentation. Mainly discuss and debate morals, ethics and social justice within the group.

Jocius & Shealy's (2017) article states, "in critical literacy classrooms, teachers must provide consistent and sustained opportunities for students to examine societal issues that are often reflected in literary texts, whereas students must navigate new forms of critical interactions with texts and peers" (p.692). I agree that it is the teachers' role to provide an environment where the students can feel comfortable sharing their opinions about societal issues. Rather than explaining and answering the questions to the students, sharing among the group will help the students to view different perspectives and minimize misunderstandings and build stereotypes.

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Read Aloud and Critical Literacy in Kindergarten 

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Read Aloud and Critical Literacy in Kindergarten 

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Grades JK-SK

A wonderful activity for a junior or senior kindergarten class would be reading this wonderful book and then doing a critical literacy activity about the main theme of this story which is embracing your differences.

Objective:
Embracing your differences and knowing being different is what makes you special

Activity:
Firstly, the educator would read the book out to the class. As he/she read the story, she would show the pictures to the children and leave time for the students to think about what si happening in the story.
In each section of the story, she would ask the children what they thought would happen? Or if they ever felt the way the giraffe does about feeling left out because they were different.
Once the story was done, the educator would ask the children some questions about how they felt the story ended? Who did the relate to in the story? How was each character feeling? While reading aloud to them, it allows the children to be part of the story and interact with other children.
Finally, the next day, the educator would lead the children through drama activities showing how they would act out the story. How can they show their feelings? How could we continue the story after it ended? Offering drama activities, children can give the characters a  new voice and it is a way of learning and can connect to other people feelings. Drama is always a great way for someone to express themselves or to act out perhaps a character is feeling.
The educator could also follow up with offering other stories about accepting your differences and asking each student once one special thing they think makes them special.

References:
Critical Literacy in Early Elementary Grades. (n.d.). Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/critical-literacy-early-elementary-grades

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Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box:
Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

Bellingham, Rebecca. (2015). Why we should all be reading aloud to children: Rebecca Bellingham: TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet.

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Activity: Personify or Symbolize

Grade Level: 8-10

As a student book club and critical discussions of texts were my favourite parts of English class. As an avid reader, being able to explore the minute details of a text, and hearing all of the ideas of the other students in my classes provided perspectives on literature that I did not have before.

As a teacher it is important to be aware of what the texts used in class discuss and what the impact, and relationships to the text may look like for students based on their lived experience (Jocius & Shealy, 2018). It is also important to provide the space for the minds of the young readers to develop their own interpretations and emotional connections to the text. That is why the propose activity is “Personify or Symbolize”. Students will pick an object from the text and have the opportunity to provide a literary analysis either attributing human characteristics, or expanding on the symbolic relevance of certain objects.

For example, a student examining Lord of the Flies by William Golding may pick the pigs head on a stake (The Lord of the Flies) and provide either a detailed analysis of the symbolism or personify the object to convey the importance to the text.

References

Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018). Critical book clubs: Reimagining literature reading and response. The Reading Teacher, 71(6), 691-702.

Golding. (2012). Lord of the flies (Educational ed. / with notes prepared by the English Department of Loxford School of Science and Technology). Faber and Faber.

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Read Aloud & Poetry - Madisyn Campbell (Doiron)

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Read Aloud & Poetry - Madisyn Campbell (Doiron)

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Grade 7-8

After reading the articles, and watching the videos, the video that stood out to me the most was the Ted Talk. According to Rebecca Bellingham (2015), reading aloud to your students or child is one of the most enriching things you can do. Books can inspire children, spark a passion for justice,  and build empathy. Also, in the Daminco (2005) article, it stated, " poetry can involve hearts and heads, evoking feelings
and provoking thoughts and ideas about complex social issues" (p. 138).

I think a good activity would be  combining the two - reading aloud and poetry! First, the teacher would read aloud a poem that would be focused on a social justice issue (it could be any poem that the teacher picks that is social justice focused, but a good social justice poem to read aloud would be "The Earth Needs You" by Kelz1 (2019) - see picture aobve. After reading the poem with appropriate voice/tone, pacing, and delivery, have a discussion with the students about the poem, how it made them feel, etc.. Next, create a list of different social justice issues they are interested in/passionate about. Then, have the students create their own poem focused on one of the social justice issues discussed of their choice. Students will read/present their poems to each other in front of the class as a consolidation.

References

Daminco, J. (2005). Evoking heads and hearts: Exploring issues of social justice with poetry. Language Arts, 83, 137–146.

Rebecca Bellingham (2015). Why we should all be reading aloud to children. TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet (9:29)

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Book:  Milo Imagines the World
Audience: Primary

Milo Imagines the World by Matt de la Peña discusses stereotypes and (un)conscious biases. Milo looks at the world and illustrates a picture of people's narratives while on the subway. Throughout the book, Milo creates his own narrative of these strangers. He pays particular attention to a little boy wearing a suit; Milo imagines this boy as living a rich and luxurious lifestyle. (Spoiler) Milo and the boy get off at the same stop and are heading to a prison to visit their respective incarcerated family members.

Activity:
Prior to reading, conduct a picture walk of the book. What predictions can we make based on the cover alone? What may happen in this text?

While reading: It is important to note that the text does not explicitly state that Milo's mother is incarcerated. Readers must infer this information from the text and images. We are not told if Milo's mother is convicted or if she's detained pending trial.
In the story, Milo learns a lesson about judgement and assuming people's stories.

Activity:
Start with the prompting questions: How might Milo's mom be feeling? Does she look happy to see her children? If you were to reimagine her story what would that drawing look like? Can we infer/deduce that she is a bad person?

Alternative activity: Imagine you're on the subway with Milo. How would you like him to draw you? Describe the image.

Approaching this quality text from a critical perspective allows students to disrupt what is considered 'normal'. For Milo, visiting his mother is a regular occurrence, one that we can assume he looks forward to. It is not a story with "simple plot lines and happily ever after", we can discuss the realities of many families around the world (Leland, 2005, p. 266)

References

Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

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Audience: High School Students - Grade 10 (15-16yo)

Topic: Using Poetry to Explore Social Injustices

Objective:

To develop students’ self-awareness (empathy and perspectives) through the power of poetry about Indigenous social injustices - when engaging in critical literacy. Damico (2005) and Sawyer (2012)

Resources:

Picture book + Audio - Secret Path (Gord Downie & Jeff Lemire)

Activity:

Secret Path is a multimodal art piece (picture book and audio) telling the story of Chanie Wenjack, a young First Nations (Ojibwe) boy who dies on his way back home after escaping his Residential School. This entire unit is created around the idea of reconciliation (and defining what that means) while creating a foundation for students to pursue their own social justice journey. As Sawyer (2012) explains, children’s literature can develop self-awareness allowing students to recognize differences, perspective taking, and developing empathy. By the time this particular lesson is taught, students will already have interacted with both the audio and picture book, and gained background information on Chanie’s story and the plight of First Nations people in Canada. This lesson focuses on Track 8 of Secret Path entitled “Haunt Them, Haunt Them, Haunt Them”. This lesson begins by the teacher reading the lyrics aloud. According to Bellingham (2015), when a teacher reads a text aloud it allows for students to fully engage and understand the text, instead of having to worry about sounding out and decoding the text on their own. Then, students will listen to the audio and following along with the video depictions. Students are directed to the symbol of the raven and asked to research the meaning of ravens within many Indigenous cultures. This connects the students to both the idea of symbolism within literature, but also the significance of this particular symbol to Indigenous cultures to help build understanding. The next task is for students to interpret the raven’s presence within this song (poem) and then create an artistic depiction of this representation in Chanie’s journey home. Students will be asked to write a one paragraph explanation of their artistic choice using lyrics from the song to support their decision. To conclude, students will be asked to share their art. This assessment is a blend of creativity (art) with reflective writing. The open-ended interpretation of the raven accounts for a variety of depictions. The eventual discussion surrounds the raven and Chanie’s growth from revenge to reconciliation. Damico (2005) thorough Chistensen (2000) describes that the power of poetry helps move students intellectually and emotionally, pointing out how poetry can cultivate empathy…and extend critical inquiries into social injustices.

References:

Bellingham, Rebecca. (2015). Why we should all be reading aloud to children: Rebecca Bellingham: TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet.

Daminco, J. (2005). Evoking heads and hearts: Exploring issues of social justice with poetry. Language Arts, 83, 137–146.

Sawyer, P. (2012). Using Children's Literature to Support Social and Emotional Learning

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Traditional literacy approaches have been didactic in nature, focusing on rules and skills, with set expectations that are designed to have learners fit into the dominant culture (Kalantzis and Cope, 2016). When we take on critical literacy pedagogies we can address real issues and the problems our students face in their lives, which in turn, promotes connection, critical thinking, and action (Kalantzis and Cope, 2016). Literature that addresses social and emotional learning helps us teach children to recognize and respect each other's differences, emotions, and feelings, to empathize with others, to consider the varying perspectives peers may have, and challenge the injustices they see or experience in their world through empathy and connections (Leland, Harste & Huber, 2005, Sawyer, 2012).

Bellingham (2015) highlights the value and importance of reading aloud to our students. The act of decoding does not always come naturally to students and when attacking more challenging material they have a difficult time focusing on the meaning behind the text and do not have the time to enjoy the story, characters, and nuances of a book (Bellingham, 2015). It is for this reason that a read aloud activity will allow all students access to social justice and social and emotional texts, and promote deeper connections and conversations.

Activity: Read Aloud

Book: We’re All Wonders written by R.J. Palacio

Suggested Grade Levels: 1-3

Read aloud the picture book We’re All Wonders by R.J. Palacio (based on the junior novel Wonder by the same author). Discuss the challenges faced by Auggie (physical, social, and emotional) and any text to self connections students have to the challenges Auggie faces each day. This can be done as a whole group or through think-pair-share activities.

Suggested Questions:

What is Auggie trying to tell you?

Why do you think the author wrote this story?

How are you similar to Auggie?

How are you different?

How would you feel if you were Auggie?

What would make you feel more connected to your peers if you were Auggie?

Why does the author call Auggie a wonder?

What are some things that make Auggie a wonder?

What makes you a wonder?

Follow Up Activities:

1. Have students work with a partner to brainstorm a list of things that make them a wonder. Focus on character traits such as kindness, talent, sense of humour, generosity, work ethic, being a good friend etc. Students can then create a poster of their partner and label it with all of the ways their partner is a wonder. Have students present ‘The Wonder’ of their friend.

2. Writing extension: Grade 1 students can write a sentence about how they can show kindness and empathy to a friend who is different from them, Grade 2 to 3 students can expand this to a short paragraph including two to three ideas for kindness and empathy.

References

Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

Mary Kalantzis and Bill Cope. (2016). Critical Literacies Pedagogies: An Overview [Video].YouTube.

Palacio, R.J. (2017). We’re all wonders. Puffin.

Peg Sawyer (2012). Using Children's Literature to Support Social and Emotional Learning, Part 1. [Video]. YouTube.

Rebecca Bellingham (2015). Why we should all be reading aloud to children. TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet.

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Book: One by Kathryn Otoshi
Audience: Preschool

I used this book to build on the topic of anti-bullying/pink shirt day. Before reading the story, I always like to ask my students check-in questions. For example; "Can someone raise their hand and remind me why we are all wearing pink shirts today?"
This allows the students to critically think about what they have learned and make educated guesses on what they think this story is about by observing the front cover. I always enjoy having a quick discussion about the front cover because it gives me an idea of who can make connections and how they use prior knowledge to make conclusions.

Throughout the reading, I would use different voices to distinguish the different characters and emotions. By doing this, the students can better understand my comprehension questions throughout. In order to critically think, I believe that throughout storytime students need to be given the opportunity to relate it to their own personal experiences, just like we see in the article by Jocius and Shealy (2017). Just like for any grade level, it is easier to learn and absorb when you can make these personal connections; the learning process almost becomes more memorable.

After reading the story, I would do a casual discussion activity in circle time where each student can share a time where they felt small, just like 'blue' in the story. This sort of discussion promotes togetherness in the class by showing that we can all have similar experiences. In the end I would allow the students to practice 'filling each others bucket' something they would have already been introduced to.

The following day, I would read another story relating to this book but with more of a challenge. 'I walk with Vanessa' is a great story because it is a story without words and only pictures. While I would make up a narration as I went, I would mostly leave it up to the kids to help me do it. This is a great way to see if they're able to observe images and apply the knowledge we have learned about and make conclusions as to what is happening in the story.

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Below is a sample activity to engage critical literacy learning with children’s literature.

Activity Part 1: Read to students aloud (Bellingham, 2015). Reading to students, rather than having them read - either aloud or individually, allows them to fully engage with, and get lost in, the story rather than be bogged down by pronunciation, sentence structure or simply distracted reading (Bellingham, 2015). Educators can choose to read a poem, short story, chapter or specific interaction or moment within a story. However, in order to engage critical literacy learning, the piece of children’s literature that is chosen must discuss a real topic or social justice issue that is relevant to students (Kalantzis & Cope, 2016a). Furthermore, the topic or issue should engage with diversity of voices and agency as well as have the potential to connect with the lived experiences of the students, force them to think critically and encourage them to take action in their lives and communities (Kalantzis & Cope, 2016b).

Activity Part 2: After the reading, have students work in groups to discuss and respond to the social justice theme presented in the story by the educator. The objectives of the group work should be structured and clearly communicated by the educator (Jocius & Shealy, 2017). The educator should provide groups with discussion starters, sentence stems and require students to take notes of their group reflections (Jocius & Shealy, 2017). Depending on the outlines set out by the educator, groups can present their reflections to the class or the class can engage in a larger whole class discussion based on their group reflections.

Intended grade level: Grade 5 and up

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Audience: Preschool children in daycare

Book: The Kissing Hand (Written by: Audrey Penn Illustrated by: Ruth E. Harper & Nancy M. Leak)

Activity: Read aloud “The Kissing Hand” to the children. Discuss the why they should love and need to be loved. Have students tell the class how they show love, and how they get love in return from their family, friends, or pets. Make a big paper heart, and after you share how you show love, hand it to a student. The student who is holding the heart tells the class, then passes it to a fellow student, with or without a hug, until everyone has shared.

As a childhood educator for preschoolers in a daycare centre, I found “Why we should all be reading aloud to children”, a TED talk show by Rebecca (2015) and the article of Leland et al. (2005), “Out of the Box: Critical literacy in a first-grade classroom” both interesting. In my own experience, connecting the preschoolers with picture books engage them in social and emotional development. Kiefer and Tyson (2019) made me understands that picture books must be fun and interesting because they help children learn not just to read, but to navigate their world. When the book is fun and engaging, read aloud is the appropriate method for preschoolers as it enables them to deeply understand, to think, to learn and discuss big ideas about the world (Rebecca, 2015). Just as connecting the children to the importance of love in the activity above. As noted by Leland et al. (2005), “Books that are read to children can also be discussed with them” (p. 267). Discussing how they show love and get love in return during the “The Kissing Hand” activity strengthens the children’s relationships and help them in key developmental skill areas such as self-awareness and problem-solving (Sawyer, 2012).

References:

Kiefer, B., Tyson, C., Parsons Barger, B., Patrick, L., & Reilly-Sanders, E. (2019). Charlotte Huck’s Children’s Literature: A Brief Guide (3rd Edition). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first-grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

Sawyer, P. (2012). Using Children's Literature to Support Social and Emotional Learning

(2015, December 29). Why we should all be reading aloud to children: Rebecca Bellingham: TEDxYouth@BeaconStreet.

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As a Grade 2/3 teacher, I found the Leland et al.(2005) article Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in a First-Grade Classroom reading interesting. With COVID, and all the other uncertainty we face in this present-day, I have to be honest with myself and say that I have shied away from (what I consider) heavy topics when picking my read alouds this year. I have been trying to make school an enjoyable and fun place, but I realise perhaps in doing this I am doing my students a disservice. As noted by Leland et al. (2005), the experience of learning how to critically approach literacy allows students the opportunity to learn how to read between the lines. This article was eye-opening in ways that have changed my perspective and has encouraged me to realise that children do not necessarily need “protection from complexity and unpleasant topics” (Leland et al, 2005, p. 266), but rather need guidance and a safe space to explore these topics. Below I outline a recent read aloud I tackled with my class in hopes of starting to bring more critical literacy into my classroom.

Strategy: Read Aloud

Book title: The Three Brothers

Author: Marie-Louise Gay (2020)

Social Justice Issue: Climate Change

Suggested Grade Levels: 1 - 3 (Primary)

I chose Climate Change as a social justice issue because I feel it is an issue that is often skirted around for fear of being “too political.” While this was merely a primer into the notion of Climate Change, it is a stepping stone to creating critical literate students, and as quoted by Leland et al. (2005), “critically literate individuals are capable of taking social action to … transform their communities and realities.” (p. 259).

This is a gentle story of three brothers who go on a snowy-day adventure seeking out wild animals like the ones their grandpa used to talk about. When they come up empty handed, one brother mentions that “Grandpa said the weather isn’t like it used to be … sometimes there are hurricanes or floods. Other times it is so hot and dry that forests burn. The animals have to leave their homes to find food and water” (Gay, 2020, p.16). While on their adventure, the brothers talk about how things in the world are different now, and the story lent itself nicely to a bigger discussion on Earth’s changing climate. I was also able to tie in some Grade 2 Science (Mammals - with a talk about endangered species) and Grade 3 Science (Forces - natural disasters, forces of nature) in our discussion.

References:

Gay, M. L. (2020). The Three Brothers. Groundwood Books.

Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

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From my own experience, kindergarten-aged children have often already adopted and accepted stereotypical gender norms. Boys don’t often play with “dolls,” girls are often observed playing “kitchen,” and, this year during recess, I heard a boy say, “you can’t play with us because boys like blue and girls only like pink!” This proclamation led me to the book, “Pink is for Boys,” by Robb Pearlman. The book stands to question the stereotype that boys can only like blue and girls can only like pink. It is a great opportunity to become involved in deeper questioning about what is “acceptable” for boys and girls.

In an introductory activity to this topic in kindergarten, teachers can read the book aloud to the class. While reading the book, teachers should encourage dialogue and various forms of questioning in order to have children question the rules around colours and gender. The first colour mentioned in the book is pink. Ask the entire class who likes pink and take note of who raises their hand. Continue this line of questioning, and In particular, ask children about the different activities mentioned in the book. For example, the book talks about the colour blue. Teachers could ask, “who likes the colour blue?” “Who likes to play sports?” and indicate that both girls and boys like these things. Continue the process for the duration of the story and all colours and activities described. At the end of the story, come back to the first page, and again ask, who likes pink. Has anyone changed their mind? Ask children why that may be? Have they ever felt like they couldn’t like something because they were a boy or a girl? Why do they think that is? How did it make them feel? This is meant to be an introductory activity to have children begin to question gender norms in society.

Critical literacy involves actively questioning the normative narrative in our daily lives. Children must learn critical literacy skills from a young age so that they can ask pertinent questions about issues that surround their own experiences. As such, it is important to question stereotypes that could be present. For young children, books are an excellent way to do just that. In kindergarten classrooms, read-alouds are an ever-present teaching tool and an excellent way to get children involved in stories (Rebecca Belingham, 2015). But rather than use them to only develop skills such as word patterns and story structures, we can also use them to teach children about social and emotional learning (Peg Sawyer, 2012) as well as encourage deep questioning. Books must be reflective of learners' lived experiences (Critical Literacies Pedagogies: An Overview,2016)

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Book: Mae Among The Stars (Written by Roda Ahmed and Illustrated by Stasia Burringston, 2018).

Audience: Grade 1 + 2 students.

Activity: Read “Mae Among The Stars” to students. Discuss salient moments (such as when Mae is told she can’t be an astronaut by her teacher). Ask students if they have ever been made to feel like they can’t do something? Have them imagine what that would be like. Have students respond in their writing journals. What would they tell Mae?

Justification:

In the video, “Why we should all be reading aloud to children” by Rebecca Bellingham (2015) Rebecca explains the importance of reading aloud to children. She argues that read alouds have the power to give students access to the world and to themselves. While the teacher takes on the work of decoding and dealing with vocabulary, students can use all of their mental energy to enjoy and process the story (Bellingham, 2015). It is important then, that read alouds be a daily occurrence in elementary classrooms.

Leland et al. (2005) examine a first grade class as the teacher decides to take her class on an exploration of critical literary. The teacher, Kim Huber, realizes that her students are more engaged in the content once she brings a critical lens to the books she selects to share with her students. The authors argue that “we need to do more than teach them how to decode and comprehend texts” (Leland et al. 2005, p. 260). In teaching our students critical literacy skills, we are able to teach students how to recognize how society offers privilege to some and marginalizes others.

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Task: Reading & Reviewing Emotional Responses

Age: Kindergarten

Activity: Brainstorming

Accommodations: Taking extra time if needed, using alternate media if needed (i.e video)

Assessment:P N/A

The class will be read the story on Viola Desmond, the Nova Scotian Black woman who stood up for her right to sit in the “whites only” section of the movie theatre in 1946.

The group will then brainstorm together using flip chart paper. The open space of a discussin will give the children a safe space for building awareness of race, discrimination, and critical literacy.

Questions used to spark discussion:

-       What is race?

-       Why did Viola have to argue for her seat?

-       How do you think this made her feel?

-       Does this still happen today?

-       What can we do to keep this from happening around us?

-       Can we name some important or famous Black people?

-       How can we learn more?

References

Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

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Book: Jayden's Impossible Garden |By: Mélina Mangal Illustrated by: Ken Daley

Selection Criteria: Informed by Luke and Freebody's (1997) "four resources model of reading as social practice” conceptual framework (Leland, 2005), this text was selected due to the way it subverts the hegemonic narrative in picture books, one where “white childhood innocence [is] allowed to remain normalized” (Tullos, 2019, p.269). This picturebook was authored and illustrated by cultural insiders and highlights Black innocence, intersectionality, curiosity, and community.

Target Level: WIDA Level 3 Developing Second Language Classroom

Target Outcome: Create an opportunity for reading as a non-neutral cultural practice (Leland, 2005) that supports personal and critical meaning-making.

Pre-Reading:

Introduce target vocabulary and expressions through multimodal resources (e.g. digital slides, flashcards)

Take a critical literacy pedagogical approach to the discussion of two main themes of the text, nature and community.

Sample Questions:
Describe your neighbours: How do you greet your neighbours? Have you ever helped a neighbour? What language does your neighbour speak?

What do you like/dislike about nature? Does nature change or stay the same?

Close Reading

Read aloud and pause at selected spreads to reinforce target vocabulary with illustrations and lead discussion about Jayden’s neighbour, Mr. Curtis. What similarities and differences can the students find to their own neighbours?

Allow opportunities for students to ask new questions and become curious about intersectional identities. Why does Mr.Curtis use a wheelchair?

Facilitate connections to students' own lives that allow them to increase their awareness of social issues.

Post-Reading

Guide students in using “I” statements and target vocabulary to answer the prompts, “What did I learn today?” and “What will I do in my neighbourhood?”

Use Luke and Freebody's (1997) conceptual framework to inform reading response activities. Students will write a letter to Jayden and Mr.Curtis. What questions do they want to ask?

Select one recycled craft project at the back of the picturebook, such as the coffee cup planter, and have students work in teams to produce planters for a classroom community garden.

Accommodations:

Prepare opportunities for structured translanguaging during the post-reading activities

Support plurilingual competency with multilingual or bilingual wordlists to supplement vocabulary acquisition

References
Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.
Tullos, J. (2019). “We gon’ fight, Emmett”: Peforming childhood and innocence as resistance in black youth slam poetry. The Lion and the Unicorn, 43(2), 261-281.

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As the migration patterns are changing the world, our society is becoming increasingly diverse. As teachers we should seize this opportunity to raise awareness of the different cultural identities which are present in a classroom.

The book The Name Jar, by Yangsook Choi is a wonderful critical literacy tool to use with grades 2-3 to raise awareness of the difficulties faced by children immigrating to a new country. The character Unhei explores the idea of changing her name to help her assimilate into her adopted country. She goes through a series of dialogue with her family to discover the importance of her name and what it means to her Korean cultural heritage.

Pedagogical Approach to cultural identities and assimilation:

1-      Prior to the book read aloud, engage children to discuss with the class where their name originates. Children have a natural curiosity to want to know about their names; how was it chosen? what does your name mean? This critical literacy pedagogical approach on “communicating and socializing about identity construction and the ways in which we think and view the world”, O'Byrne, Ian (May 17, 2018), positions the student to be opened to discussing how their own differences are similar to the character in the book

2-       Next, read aloud the picture book, stopping at various points along the storyline to integrate the student’s feedback from point#1, and have students interpret how they would respond to having their name changed. In this way, it opens up a “space for learning that can include student’s multiple social, cultural and expressive knowledge”, Wolf, Edminston, & Encisco, 1997.  This would then lead to pt#3 on helping students critically think about how one’s culture/background is important aspect of who they are.

3-      Using the literary work of Freeboy and Luke’s (1999) “Four resource instructional model, focus on text-meaning practice, pragmatic practices” where students produce a response to the book. Connecting the characters Unhei’s decision and how they would have approached the situation:

o   What are some of the experiences that helped Unhei decide which name to choose? Do you think Unhei made the correct decision? Why, why not?

o   Have them be challenged, as the character Unhei was, to change their name: If you could choose your own name, would you choose the same name, or would you pick a different one? Why?

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She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton is an excellent picture book for supporting students as they dive deeply into texts, make critical and personal connections, use textual evidence to support assertions, and work within their communities to promote social action. Jocius et al  (2017) Recent research has suggested that literature reading and response can support students’ abilities to imagine and empathize with the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of others. Jocius et al  (2017). Often books inspired by social justice that are shared with children seem to invite conversations about multiple perspectives and how individuals might see the same events differently. Leland, et al. (2005)

Book: She Persisted: 13 American Women Who Changed the World by Chelsea Clinton

Outcome: Multimodal responses to support students in constructing personal and critical meaning from texts.

Age Group: 7-8

1. Review the story of one woman as a group. Pick out the different characters and draw them in a comic style using different suggestions and feedback from the class.

2. Direct students to individually choose a story from the book and draw each of the characters from that story within their own comic box. Instruct the students to embrace different perspectives, whether that means different people in the story or depicting one person at different times. Try to focus on ways to communicate differing attitudes, feelings, perspectives and expressions in a drawing.

3. Share the character comic creations with the class.

Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018). Critical book clubs: Reimagining literature reading and response. The Reading Teacher, 71(6), 691-702.
Leland, C., Harste, J., & Huber, K. (2005). Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom. Language Arts, 82(5), 257-268.

Brenna Tomas

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Julius Lester's Let's Talk About Race provides an opportunity for discussion about race and how it influences how we view each other and how we view ourselves. In my kindergarten classroom, I have been exploring various cultural critical literacy books during Black History month. Based on the author's message, our focus is on a book that has an emotional or social component. Students may find that, when reflecting on their own experiences, as well as hearing those of their friends, what appears to be a simple question may not have an obvious answer. By doing so, they will be able to analyze their own assumptions about race and critically think about them. By exploring their own physical characteristics, children will be able to gain an understanding of being and feeling.  Afterwards, I present the kindergarten students with discussion questions. What makes us all the same? As each student responded, we have all got hair, we have all got hearts, we all have eyes... It was brilliant how kindergarten students understood Mr. Lester's message. For example, one way to lead children through this book, I have the students draw a picture and write one thing about themselves that makes us all the same? While reading the story, students will learn how emotions look and feel across cultures, as they will discover that they are the same. In Sawyer, 2012, Using Children's Literature to Support Social and Emotional Learning, part 1, Sawyer provided some suggestions. Although it might be easy to focus on happy books, according to the Leland et al (2005) article, even grade 1 students are more likely to connect with books that address social issues such as racism, war and inequality. Complex stories increase empathy and understanding between students.

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My experience with young learners is mostly with the toddler age group where they begin to empathize with situations in books. The Way I Feel by Janan Cain allows young children to label feelings with the associated illustrations. Kalantzis and Cope (2016) emphasize the characteristic of children finding identity in books, and in The Way I Feel children can reflect on a time that they felt the emotions. As the educator reads, they can use facial expressions and voice to reflect the emotions that are identified in the book. Re-reading this book can allow children to further reflect and make deeper connections with the way the book makes them feel. Educators can prompt further reflection by asking when they feel the specific emotion, or to make the face of an emotion. This identification of emotions learned from the book can be applied to situations where the children feel a certain way to help label how they are feeling.

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As alluded to in the initial video Critical Literacies Pedagogies: A Overview, (2016), critical literacies tend to be active, participatory, and grounded in things that are relevant in the world around you. It also involved becoming aware of yourself and others in the world.  I would recommend The Day the Crayons Quit (2013) read aloud for grades 1 and 2 as an introduction to perspectives in the community.

It also can serve as an introduction to diversity, the story can be used to exemplify how there are different people in the world who have different accents, cultures, come in different shapes and sizes and colours. Students can also connect their lived experiences with some of the emotions that the characters in the story are feeling. Further it engages their critical thinking as they are able to begin thinking about gender, and how society might say that certain colours are for boys and others are for girls.

This story also builds on social and emotional learning, as students would be able to see how different emotions look and feel. (Sawyer, 2012, Using Children’s Literature to Support Social and Emotional Learning, part 1). As the Leland et al (2005) article makes clear, while it might be easier to rely on happy books, students even those in grade 1, tend to make stronger connections with books that address things like racism, war, inequality. By using these kinds of more complex stories, students begin to treat each other with more compassion and understanding. Leland et al (2005) also imply that story time and read alouds are a great opportunity to make space for critical literacy awareness in your classroom. This story can provide educators with an opportunity to discuss the importance of perspective as the story is told from different points of view.

Ontario Curricular Specific Expectations:

Grade 1 & 2

Reading 1.9 – begin to identify, with support and under direction, the speaker and the point of view presented in a text and suggest alternative perspective

Media Literacy 1.5 – begin to identify, with support and direction, whose point of view is presented in a simple media text

Motivational Hook:

Have students sit in a circle, and decide as a group on a main character. Starting with the person sitting to the left of the instructor, each student will begin telling a story, when the instructor says switch the next person must continue the story, continue until everyone in the group has had a chance to carry on the story.

Open:

Brainstorm on SMART board what is perspective?

A unique way of seeing something. If we see someone else’s perspective, we are seeing it through their unique point of view. We all have a unique individual perspective.

Ask Questions:

Did we notice how everyone has a unique perspective/take that took the story in a different direction?

By taking different perspectives what are we doing? Seeing beyond our own view accepting others and the world.

Why might it be important to see and understand other people’s perspectives? Helps understand what we read, understand other people’s struggles.

Body:

Listen to “The Day the Crayons Quit” read aloud & pick their favourite colour from the story.

Follow up question:

What did you originally think “The Day the Crayons Quit” was going to be about?

The pink crayon accuses Duncan of not using him to colour, but thanks his sister for using him a lot. What could Duncan use pink to colour? Does he need to feel embarrassed if he wants to use pink?

Think/pair/share: Individually students identify the problem that their selected crayon colour is facing and describe how the character is feeling and why. Then write a short journal entry from the perspective of their character elaborating on how they would be feeling.

After completing their journal entry, pair up with another student to share and discuss their entry.

Close:

To recap concepts taught:

Select 2-3 students to share their journal entry and how they saw the story developing.

Review vocabulary – what is perspective? Do we all have the same perspective? – Everyone in the world has a unique perspective because they have ideas, feelings, and emotions of their own.

As a class, do 2 stars and a wish about “The Day the Crayons Quit.” (two things you really liked and one thing you would improve)

Link to future lessons:

Can link to other lessons on perspective but showing their work by drawing pictures and describing. Could also be cross-curricular by linking to lessons in visual arts or drama.

Accommodations:

Give clear concise instructions, use multi-sensory learning (e.g. interact with SMART board, visual aids)

For Think/pair/share, pair stronger students with those having difficulty to ensure greater understanding

Seat away from distractions and keep close proximity to instructor.

Provide visual cues, use hand gestures, play read-aloud at a slow speed, have students repeat back instructions to ensure understanding

Assessment:

Anecdotal record/observations

References:

The Ontario Curriculum Grades 1-8 Language Arts.

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As it is currently Black History Month, my grade 4 class has been diving into some deep conversations. In keeping with this theme, I read Henry's Freedom Box A True Story from the Underground Railroad out loud to the class. Christine H. Leland (2019) comments in her article that the critical literacy approach enables students to think about the injustices in the world around them and to explore how they can make a difference. As we read the story about Henry, we would pause throughout and have elaborate discussions about being taken away from your family, what slavery means and fighting for your rights. Small groups had follow-up talks concerning other young people such as Greta Thunberg and Malala who are trying to make the world a better place. Rebecca Bellingham (2015) explained the power of reading out loud as “…getting inside a book…” which allows students to question and relate the stories to themselves thus creating a stronger connection to the issues at hand.

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Kim Huber’s classroom approach in Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in a First-Grade Classroom was incredibly admirable to me as a fellow first grade teacher. Instead of choosing “happy books” for her first grade classroom she decided to read books that could challenge their ideas about the world we live in, such as a book on homelessness. This week, I did a lesson on Viola Desmond, reading them the story Viola Desmond Won’t Be Budged! by Jody Nyasha Warner. After the story, my students were in disbelief. One of my students said, “I don’t understand, she just wanted to watch a movie. She didn’t do anything wrong”! It was such a teachable moment because they could not wrap their heads around the idea of how unfair this situation was. We read the story on Monday, and even on Thursday they were still bringing up what happened and making relevant connections to the story. I left the book accessible and many went back to read it on their own.

Similarly to her experience when she read Freedom Summer to her students, Huber brought up questions of fairness and how the concept that one person could possibly be superior to the other was unjust and untrue. My students also could not believe that something so terrible could happen in their beloved country, not too long ago. In addition, Huber started incorporating writing responses with her class. I think this is a wonderful idea that I could see myself implementing especially in Grade 1. While my students are in centers or doing independent work, I would like to have writing conferences where I could work one on one with my students to not only develop their writing abilities but also their critical literacy skills. They can respond to important pieces of literature with a rich classroom discussion followed by a written text and illustration to accompany their thoughts. I would also like to find ways to relate it to their everyday lives. This can be done with warm-up activities, such as showing them a $10 bill when discussing Viola Desmond and asking if they have ever seen this before. At the end of the lesson, I would ask students, "why is it significant for Viola Davis to be on the $10 bill"?

O’Byrne expresses the need for representation in conjunction with critical literacy impeccably, when he writes, “It is also about identity construction and the ways in which I think, and view the world… I can easily indicate that this perspective frames the ways in which I write this post, talk to my children, or watch television” (O’Byrne, 2018, para. 2). I think it’s essential that as teachers we foster an environment that provides children with the opportunities to challenge their ideas and become empathetic members in the community.

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Usually, at this point of the school year, I like to rediscuss the topic of friendship and being kind with my kindergarten students. It complements well with Random Acts of Kindness Day as well as Pink Shirt Day on February 23. To engage in critical literacy learning, I like to bring in age-appropriate picture books that teach a real-world lesson and teaches self-awareness, while also encouraging a dialogue with my young learners. Peg Sawyer, B.S.Ed., discusses how self-awareness can lead to important skills such as the ability to name our emotions, in order to be able to understand the emotions of others. This is a developing critical literacy learning skill, which allows children to label appropriate emotions and eventually learn how to express these feelings with words. Mrs. Sawyer goes on to elaborate about social awareness through literature and how stories can teach lessons to empathize with others and learn and appreciate our differences. “Recent research has even suggested that literature reading and response can support students’ abilities to imagine and empathize with the thoughts, feelings, and intentions of others (Clarke & Whitney, 2009)” (Jocius and Shealy, 2017, p. 692).

My favorite picture book and activity for social-emotional learning is Have You Filled A Bucket Today by Carol McCloud. Self-awareness and social awareness in kindergarten can both be challenging, as their awareness of what is going on around them is still developing and egocentric in nature. However, having open-ended dialogues stemming from stories helps to make them aware that we are a classroom community. Talking about how we can treat others with kindness and respect (sharing, letting others play with us, smiling, etc.) are ways to be friendly to your peers. This story teaches them to identify the feelings of others (self-awareness) and then provide kind words or messages to others (social awareness) to make other people feel happy.

Reading, Discussion, and Follow-up Activity

Story: Have You Filled A Bucket Today by Carol McCloud

Age: Kindergarten to grade two

Discussion: What is a bucket filler? What is a bucket spiller? How are you protecting your bucket? How can you fill someone else's bucket? What fills your bucket?

Create an anchor chart collaboratively with their answers to keep on display

Activity: Each student can paint or decorate a bucket and hang it on display. With teacher support or independently, write down some things that fill your bucket (being a good friend, showing kindness, being respectful to all, etc.). Stickers can be added when someone fills your bucket.
This is a year-long activity that can be readdressed daily.

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Critical pedagogy allows children to engage in real life issues and be actively engaged in their learning which shapes them personally and socially (Kalantzis & Cope, 2016). In my kindergarten classroom, I read My Mom is a Firefighter by Lois G. Grambling to my students as part of a community helper theme. Books expose children to different ideas and by reading aloud children fully immerse themselves in these ideas without having to decipher the text (Bellingham, 2015).  After reading, I engaged the class in a discussion to help students actively examine the ideas in the text. The students were quite inquisitive and we discussed how occupations can be held by anyone. When teachers participate in discussions with their students it allows them to gain new insights about others or situations (Leland et al., 2005). Expanding their view of gender roles allowed them to think beyond what is considered traditional. To conclude our theme, the children completed an activity about what they wanted to be when they grew up and it was evident that some students really reflected on our discussion.

Sample questions:

I first took into consideration their thoughts (previous knowledge) and then built on the role of a female firefighter: what does it take to be a firefighter and finally expand to other occupations.

“What did you think about the story?”

“What did you think about Billy’s mom as a firefighter?”

“Can anybody be a firefighter?”

“What other jobs can everyone do?”

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Reader Response in “A Mountain Legend” by Jordan Wheeler

Age: Middle School Grades 6-8

Subject: English Language Arts

Synopsis of Short Story: Jordan Wheeler is a Cree-Canadian author who, in this story, tells the tale of Jason who connects on a personal level to the geography and a local legend; this connection leads Jason to reflect on a number of issues related to identity.

Warm Up Activity:

·       Have students write down as many words as they can that describe them.

·       Have students learn about the concept a “rite of passage.”

·       Have students learn about stereotyping and how it impacts people.

This story could be a wonderful resource enabling a student to both connect and create (Jocius & Shealy, 2018). This would be a move away from Didactic Literacy and a move towards Critical Literacy (Kalantzis & Cope, 2016). Students could answer a number of reader response questions such as:

1.       Jason’s journey up the mountain leads to personal discovery for our main character. Can you think of a journey that you went on that lead to personal discovery?

2.       Jason grapples with the challenges associated with stereotyping. What are the problems with stereotypes and how can we counter their influence in society today?

3.       Jason is influenced by the two boys in his cabin. What role does peer pressure play in your own life?

4.       Consider the following passage: “Again he felt the presence of something or someone else. The wind swirled in and whispered to Jason the mountain’s legend.” What does this passage mean to you?

Extension Activity: Students could turn this into a “Passion Project” (Jocius & Shealy, 2018) related to oral story telling, environmental issues, or a personal heritage project.