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I teach high school, so sometimes see a challenge when learning about how to incorporate children’s literature into my classroom. However, I think that it is important to realize that all of the messaging can be translated across the levels. What struck me most was in the video Why we should all be reading aloud to children by Rebecca Bellingham when she said that when we read aloud to students we take on the decoding aspects that they may find challenging to allow them to just absorb the information. I do this often with my students when reading Shakespeare, when we read to each other, I’m able to pause the reading to define what is being said, and have a deeper conversation. I think that when that happens, students are better able to engage with the content. My suggestion would be to continue to read to students, and read to each other to allow for this type of instruction and learning to happen.

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Seeing the Bigger Picture - Read Aloud Exercises & Shared Perspectives - Jillian Fournier

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Seeing the Bigger Picture - Read Aloud Exercises & Shared Perspectives - Jillian Fournier

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As mentioned in the article written by Leland & Harste (2005) focusing on critical literacy in first grade classrooms, much of their discussion on 'seeing the bigger picture' and 'intertextual connections/multiple perspectives' can be explored through classroom discussion, read-alouds, and interactive reading activities. When incorporating critical literacy into my own classroom initiatives, I find that having open reading and classroom reading creates a more free environment for students to learn through the shared perspectives of others. Leland & Harste (2005) mention in one of their activities that they asked children to draw out the characters and write about what they believed the person was thinking (Leland & Harste, 2005, pg. 264). Through doing activies as such and encouraging group-think within the classroom, read-alouds can lead to a common understanding that is not only derived from hearing the opinions of those around you, but also from establishing a common understanding of how ones own personal reflections relate to others. In a later part of their discussion, Leland and Harste (2005) express that Kim herself 'disrupted commonplace teaching norms by enlarging the literacy curriculum of her first grade to the point where it included more than decoding and comprehension' - to which can also build on read-aloud activities (Leland & Harste, 2005, pg. 266). By encouraging students to extend themselves from their own perspectives to understanding not only those around them but the characters within the literature as well, the concept of read-alouds establishes a concrete platform for students to understand their relation to the text, to themselves, and others around them.

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Read-Alouds and Asking the Right Questions -Brittany Allard

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Read-Alouds and Asking the Right Questions -Brittany Allard

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Read-alouds are a great strategy to introduce subjects and expose children to different worlds, cultures and experiences within the classroom. Further, children are able to ask questions, co-construct meanings and notice similarities and differences in comparison to their own experiences. As the teacher Kim discusses throughout the article Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first grade classroom, students are more aware of the diversities within the world which allow them to be knowledgeable about different places, people etc., even if they do not experience it ‘in real life’ until adulthood. (2005). As a teacher, I always set time aside after a read aloud to check in with students and see how they feel about the message of the book. However, I have come to learn that asking the right questions is a skill that helps evoke thought in students and engage critically, especially in a primary junior context.This is extremely important when the book discusses harder subjects. An example of a resource that I read is the book ‘I Am Not a Number’ by Dupuis and Kacer (2016) to a primary class and it was hard to navigate which questions I should ask. I will be keeping a copy of the resource ‘Questions to Promote Critical Literacy’ from this week to help navigate those discussions and utilize the story and my time with the students.

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

Dupuis & Kacer (2016) ‘I Am Not a Number’

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Critical Literacy - Theme Workshop - Nico Francella

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Critical Literacy - Theme Workshop - Nico Francella

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Before diving into a novel study, I like to have an activity that allows students to read different short stories that have similar themes to the novel that we are reading. Students will get into pairs and talk about the short story that they have read and the main message/theme the author demonstrates through out the story. Before we get together as a class, everyone will write their theme on the board which allows the students to see the similarities between each story. We discuss each one and how we can relate this theme to events around us and most importantly, the experience that share a connection with that theme. Jocius (2018) explains that, “literature reading, and response can support students’ abilities to imagine
and empathize with the thoughts, feelings and intentions of others” (Jocius, 2018, 692). By sharing the connections with these short stories, students can see how the main characters react to certain situations and use their experience in situations that are similar in theirs.

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Courtney Mosewich Bellingham provides many reasons for the importance of reading aloud to children. Many of my students an adaptation which mandates that they are read to but I also read at least one novel and play to all my students. I find my students are more engaged when I read to them in comparison to them reading independently. Reading aloud with my students allows for students to be freed from focusing on decoding the information and on focusing on learning new content from the story. We are currently reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a class. With this text my class is listening to an audio book which I stop in order to discuss the information presented in the text. Even though I am not reading aloud, the discussion still creates a connected classroom. Additionally, it allows for me to access, in the moment, my students understanding of the material and to lead them to think deeper and question content they are reading.   

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Courtney Mosewich Bellingham provides many reasons for the importance of reading aloud to children. Many of my students an adaptation which mandates that they are read to but I also read at least one novel and play to all my students. I find my students are more engaged when I read to them in comparison to them reading independently. Reading aloud with my students allows for students to be freed from focusing on decoding the information and on focusing on learning new content from the story. We are currently reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth as a class. With this text my class is listening to an audio book which I stop in order to discuss the information presented in the text. Even though I am not reading aloud, the discussion still creates a connected classroom. Additionally, it allows for me to access, in the moment, my students understanding of the material and to lead them to think deeper and question content they are reading.   

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Critical Literacy- Through another's eyes

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Critical Literacy- Through another's eyes

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Echoing Bellingham, I find the most successful way I incorporate critical literacy in my classroom is through the books I read aloud. In Ontario in grade three part of the social studies curriculum is about interactions between Indigenous Peoples and early settlers. I feel as if I am doing my students a disservice if I do not connect to current Indigenous Peoples and the sad parts of Canadian history in ways appropriate for 8 and 9 year olds. As I am not an Indigenous Person I share this through the writing of Indigenous authors. Reading aloud these stories helps students to understand, empathize and think about parts of our shared history. Furthermore, using the works of these authors provides in a small way a greater diversity of voices. As Bellingham mentions, when we read aloud we are doing the work of decoding etc. We give students the freedom to consider ideas, comprehend information, make connections etc. Some of my favourite books in this are "The Birchbark House," "Shishietko," "Shi chi's Canoe," "The Red Sash," "Stolen Words," "When we were alone," "I am not a number," "Sometimes I feel like a fox"

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Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first-grade classroom – Radha Sandy Sukul                                 

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Out of the box: Critical literacy in a first-grade classroom – Radha Sandy Sukul                                 

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Some of the ways we can incorporate critical literacy in our classrooms is by using children’s literature, media, and discussion. My favourite way is to include music, poetry, and storytelling. The role of books in the process of learning to think critically is essential for children’s social and academic development. Critical literacy also improves children’s language competency through the process of reading, listening, and questioning – which may lead to reflection and critical thinking. As an educator, I would put more emphasis on the conversations that take place after reading books.

When reading to young children, it’s important to ask them questions about what they think was happening in the story. Choosing the right books is the first step, some books could include: White Socks Only by: Evelyn Coleman and Smoky Night by: Eve Bunting. I believe critical literacy helps children to explore differences, eliminate misunderstandings, introduce them to social justice, and about the dominant systems in society. As adults, we may find ourselves trying to differentiate between ‘fake-news’ and being inundated by ads on social media, therefore, it is important to teach young children to be critical and that sometimes authors write for a particular audience. As children practice asking questions and form reading and thinking skills, this can lead to insights about the literature they read, and they may become aware of the social world that surround them.

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Literature Circles in the Junior Elementary Classroom - Candace Carella

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Literature Circles in the Junior Elementary Classroom - Candace Carella

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Children are typically expected to begin reading chapter books around the age of 7 or 8. Oftentimes, reading a lengthy book with more words than pictures is daunting for students at this age. Hosting literature circles in the grade 2 - 4 classroom would be an excellent way to introduce chapter books to young readers. As examined in Jocius & Shealy (2018), “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” (p.692).

Students should begin by reading one chapter independently, developing their own opinions and reflecting on elements such as characterization and setting. The students could then come together into small reading groups of 4 - 6 students to share what they know about the book so far based on the chapter they had read independently. Next, each student could read one paragraph from the chapter in order to practice reading aloud. The teacher or facilitator could then finish reading the chapter aloud so the students can focus on comprehending the prose rather than focusing on pronouncing and understanding each word correctly. Listening to the book as it is read aloud by an adult gives the students time to remember what they read independently and gain a better understanding of the details. Afterwards, the students can discuss what was just read, sharing their own thoughts and feelings as well as their experience with reading independently versus listening to the text.

Literature circles foster a student’s independent growth as a reader while also allowing for the collaboration of various perspectives. Ultimately, revisiting a text in a shared setting deepens a reader’s understanding of the chapter book and prompts them to understand the world outside of the book in a new way. It would be beneficial to have the students read a chapter book which focuses on social issues so they can share their own observations and learn to understand and respect differences.

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I always aim to think outside the box, when teaching I look for alternative ways to engage my students, but a lot of these ideas come from teachers that I've had and that have inspired me. When reading the out of the box article I understood the teacher fear of 1st graders not understanding social issues but seeing her discover how children do react and behave better when affronted with such issues made me smile. In the Ted talk she talks about putting on a play and I think back to grade school and every time we read a book we would put on some sort of performance, be it a play, a debate or an oral presentation and we all got really into it, dressing up and experience the characters like Joey from the video. But like the second video, books have to have meaning in order for us to think critically about issues we are facing today, I will never forget reading the Diary of Anne Frank, and the horrors of concentration camps in grade 5, our teacher brought a vet who talked to us about his experience and there wasn't a dry eye in the room. You might think that's too much of a subject at such a young age, but I'm thankful my teacher did so, because it made me more aware of injustice, and how hatred can get so out of control. These are lessons all kids need to learn, in the out of the box article the author noticed her students become nicer to each other, and that is the precipice we should be aiming to set.

Therefore my idea is performances of some type, be a play or debate. For example when reading 12 angry men in grade 10, 12 of us took on the roles of the jury, the others the judge, bailiff, audience, victims, etc. We turned the class into a courtroom and it just made us have more fun with the story, but also think about each character view and if we agree or not. Like with Joey in the ted talk once a child feels immersed in the story they will engage with it and apply the lessons to their own lives. I believe we should always think critically not just within literature, because there's always something new to learn or re-learn.

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Critical literacy means to discuss real issues in our world. It means to, “question what books have to say by digging deeply and thinking broadly” (Leland et al., 2013, p. 12, as cited in Jocius & Shealy, 2018, p.10). It can also mean discussing issues that are relevant to students, allowing them to find themselves and where they fit into this world. Critical literacy means being an ‘active citizen’ and working toward positive change. This is opposed to didactic pedagogy which focuses on the formal rules of language, taking a text at face value, and not questioning what is written on the pages. Each child approaches a text with his/her own experiences which directly impacts the way he/she interprets meaning from that text. Books can teach children about differences in our world such as differences in skin colour or cultural background. They allow children to experience the world from someone else’s perspective, thus promoting empathy. Reading aloud to children allows for them to get ‘inside a book’ where they are free to think critically about the story. The teacher or parents who are reading the text are doing the decoding work, leaving the child free to fully experience the story. The act of reading aloud demonstrates where to pause in a story, how to react to the words on the page, and where to add emphasis or emotion.

One idea for a classroom activity involves reading aloud the story called, “Scarlett the Cat to the Rescue: Fire Hero.” The story is based on a real cat named Scarlett who is a stray living on the streets of New York. One night, while sleeping in an abandoned garage, a fire breaks out. Scarlett saves every one of her five kittens from the fire. She is injured and treated at an animal hospital and is ultimately adopted by a loving, young girl named Karen who lives with her parents. Scarlett's kittens are adopted to loving homes as well, although one does pass away from illness. I absolutely love this story which is ideal for students in Kindergarten to grade 8. It’s a picture book that can be enjoyed by children of all ages. For this specific classroom idea, I would use the text for students from grade 4-8. As an educator, you could begin by reading the text aloud to the class. You would add emotion to you voice and pause at important parts of the story to allow students to also take pause and think about what they are hearing. This story deals with the themes of bravery and empathy toward animals. It shows the realities of stray animals and how amazing and loving they can be if given a chance. It shows children that animals also have feelings. Once read, you could ask some key discussion questions. For example, you could ask students the following: Imagine what it would be like to be Scarlett, living alone of the street with your kittens. Imagine a time when you had to be brave like Scarlett. What did that look like? On page 27, “Karen wrote that after losing her own cat and being hurt in a car accident, she’d become a more caring person” (Loewen, 2015). After discussing the above questions/themes found in the story, students could then work toward fundraising for a local animal shelter. As seen in, “Critical book clubs: Reimagining reading and response,” “ In responding to texts through drawings, videos, blog posts, posters, and interactive games, students crafted new personal and critical meanings that extended their book club discussions” (Jocius & Shealy, 2018, p. 8). Kids could create posters and think of a way to collectively fundraise in their school community to raise money to help animals in need. I think this would be a great way to initiate empathy toward other living beings and promote awareness toward a growing social issue in our world.

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

Loewen, N. (2015). Scarlett the Cat to the Rescue: Fire Hero. Minnesota, U.S.A: Picture Window Books.

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Critical Literacy in Poetry - Shannon Moore

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Critical Literacy in Poetry - Shannon Moore

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I just started a poetry unit with my grade 7 English class. This unit will focus on local Bermudian poets. After reading Daminco’s (2005) article, I’m finding much the same reaction toward poetry from the boys in my class as he experienced in his classroom observations. While Daminco (2005) uses poetry to explore the relationship between feelings and social justice, I am hoping to do the same in my class. I have a racially mixed group of students with very close connections to and cultural memories of the recent segregated past on the island. Even as an outsider, the tension between white and black Bermudians can be felt. I would like to use this poetry unit to try and develop critical literacy and promote social justice. Reflecting on Vasquez’s (2019) ideas: “to turn to literature teaching as a means toward understanding difference, perhaps even to change attitudes toward others and to work toward social justice, is to reach transformative models of reading and schooling” (p. 143). After reading and analyzing local poetry, I will have students write their own poems exploring their personal experiences of what it means to be Bermudian.

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

Vasquez, V., Janks, H., & Comber, B. (2019). Critical Literacy as a Way of Being and Doing. Language Arts, 96(5), pp. 300-311.

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Rebecca Bellingham highlighted in her TEDx talk the critical importance of reading aloud to children. I have found that throughout my career children of all ages enjoy listening to stories being read aloud and I enjoyed listening to Bellingham’s (Tedx, Bellingham, 2015) discussion echoing my own experiences. As Rebecca Bellingham discussed, when adults read aloud to children they do the decoding for them, which allows children to enjoy the story, imagine and think deeply. This week, I also enjoyed reading Leland, Harste, & Huber (2005) and the ability of children to engage with critical literacy concepts when given opportunities. Leland et al., (2005) followed the experience of a teacher as she incorporated critical literacy elements into her classroom, and the resulting influences within her student’s thinking, work and behaviour. This examination worked off the assumptions of in Luke and Freebody (1997) and the four resources model of reading, whereby most early literacy focuses on decoding and repetition skills. I love the idea that through reading aloud and exploring books related to critical literacy, children of all ages can engage in dialogue and considerations of many topics related to the world. I feel this is something essential to modern learning and necessary for children in all contexts to engage with. One of my personal favourite stories that engages with critical literacy is called “White Socks Only” by Evelyn Coleman. This story was a powerful way to explain the experiences of many people of colour. I found stories that allow children to see the lived experiences of others and further engage in conversation to be powerful learning experiences. Another book I personally have enjoyed bringing into the classroom is called “Four Feet Four Sandals” by Karen Lynn Williams and Khadra Mohammed. This story shares the experiences of refugee children, and allowed students to have powerful conversations with the lived experiences of other children and gave a deeper appreciation for the things they have. There are so many powerful books that provide children opportunity for critical literacy engagement by glimpse into the lived experiences of others. By reading aloud to children, I find they are better able to engage and discuss with concepts in an open way and genuine way. Children of all ages are able to appreciate these stories and find commonalities from the experiences of others and themselves as starting points for conversations.

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

Tedx, Rebecca Bellingham. (2015). Accessed via https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&v=ZBuT2wdYtpM&feature=emb_title

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Using Children's Literature to Support Social Awareness - Nicole Denomy

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Using Children's Literature to Support Social Awareness - Nicole Denomy

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I really enjoyed the message from the video, Children’s Literature for Supporting Social Awareness by the Wellesey Centers for Women and the article by Leland, Out of the Box: Critical Literacy in the First Grade Classroom, which stated how children’s literature can greatly impact students social awareness and even have a positive impact on student behaviour. Both the video and article provide proof that despite adult beliefs, children are in fact ready for abstract thinking about equity and social justice. Therefore, I think a worthwhile activity for a primary class would be to read a book together about a social justice topic and then as Leland suggests “discuss thinking about fairness and what could be done differently” ( Leland, p. 258).  In order to make this even more impactful, as class you could come up with a community initiative to help affect local change regarding this issue. Connecting learning to a concrete action always improves its effectiveness but this is especially true with younger students who benefit from immediate ways to apply new knowledge in order to solidify learning. Great titles I have worked with before that would work for this activity are Me and Mr. Mah, a story about relocation and  cross-cultural/cross-generational relationships, Enemy Pie, a story about killing bullies with kindness and giving people a chance, and I’m a Girl, a story that challenges gender norms.

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Using Read-Alouds to Promote Critical Literacy - Julie Huckabone

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Using Read-Alouds to Promote Critical Literacy - Julie Huckabone

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As we move towards engaging our students as critical thinkers and learners, we are attempting to teach “them to read the world, and to read different versions of the world” (Youtube, Luke, 2015). In order to teach critical literacy to students in Grades 1 and 2, teachers can first choose texts that promote social awareness and that recognize and respect differences (Youtube, Sawyer, 2012). Once meaningful texts are chosen, using a ‘read-aloud’ strategy can leverage the “transformative power of a story to deeply understand and to discuss the lives of others” (Youtube, Bellingham, 2015). Additionally, read-alouds can eliminate challenges for early readers to decode more complex texts and allow them to engage in deeper ways with text. They can also promote conversation and using strategies like Knee-to-Knee-Eye-to-Eye teachers can lead discussions that pose questions like  "Whose story is this?" "Who benefits from this story?" and "Whose voices are not being heard?” (Leland, Harste, Huber, 2005, p. 259) which can then encourage “children to interrogate what they see as commonplace or "normal.” (Leland et al, 2005, p. 266). Students can be encouraged to respond to these texts using writing or artwork to further explore their understanding and feelings about power and inequity in the world and to explore how they might challenge the status quo.

An example of a text that could used to promote critical literacy through read-alouds in a Grades 1 and 2 classroom is "Four Feet, Two Sandals" by Karen Lynn Williams, Khadra Mohammed, Doug Chayka (Illustrator), which is the story of two young girls in a refugee camp in Pakistan. Students might be engaged in discussions about refugees, war and poverty by examining this book.

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Critical Literacy Theory to Practice - Candice Robson

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Critical Literacy Theory to Practice - Candice Robson

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It is through critical literacy pedagogy, children are given the opportunity to engage with text, think deeply and connect with their own experiences, ideas, and beliefs, to make meaning.  For example, while reading Viola Desmond Won't Be Budged by Jody Nyasha Warner, many grade 2 and 3 children are able to connect with the experience of finding a seat in public and/or movie theatres, and all of them will have beliefs and feelings towards unfairness.  Also, her experience of racism and segregation here in Canada is much closer to home compared to Rosa Parks in America.  Literature that bring up topics such as injustice, oppression, racism, cultural diversity, and disability provide educators a chance to foster social awareness and build empathy for elementary students (Jocius & Shealy, 2017).  In the same way that the culminating/passion projects in the Project ONEE (Jocius & Shealy, 2017) program were able to transform knowledge to action, local teachers turned theory into practice when they used the story of Viola Desmond to inspire students here in NS to create a book based on her life and legacy.  Students at William King Elementary school wrote and illustrated an ABC book of her story, The ABC’s of Viola Desmond,  https://globalnews.ca/video/3336358/the-abcs-of-viola-desmond/, and just recently Chebucto Heights Elementary French immersion students wrote and illustrated, L’alphabet de Viola Desmond, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E2ZkQmjwNcg in response to the lack of French resources, especially local African Nova Scotian literature.  These projects are examples of authentic learning, collaboration and taking action with critical literacy.

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Development of Critical literacy-Rachel Carter

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Development of Critical literacy-Rachel Carter

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Rebecca Bellingham mentions in her TEDx talk that most adults remember being read aloud to as a child and enjoying it, and most children really do enjoy being read aloud to.  I think that this is so powerful as an educator.  Children can get so much out of stories read aloud, they can understand more than what they can read themselves so that allows you to dig deep into the book that you are reading. Just like it mentions in Jocius, R., & Shealy, S. (2018), they found that these book clubs did more than just create empathetic readers, they went on to expand the book club and the students became critical thinkers that question stereotypes and biases.  If this is what they found in the study, then we as educators have a duty to help our students become this culturally aware.

The activity I would suggest is a book club/penpal idea. I think it would be really interesting if you could share books that you have read with other children who perhaps live in a different area then you do.  Imagine sharing a book with children from a place that is completely different, perhaps a school that is situated in the north, or perhaps even a different country. We have the technology and I have heard of many teachers doing similar things with pen pals, but I think it would be an interesting activity to share and discuss books as everyone interprets them differently, especially with an older grade, you could take away a lot of learning around bias, stereotypes, cultural awareness as they would see and hear from children that are different then what they are used to.

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One strategy that can be used is a read-aloud book club using a book that deals with social justice or something related to real life. Instead of children reading the book themselves for their book club, the teacher would read sections of it each day. This was done when I was a child as well. There are various reasons why this would benefit children. As Bellingham (2015) stated in her TedTalk, reading aloud takes away the strain of needing to decode the words and allows students to focus on what is being said. Teachers won’t have to worry about children not understanding the content if the topic dealt with social justice, like what Huber found (Lelande, Harste & Huber, 2005). And in order to to turn literature to social justice means to understand difference, which is what students will be able to do when they understand what is being read (Rogers, 1999).

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Classroom strategy for critical literacy.

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Classroom strategy for critical literacy.

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Tsolaye Ikomi

Practicing critical literacy in the classroom requires helping students move between the personal and the social (Kalantzis & Cope,2016)). It involves allowing them to become more socially aware of themselves and the world around them.
For Elementary students, the read-aloud is an efficient strategy to engage and expose them to real-life issues like physical and cultural differences, social justice, pain, oppression, and racism in a subtle way. By engaging them in critical literacy from an early age, we empower them to be true meaning makers. As Kalantzis & Cope suggests, readers need to know that meaning is made in the interaction between the intention and the experiences of the person who creates meaning to a text(Kalantzis & Cope,2016).  Also, reading aloud provides a framework to support student's more advanced jumps into responding to a book from alternative viewpoints.
An example of an excellent book to read aloud in an elementary class is "The other side" by Jacquline Woodson. This a short and simple picture book but not one bit a simplistic story. I think this book would be an excellent way to introduce the topics of segregation and racial relations to first and second graders. The content and illustrations of this book are profound; It can show students the power children have in questioning and challenging societal norms in a way that allows them to reflect on what they can do to impact the world around them. Also, I believe the enduring theme of this book can be used to generate critical discussions among students around issues of equity and just and unjust rules/norms/laws.

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Development of critical literacy skills- Darla Villeneuve (Senkow)

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Development of critical literacy skills- Darla Villeneuve (Senkow)

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Taking critical literacy from theory to practice is something that takes place in classrooms on a day to day basis. Sometimes it happens without one knowing that it is occurring but the effectiveness increases when we are more intentional in our planning.

The video, Critical Literacies Pedagogy: An Overview (2016), brings up the change in literacy from didactic literary to critical literacy. It states that the progression from social reproduction to personal and social transformation is the key to engagement. When we read to our students they are able to move away from the didactic language and are able to “get inside the book” (Bellingham, 2015). Therefore, reading to our students at any age allows the students to be compassionate and to relate to the characters in a way that may or may not be like themselves. This, in turn, has the possibility to create empathy. Leland et al. (2005) state when conversations about the literature occur various entry points for students are created so that the literature can be brought to the student’s level. This helps a teacher to be able to reach a variety of learners in the class and consequently to increase engagement.

The Critical Thinking Consortium is a Canadian based organization that has various lesson plans that tackle interpreting text, preparing to act and relating to others. These are all areas that help students develop a skill set to be able to critically look at topics that impact themselves and the world in which they live. A lesson plan in particular titled “Listening and Learning From Elders”, targeted at middle and senior grades, breaks down the skill of relating to others. First, the strategy is modelled, then practiced, then applied and finally assessed. Students acquire the ability to interact with the text and are able to reflect and share their personal experiences.

We can not assume that students will naturally develop the skills to critically assess literature. How can we focus on developing the skills needed for students to be able to actively participate and engage in various literacies?

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After listening to the TEDx of Rebecca Bellingham (2015), it solidified the impact that reading aloud has in classrooms, and the importance of reading aloud to students at all age. She discussed that reading aloud gives kids a special kind of access to the transformative power of story, and the experience of real reading and what it is about. I recently transitioned from Elementary to High School, where I am teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) to students who have come from all over the world, varying in age from 14 to 21 (pending on when they commenced school). These students all have diverse needs and learning styles, but one thing that continues to be a constant is the love of listening to reading. When I started in this class, I was told that they loved to listen to reading, and so I commenced the class with a book talk, sharing 3 different books from diverse cultures and social issues, and had the students vote which book we would read aloud. We have started reading Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes by Eleanor Coerr. This book is based on a true story, and offers students a chance to understand the extraordinary courage that made one young woman a heroine in Japan. By addressing social issues such as the ones presented in this book, students have opportunities to make connections to times in their own lives (Leland, Harste & Huber, 2005). This is especially evident in an ESL class, where students come from all different experiences and cultures with their own challenges. Bellingham (2015) discusses that when teachers read aloud, we do the decoding, and we free the kids to think, so they can use all their brain energy to imagine a story. This is evident in my own classroom, as my ESL students are able to connect with the text, with each other, and the world around them in meaningful ways.

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Critical literacy for children - Irina Sipetean

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Critical literacy for children - Irina Sipetean

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Book clubs for children and especially Project ONEE, are welcomed initiatives to work on children's critical literacy. I see critical literacy as the opportunity to develop an opinion, the ability to express an opinion and an awareness and acceptance of the different versions of the world we live in, from a very young age. Read-alouds are the first step towards this. As Rebecca Bellingham puts it, for young learners who are not fully literate yet, it is easier to imagine the book, to be helped to get inside the book (TEDx Talks, 2015) than struggle to read it. I look at this talking back to texts, to characters and classmates as a tool that can be gradually developed. As educators, we can start reading aloud a selection of books, and evolving towards older students choosing from a range of pre-selected books, discussing and debating them based on their reading observations. As an ESL teacher who does not work with children at the moment, it is a bit difficult to imagine this, but a book like Mama, Do You Love Me?, by Barbara M. Joosse, allows rich discussions about differences and diversity, starting from similarities: (all) parents love their children and (all) children try to test their parents' limits. It's a good book to discuss concepts such as mukluk, parka, umiak. My nose your nose, I am enough, The sandwich swap and many others, are all good books for first and second graders to discuss differences. As an ESL teacher, one occasion when I saw my teenager students completely upset and moved by a book, was when they had to read Diary of Anne Frank. Most of them experienced something that at the time I found very particular: they found the end of the book very difficult to accept, and they complained that they would never be the same after that reading, and most of them declared they would have preferred not to have read the book.

On a very personal note and as a Romanian, I find myself missing books with Roma people (pejoratively called Gypsies) characters or topics, as non-inclusion and discrimination of this big minority is sadly an issue very far from being solved in Europe.

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From the TEDx talks of Rebecca Bellingham, I found how powerful reading aloud to children is. When teachers read aloud, we do the decoding work and we free kids to think so they can use all their brain energy to think about the story and learn new information (TEDx talks, Bellingham, 2015). I found children are always paying full attention in my kindergarten classroom when I read aloud to them. They do not talk to each other and they can sit longer without any body movement. Reading aloud to them made it possible for them to get inside the book and think, imagine and explore. I think the book “The Teddy Bear” by David McPhail could be a powerful book to read aloud to kindergarteners. Jocius and Shealy (2018) argued that critical literature help transform classroom’s literacy practices and support students’ development as empathetic readers, writers and human beings. “The Teddy Bear” is a book defines what empathy is and what empathy looks like in action. Rebecca Bellingham (TEDx talks, 2015) argued that reading aloud gives children access to the transformative power of story by developing empathy with people and cultures. “The Teddy Bear” gives children a sense to feel someone else’s pain and act on it. Reading aloud the story to children help them understand, learn and discuss the big idea, raise their social awareness and connect them together in a meaningful way.

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Classroom Strategy for Critical Literacy

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Classroom Strategy for Critical Literacy

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Critical literacy involves actively engaging students in tasks that challenge them to look beyond themselves and instead, taking up issues of social justice and power. Picture walks is one of the effective strategies that a teacher can use to help students develop a deeper perspective on an issue. The teacher can grab the students’ attention by pointing them to a picture and ask them about their observations. This would allow them to thoroughly reflect on the task and connect their world to the broader world out. This is because they are able to connect the new ideas to prior experiences. For instance, they get a better sense of belonging when they can envision themselves in the text. The reflection of themselves in another person’s position would make them develop a sense of empathy towards others but more importantly, their interest is piqued in questioning why a particular issue is the way it is. In other words, they would not accept any answer to a question without thoroughly examining it.

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"Little House on the Prairie" - Jarrett Hennig

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"Little House on the Prairie" - Jarrett Hennig

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I compare critical literacy to having an epiphany. There is nothing like seeing a student in your classroom have that “a-ha!” moment when studying particular texts. Wellesley Centers for Women (2012) explain how critical literacy is a wide spectrum that spans from recognizing and respecting differences, to perspective taking and developing empathy. But what specific texts can we use to yield these responses from our students? In the 5th grade, my class read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. Throughout the book, we follow the events of the Ingalls family and we read about the hardships they must go through in the rural Midwest during the late 1800s. Teachers can take small steps as they begin to introduce children to new perspectives (Leland et al., 2005, p. 268). Planning activities that connect to the book will engage critical literacy such as a trip to the local museum, if possible, to look at clothing that the pioneers wore, or a walk across town to the public library to put into perspective the amount of walking the characters had to do. This brings social awareness to the forefront because children are able to get a glimpse of what life used to be like for many people and exactly how far humanity has come in the last hundred years. Therefore, children as well as adults understand the process of going forward by reviewing and asking questions about the past.

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Rebecca Bellingham’s TEDx (2015) reinforces the importance and benefits of reading out loud to children. Bellingham discusses the access to the transformative power of story and how by listening and being engaged in story students can learn to walk in other people’s shoes, reflect upon the world and themselves, and deeply connect to reading. Bellingham’s TEDx (2015) underscores the value of reading out loud and promoting a critical literacy approach to the classroom. “A critical literacy approach includes a focus on social justice and the role that each of us plays in challenging or helping perpetuate the injustice we identify in the world” (Leland et al., 2005, p. 259). Critical literacy serves as a “scaffold for pushing the children’s thinking and for giving them a platform to share their thoughts” (Leland et al., 2005, 262). An example of critical literacy in the classroom is The Roots of Empathy program. My son participated in this program last year (throughout his SK year at Spring Valley Public Elementary School). The Roots of Empathy program focuses on raising social/emotional competence and increasing empathy in the classroom and beyond. “The program puts relationships at the centre of what creates a civil society, whether that society is a small class-room, the whole school, the community, the country or our ever-shrinking globe. The relationship story is made real for children as they connect with a baby and parent who are regular visitors to their classroom during the first year of the baby’s life” (Gordon, 2009, p. 6). It is amazing to me that a parent and an infant could create such harmony and transformative growth in young children, but my son is a perfect example of the curious and thoughtful questions that he asked during this programming. The Roots of Empathy programming is offered to children between the ages of five and 13. The program could be paired with a book, like Where the Red Fern Grows. The story of a boy and his two dogs is about more than love and adventure, it is about the emotional development of a child into a young adult. It would highlight and critically build on what was being shared openly in The Roots of Empathy program.

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Within the ted talk from Rebecca Bellingham I found it very enlightening to find out how powerful reading aloud to children is. After learning more about reading aloud, I thought that critical literacy would be best demonstrated in younger children when reading aloud. Since young readers are just beginning to learn to read, introducing critical literacy by reading aloud allows them to absorb more of the meaning and messages from the book. I believe the book My Nose Your Noseby Melanie Walsh (2002) would be a very powerful book to read aloud to children at approximately the grade 1 level. Rebecca Bellingham (TEDx Talks, 2015), discussed the importance of taking away the difficulties of reading from children from time to time in order for them to understand the big picture. Reading this book aloud would allow children to understand that there are differences in the world. This book would give them the opportunity to realize that it’s okay to be different and unique, whether it be from the way that you look or who you are as a person. I believe that this book would also be a good way to begin to introduce critical literacy slowly, rather than jumping right into major problems within the world. I personally believe that beginning critical literacy at a young age is key to help develop children’s minds and imaginations about the real world. Leland, Harste & Huber (2005, p.258) state that children whom are just learning to become literate is when they also begin to expand their understandings of the purpose of literacy and the importance of learning to love to read. It is my opinion that sheltering children won’t allow them to grow and thrive is such a diverse world today, making critical literacy very important.

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Critical Literacy allows the educator to bring up real issues in the classroom, discuss real things in the world, issues of justice and pain in the world, and also  things that are grounded and happen in the local communities. (Kalantzis & Cope, 2016). The picture storybook, “All are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman is a storybook I use in my elementary school with my Kindergarten to Grade 3 students. This text allows me to discuss with students how to celebrate cultural differences and introduce them to diverse family traditions. Furthermore, the text teaches students about how to work through friendships and relationship building with students of diverse cultures both in and outside the classroom. One aspect I appreciated is that the text also touches on sexual orientations, family unit and diverse disabilities. Similarly to the experiences of Kim, this text can be used to “open up spaces for building critical literacy awareness” (Leland et al., 2005, p. 260).  As an ESL teacher I have used the text to speak with students about “numerous conversations about race” (Leland et al., 2005, p. 261) and how each culture has something unique to offer, that makes up the world that we live in. In addition, through such discussions I am able to “scaffold [and] push the children’s thinking [to] give them a platform to share their thoughts” (Leland et al., 2005, p. 262). Students are able to have conversations about multiple perspectives and how individuals might see the same events differently (Leland et al., 2005, p. 262 & 264).

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Children can start developing their critical thinking at an early age. I suggest the book I Want My Light On , by Ross Tony, to be a medium for learning critical thinking. The story is about the little princess wants her lights on because of her fear of dark and ghost. The thoughts of the little princess match with children’s real-life so that children can reflect on their experience as a democratic reading in critical literacies pedagogy (Education at Illinois, 2016). Teachers can have read-aloud activity with this book to kindergarten students as children can have more energy on thinking when the teacher decodes the words for them (TEDx Talks, 2015). While reading, the teacher can use the difference in tone to show different attitudes between the princess and other adults. At the end of the story, it turns out that there are ghosts, and the ghost is afraid of people as well, which proves that adults were wrong. Children can learn that adults are not always right from this story. After reading, the teacher can use the book club strategy for children to explore more books from the little princess storybook series and have conversation and debate over the book(Joius & Shealy, 2018 p.691).

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"The Lady in the Box"- Maria Sophia Gorelik

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"The Lady in the Box"- Maria Sophia Gorelik

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Critical literacy is a way of viewing the world and transcends reading texts; it is the way we interact with our surroundings and question unequal power relationships that exist around us (Vasquez et al., 2019, 307). Through reading aloud to children, real connections can be made and students can empathize with people, cultures, and situations they would otherwise never encounter (Bellingham, 2015). Furthermore, the books teachers choose helps children to learn about the world and to not simply passively regurgitate the thoughts presented in the book (Cope, 2016). In order to learn to recognize and respect differences, the educator should pick texts that are rich in meaning and question what we see around us (Sawyer, 2012). When reading to primary-aged children, grades 1-3, the teacher can engage students in critical literacy by "choosing books typically focused on difficult social issues and involved situations where characters were marginalized in some way as a result of the existing systems of power", such as The Lady in the Box (a book about homelessness) and have students respond to the book by drawing different perspectives that exist in the book or the different ways in which we can look at the story or the character (Leland, Harste, & Huber, 2005, 258). Noticing how different people feel about the woman in the box and how she herself might feel as well as questioning how she came to this predicament through drawings can help students come to terms with complex subjects such as homelessness.

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As a primary teacher, I’ve often fallen into the trap of thinking that stories that lend themselves well to critical literacy may be too advanced for students to make connections. However, “children who experience a critical approach to literacy learn to “read between the lines” and generate alternative explanations regarding the author’s intent” (Leland et al., 2005, p. 259). One possible activity is using the book Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts. The book follows the story of Jeremy who wants nothing more than the shoes that everyone else at school is wearing. However, his grandmother tells him they only have enough money for ‘needs’ and not ‘wants’. I’ve found this to be a useful book to introduce the concept of critical literacy, especially in middle-class neighbourhoods where students and parents rarely need to choose between needs and wants. As a class, we discuss the difference between needs and wants, and many students will say that they need a video game or a new bike. When we talk about Jeremy not being able to buy his shoes because they’re a want, not a need, students often ask “Why can’t they buy the shoes? Why can’t he have what he wants?”. This discussion allows students to make a connection with those in very different circumstances and “stories that disrupt what is normal are important” (Leland et al., 2005, p. 266).

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"All the Colors of the Earth"- Myra Duffe

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"All the Colors of the Earth"- Myra Duffe

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Critical Literacies strives to help children connect with real issues that are happening around them in their community and/or around the world (Kalantzis & Cope, 2016). The poetry picture book, “All the Colors of the Earth” by Sheila Hamanaka is a text that could enable elementary school students (Kindergarten-Grade 2) to engage with the topic of diversity. Damico (2005, p. 141) argues that poetry has transformative power and can be used to instigate critical conversations with students.The central message of the text is that despite the outward differences that exist, all children are beautiful and lovable. This book features stunning illustrations and could help classes have an honest discussion on the topic of diversity and its value to the community. It could complement any classroom social justice projects focused on multiculturalism, tolerance, and bullying reduction. Through Hamanaka’s text, teachers can help build social awareness in their students and evoke emotional responses from their students, as suggested by Wellesley Centers for Women (2012).