What does Critical Literacy Look Like in the Classroom?
In Primary...
Dr. Allan Luke made it clear that not only is critical literacy the “new basic,” it is a necessary life skill. Our youngest learners are able to start thinking critically at an early age. My research has shown that even Kindergarten students are ready to examine multiple perspectives, writers’ motivations, and how a text compares to their own reality. Using Critical Literacy in a balanced approach, within the Four Resources model enhances the reading experience for all learners.
An explanation of critical literacy for primary students may sound something like this:
Critical Literacy is more than just understanding what we are reading. We have to look deeper to find the author’s message and to find out why they wrote about the topic. Critical Literacy is about asking questions, looking at different points of view, and asking, “Is everyone included in what we are reading?”
In Kindergarten, critical literacy is approached mainly within the modeled and shared reading components, with movement into guided reading as students are ready. Much scaffolding is provided through Think Alouds and key questions. As students move through the primary years, they are able to take critical literacy stances with more independence. Critical literacy works best when it is grounded in a “reading as a writer and writing as a reader” attitude towards examining texts that young children are familiar with (e.g. toy catalogues, grocery packaging, television shows, narrative literature and informational text).
Simpson (1996) suggests teaching children that:
· characters are not real but constructed by authors and that stories are not reality but a selected version of it;
· authors lead the reader to respond to the story in particular ways through use of language, point of view, and other
conventions, and that children can generate alternatives to authors perspectives;
· authors leave gaps in stories, so readers can look for what is missing and explore why; and
certain values.
· authors write for particular audiences and assume that these audiences have specific cultural knowledge and share
Questioning is a key method:
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By: Victoria Ostermayr and Shannon Blackwell
Quote:
"Once you learn to read, you will be forever free."
— Frederick Douglass
"The things I want to know are in books. My best friend is the man
who'll get me a book I [haven't] read."
— Abraham Lincoln
"All people have ever thought, done, or dreamed lies awaiting to be discovered in a book".
-Charlotte S. Huck
Children's Literature In The Elementary School
Third Edition, Page 3
The single most important activity for building knowledge that is required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children (Fisher 2011).
"A read-aloud is an instructional practice where teachers, parents, and caregivers read texts aloud to students (Morrison & Wlodarczyk 2011)." The reader in a read-aloud encorporates pitch, tone, eye contact with the students, volume, pace and askes them questions in order to provide them with an enjoyable book/story that will lead them to articulate answers to the teachers questions about the story (Morrison & Wlodarcczyk 2011). Reading is a process, which Rosenblatt, effectively termed as an transactional process (Morrison & Wlodarcczyk 2011). Transactional is what occurs when the reader makes sense or interacts with what has been read. The transactional theory occurs with the reader and the text coming together and from that asking questions and drawing conclusions about what has been written (Morrison & Wlodarcczyk 2011). In poetry, for example, most individuals who read higher level poetry will gain different insights on what it means to them as an individual.
The book should be read to the students at least on three occasions, questions should be asked before, during and after the read-aloud (See how to do an effective read-aloud).
- Even in higher income households, nearly 40% of families do not read aloud daily.
- Fewer than half (48%) of young children in the United States are read to daily.
- Nationally, 37% of children arrive to kindergarten without the skills for lifetime learning.
- Some children entering kindergarten have been read aloud to as few as 25 hours, while others have had 1,000 hours of reading aloud.
- By age four, low-income children have heard an average of 32 million words fewer than wealthy peers. Reading aloud is a key way to introduce new vocabulary.
- One study has shown that 61% of low-income do not have children's books. In some areas, there may be only one book title for every 300 children.
- If a child is not reading at grade level by the end of first grade then there is an 88% probability that the child will not be reading at grade level by the end of fourth grade.
The components to an effective read aloud are: 1.The books that are chosen for the read-alouds matched students' interests and the reading level they were at, 2. the selections had been previewed and practiced by the teacher, and 3.a clear purpose for the read alouds was determined (Fisher 2011). Then, 4, Teachers modeled fluency in reading while they read the text to the students by using animation and expression, and teachers stopped during the text and asked students pertinant information about what the teacher was reading to determine if the students understood what was being read to them (Fisher 2011). Finally, connections for the students were made with independent reading and writing activities (Fisher 2011). Finally, some expert teachers gathered students to the front of the room for their read alouds, but this was not done with all the teachers in the study(Fisher 2011).
In discussing the text, read-alouds by teachers whose students did well on reading tests suggested that one talk about the book before, during and after the read-aloud (Fisher 2011). Some teachers ahead of time used sticky notes on pages with questions on them to ask students about the story thus far (Fisher 2011).
Teachers who did read-alouds wanted students to connect with the story and their own lives (Fisher 2011). In their writing, the teachers wanted read-alouds to be a part of an integrated literacy program. They would give the students prompts to write about or the genre or the author who wrote the book (Fisher 2011). Although Kindergarteners might not be able to do all these things, (this article was aimed at third graders and above), but Kindergarteners can listen to the pitch of a teachers voice and certainly tell a teacher what the story is about. First graders, may be able to write a bit during writing time about the read-aloud for that particular day.
From another source (McGee & Schickedanz 2011), read-alouds are only effective when children are actively participating in the discussion--i.e.--asking and answering questions instead of just listening to stories. These read-alouds that are interactive or "dialogic" usually result "in vocabulary gains" (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). In read-alouds, one should use "vocabulary enhancers" --what the researchers of this article means is that you should do the action if it is something they haven't heard of before or say for instance a German Shepard--that is a type of dog, a short but succinct definition is the way to go (McGee & Schickedanz 2011).
In effective read-alouds, when words are not in a child's vocabulary, the teacher should stop and give short definitions to the words and ask questions to make sure that the class is understanding what is being read (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). An effective read-aloud should also incorporate rereading of the book to the students (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). A teacher should also make a list of vocabulary words foreign to the students so that they may increase their vocabulary due to the read-aloud, but the teacher should stop at the word during the read-aloud and give them a short explaination as to the definition of the word (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). Teachers should use, when they can, non-fiction books, even in classrooms with at risk students because these books often give vocabulary that is richer than easier chilren's books and allow for children to think up the ending; while other books might have endings that are easily guessible (McGee & Schickedanz 2011).
The effective components to read-alouds according to McGee and Schickedanz are as follows: "...book introduction, vocabulary support techniques, analytical comments and questions, and an after reading ,"why" question (McGee & Schickedanz 2011, pg.743-744). One should also give the book a proper introduction, so that, students will be listening for the "problem" the character in the book deals with--without giving away the story (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). In a read-aloud introduction, one can show the front of the book, the title page and the last page of the story rather than having a picture walk--which is when you look at all the pages in a story first (McGee & Schickedanz 2011).
When reading a read-aloud, teachers should be familiar enough with the book to maintain eye contact with their students, to gesture, "use expression and dramatic pauses", with variations in the reading pace (McGee & Schickedanz 2011; pg.744).
Text-Talk and Dialogic are two ways children can use read-alouds (Mckeown 2005). Dialogic is when the child becomes the story-teller and text-talk is questions about the story asked after it has been read (Mckeown 2005).
Research
Research on read alouds, in Great Britian, shows that children that are read to frequently led to "improvement in language expression" and understood the components of narrative reading such as word structure and function (Fisher 2011). One researcher went so far as to say that read alouds allow for students to express themselves, make connections with others and make sense of the world around them (Fisher 2011).
Research has shown that read alouds affect vocabulary development for 3-6 yr. olds (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). It has also shown that preschoolers make gains in language even when the story is a short one (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). Researchers have, however, found a negative correlation between the amount of time teachers spend reading to Kindergarteners and their decoding skills (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). This isn't the entire story; what researchers have found is that the way a book or story is shared with the students is what matters most (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). Research also shows that merely discussing the text is not enough to make headway in a child's education but to have them discuss the piece analytically leads to ultimate gains in vocabulary development and comprehension (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). Research in this article, also discusses how you should invite children of preschool and Kindergartener's ages to retell the story or use drama to retell the story (McGee & Schickedanz 2011). Children should also have other books read to them with regard to the same type of genre that the story was a part of or the exact same topic and to play or act out the characters found within these books (McGee & Schickedanz 2011).
Using Alphaboxes with Read-Alouds
Reading Rockets Quotable Reading Quotes
Read Aloud 15 Minutes a Day. Every Child. Every Parent. Every Day.
Screen Actors Guild Foundation-stories read aloud by SAG members
KOL Jr. Stories-Online Picture Books Read Aloud
Read-Aloud Instruction on youtube:
I (Shannon Blackwell) did one of my kindergarten observations in a classroom that did an interactive read-aloud. It was a group of about 8 students. The first thing they were asked to was to see who their partner would be for the read-aloud. The teacher introduced the story by asking if anybody in the group had ever been angry. Of course the students had varying answers. Then the teacher asked if any of them had ever been very angry. She said we need to work hard to control our feelings.
They read the story When Sophie gets angry-really, really angry by Molly Bang
Before the story began they discussed the role of the author and illustrator of the story. And also the two awards the book had received. As the teacher reads the story, she stops midways through and points out Sophie's angry expression. She poses the question, "What would you do if you had a problem like this"?. She had them turn and talk to their neighbor briefly. Later on in the story, Sophie throws a fit. She asks them to turn and talk to their neighbor about what Sophie should do. In the end Sophie learns to control her feelings. They then turn and talk about what they should if they have really strong feelings to make them go away. The teacher asks the most important purpose of this book. She gives them some optional answers but they end up picking the right answer which is to help us think about controlling our own feelings.
For such a short amount of time, this teacher really brought out alot of ideas and concepts that the students came to understand. This just shows how important reading aloud and interaction are to a child's academic development.
"When read-alouds are understood as powerful tools for teaching literary elements, building analytical ability, and addressing standards, they can bring both joy and accelerated learning into the lives of our students".
Linda Hoyt
An interactive read-aloud with a clear instructional focus lifts students achievement.
The Interactive Read-Alouds lessons by Linda Hoyt are grouped into six standards-based strands: comprehension, story elements, vocabulary/literary language, literary elements and devices, genre, and writing traits.
Turn and talk time is an integral part of every Interactive Read-Alouds lesson. This is where children and their thinking partners engage in sharing ideas about the text and target standard. Each turn and talk time is short 20-30 seconds of conversation so children can stay focused and not stray off topic. Turn and talk time moments occur approximately every five minutes of read-aloud time.
Powerful "mentor texts"-exemplary children's classics and strong nonfiction texts-are the centerpiece of Interactive Read Alouds.
Multiple Read-Alouds a Day: one fiction, one nonfiction, and one for the "art" of it (a poem, a paragraph of carefully crafted text, or a lead from a beautifully written picture book). Only one (fiction or nonfiction) will be used as the interactive read-aloud. The read-aloud for the "art" of it only takes a few minutes and can be easily be worked into transition times.
References
McGee, Lea & Schickedanz, Judith. (2011). Repeated interactive read-alouds in preschool and kindergarten. The Reading Teacher, 60(8); 742-752.
Fisher,D., Flood, J., Lapp, D., & Frey, N. (2011). Interactive Read-Alouds is There a Common Set of Implemention Practices. The Reading Teacher, 58(1); 8-17.
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/fun/quotable/. (Retrived on March 11, 2013).
Morrison,V. & Wlodarczyk, L. (2011). Revisiting Read-Aloud: Instructional Strategies That Encourage Students' Engagement with Texts. The Reading Teacher, 63(2); 111-118.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LzjTLs1AXo (Retrived on March 11, 2013).
Mckeown & Beck. Handbook of Early Literacy Research Vol.2: Encouraging Young Children's Language Interactions with Stories. The Gilford Press: New York, 2005; 281-293.
Hoyt, Linda (2007). Guide to Interactive Read-Alouds and Interactive Read-Alouds Linking Standards, Fluency and Comprehension.
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