Through stories from kindergarten to sixth grade classrooms where students and teachers have attempted to put a critical edge on their teaching, this book shows critical literacy in action across the curriculum. Readers see students and teachers together using critical literacy discourse to frame conversations in ways that engage students in examining the meaning of the texts they read and acting on local and global social issues that emerge. Drawing on multiple perspectives such as cross-curricular explorations, multimedia, and child-centered inquiry pedagogies, the text features a theoretical toolkit; demonstrations from across the content areas including art, music, and media literacy; integration of technology; and attention to how critical literacy can inform decisions about standards and assessment. Annotated booklists, examples of students’ work, Reflection Questions, Try This (practical classroom strategies), and Resource Boxes can be used to encourage and support engaging in critical literacy work in different areas of the curriculum.

Powerful strategies, tools, and techniques for educators teaching students critical reading skills in the humanities. Every educator understands the importance of teaching students how to read critically. Even the best teachers, however, find it challenging to translate their own learned critical reading practices into explicit strategies for their students. Critical Reading Across the Curriculum: Humanities, Volume 1 presents exceptional insight into what educators require to facilitate critical and creative thinking skills. Written by scholar-educators from across the humanities, each of the thirteen essays in this volume describes strategies educators have successfully executed to develop critical reading skills in students studying the humanities. These include ways to help students: focus actively re-read and reflect, to re-think, and re-consider understand the close relationship between reading and writing become cognizant of the critical importance of context in critical reading and of making contextual connections learn to ask the right questions in critical reading and reasoning appreciate reading as dialogue, debate, and engaged conversation In addition, teachers will find an abundance of innovative exercises and activities encouraging students to practice their critical reading skills. These can easily be adapted for and applied across many disciplines and course curricula in the humanities. The lifelong benefits of strong critical reading skills are undeniable. Students with properly developed critical reading skills are confident learners with an enriched understanding of the world around them. They advance academically and are prepared for college success. This book arms educators (librarians, high school teachers, university lecturers, and beyond) with the tools to teach a most paramount lesson.

Powerful strategies, tools, and techniques for educators teaching students critical reading skills in the humanities. Every educator understands the importance of teaching students how to read critically. Even the best teachers, however, find it challenging to translate their own learned critical reading practices into explicit strategies for their students. Critical Reading Across the Curriculum: Humanities, Volume 1 presents exceptional insight into what educators require to facilitate critical and creative thinking skills. Written by scholar-educators from across the humanities, each of the thirteen essays in this volume describes strategies educators have successfully executed to develop critical reading skills in students studying the humanities. These include ways to help students: focus actively re-read and reflect, to re-think, and re-consider understand the close relationship between reading and writing become cognizant of the critical importance of context in critical reading and of making contextual connections learn to ask the right questions in critical reading and reasoning appreciate reading as dialogue, debate, and engaged conversation In addition, teachers will find an abundance of innovative exercises and activities encouraging students to practice their critical reading skills. These can easily be adapted for and applied across many disciplines and course curricula in the humanities. The lifelong benefits of strong critical reading skills are undeniable. Students with properly developed critical reading skills are confident learners with an enriched understanding of the world around them. They advance academically and are prepared for college success. This book arms educators (librarians, high school teachers, university lecturers, and beyond) with the tools to teach a most paramount lesson.

Provides educators with practical strategies, tools, and techniques for teaching critical reading skills to students in the social and natural sciences. Strong critical reading skills are an essential part of any student’s academic success. Teaching these vital skills requires educators to develop and implement effective teaching strategies, often based on their own critical reading practices. Critical Reading Across the Curriculum, Volume 2: Social and Natural Sciences provides educators with expert insights, real-world methods, and proven strategies to build critical reading skills in students across disciplines. Drawing from the experience of seasoned classroom practitioners, this book presents a dozen essays that offer various applications of critical reading best practices in fields such as anthropology, biology, economics, engineering, political science, and sociology. Clear, jargon-free chapters identify, explain, and illustrate best teaching practices for critical reading. Containing numerous practical examples and demonstrations, essays written by experts in their respective fields explain what critical reading requires for their discipline, as well as how to teach those skills in the classroom. Every essay includes a host of pedagogical activities, assignments, and projects that can be used directly or adapted for diverse teaching applications. This valuable book helps educators: Develop the skills students need to ask the right questions, consider sources, assess evidence, evaluate arguments, and reason critically Encourage students to practice critical reading skills with engaging exercises and activities Teach students to establish context and identify contextual connections Explain how to read for arguments, including content-based and conceptual arguments Adapt and apply teaching strategies to various curricula and disciplines Critical Reading Across the Curriculum, Volume 2: Social and Natural Sciences is an ideal resource for educators in a wide range of areas, such as college and high school instructors in science and social science disciplines and instructors of graduate education courses.

This book combines a teaching text with exemplary reports of research and a literature review by international scholars.

Critical Literacy as Resistance is a collaborate effort among secondary and university educators from across the United States that addresses questions such as: What does a critical literacy classroom look like? What various texts are used? What strategies do teachers use to encourage students and teacher candidates to recognize how texts construct power and privilege? How do educators inspire activism in and out of the classroom? This book documents the experiences of scholars and teachers who have successfully bridged theory and practice by applying critical literacy into their respective content areas. The authors spell out the difference between critical thinking and critical literacy, then show how to write and implement curriculum that incorporates diverse texts and multiple literacies in all content areas (including world language), and includes the voices of students as they confront issues of race, class, gender, and power. The principles and practices laid out here will help teachers use literacy to liberate and empower students both in and outside the classroom by respecting and studying the literacies students bring to school, while simultaneously teaching (and challenging) the literacies of those in power. This is a book for pre- and in-service teachers in all content areas, staff developers, secondary literacy specialists, university professors, and anyone interested in social justice.

"This is an excellent text. I particularly liked how the authors share examples of critical literacy throughout the book, especially with digital and multimedia texts." —Peter McDermott, The Sage Colleges "Through realistic discussion of how text shapes us and is shaped by us, Critical Literacy provides pre- and in-service teachers with concrete ways to engage in critical literacy practices with children from elementary through high school." —Cheryl A. Kreutter, St. John Fisher College ...a unique, practical critical literacy text with concrete examples and theoretical tools for pre- and in-service teachers Authors Lisa Patel Stevens and Thomas W. Bean explore the historical and political foundations of critical literacy and present a comprehensive examination of its uses for K-12 classroom practice. Key Features: Focuses on the nexus of critical literacy theory and practice through real classroom examples, vignettes, and conversations among teachers and teacher educators Illustrates how critical literacy practices are enacted in the classroom at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. Offers step-by-step teaching strategies for implementing critical literacy in K-12 classrooms at different paces, depending on existing curriculum Intended Audience: This is an excellent supplemental text for a variety of advanced undergraduate and graduate courses in education departments on how to teach reading and writing. This text will also appeal to instructors and students exploring issues of representation, linguistics, and critical deconstruction.