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The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:

• What does it mean to be critically literate? 
• What is the relationship between critical literacy and social justice? 
• How do our personal values, beliefs, and perspectives influence our understanding of texts? 
• How do texts communicate social relationships? 
• What does it mean to consider a different perspective? 
• What strategies can readers use to critically analyze texts in a critical manner?

 

What is the Relationship between Critical Literacy and Social Justice? (Lesson 1)

1. Picture Book Observation (M)

• Gather a large number and variety of picture books from your school library (choose books from several sections).
• Spread books out on many tables for easy visibility.
• Ask students to browse the books and provide adequate time for students to read, skim, and observe.
• Have students discuss in small groups their observations of the books using these guiding questions (students may need to go back to the books to confirm observations):

> Did you see characters that looked like you?

> Did you see families that looked like yours?

> Did you see characters following the same rules as we do in class?

> Did you see characters eating the same food you do?

> What types of characters were left out of the books?

> Who was in charge or in control in the books?

> Who made decisions or rules in the books?

> Ask students to share out their thinking and record their observations

> Have students gather back in their small groups to discuss the following questions: Why is it important to see characters like you in books? How might it feel if you never saw characters like you in books? When or where else might it be important to see characters like you?

• Ask students to share out their thinking and record ideas to revisit later in the unit
• Direct student attention to the essential question above and have them write a journal entry connecting the class discussion to the question

The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:

• What does it mean to be critically literate? 
• What is the relationship between critical literacy and social justice? 
• How do our personal values, beliefs, and perspectives influence our understanding of texts? 
• How do texts communicate social relationships? 
• What does it mean to consider a different perspective? 
• What strategies can readers use to critically analyze texts in a critical manner?

 

How Do Texts Communicate Social Implications? How Do Our Personal Beliefs, Balues, and Perspectives Influence How We Understand a Text? (Lesson 2)

1. Stereotypes Class Discussion (A) (M)

• Put the word stereotype on the board
• Have students work in partner to generate a definition of the word
• Ask partnerships to share out and record their thinking
• Facilitate a class discussion using the following questions as a guide (it may be useful to record thinking for students to refer back to when journaling for the next step):

> What stereotypes do we see in the world around us?

> Where do we learn stereotypes?

> What is harmful about a stereotype?

> What can we do about stereotypes?

• If students are having challenges identifying where their understandings of stereotypes come from, make explicit connections to a text to point out that texts teach and reinforce stereotypes
• Have students write a reflective journal entry about a time they have experienced a stereotype (tell students they can write about personal experience, the experience of a friend or family member, or about stereotypes they see in text and media) and/or about a time they have done something to counteract a stereotype

2. Critical Literacy Vocabulary Graffiti Activity (A) (M) 

• Place a selection of the following words on individual pieces of paper and lay papers out around the room (choose other words related to this unit if you feel your students would benefit)

Power dynamics

Relationship

Justice

Unjust

Critique

Explicit meaning

Reading between the lines

Juxtapose

Point of View

Perspective

Race

Gender

Class

• Have students circulate around the papers while writing their thoughts (this is anonymous, no names)
• Place students in groups and give each group one of the papers
• Ask students to find/circle the common ideas and share out with the class
• Ask probing questions to clarify any misconceptions about the vocabulary
• Create a word wall with these words for students to refer to Literacy44 Reading Activties’ Word Wall
• As an adaptation, provide vocabulary reference sheets

3. Textual Evidence Introduction (A)

• Show students textual evidence video and have them take notes on the video to learn what textual evidence is about how it is used to provide support for their thinking.
• Model using textual evidence in daily classroom activities and lessons, students will require multiple exposures and scaffolding.

The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:

• What does it mean to be critically literate? 
• What is the relationship between critical literacy and social justice? 
• How do our personal values, beliefs, and perspectives influence our understanding of texts? 
• How do texts communicate social relationships? 
• What does it mean to consider a different perspective? 
• What strategies can readers use to critically analyze texts in a critical manner?

 

What Does It Mean to Consider a Different Perspective? (Lesson 3)

1. Orca Chief Lesson http://literacy44.ca/?s=orca+chief (A) (M) (T)

 

2. Chalk Talk  (M) 

• Prompts for this lesson:

> Describe a time you were able to share your perspective. How did it feel?

> Describe a time you were not able to share your perspective. How did it feel?

> What type of people get to share their perspective frequently? Why?

> What type of people do not get to share their perspective often? Why?

> Is your perspective often represented in the books you read?

> Do you see your perspective in other types of texts like commercials and games?

• After Chalk Talk, show students Marley Dias’s #1000blackgirlbooks campaign and ask them to consider why Marley wanted to take on this action project.

Additional strategies for consider perspective (M) (T) 

• Four Corners
• Value Line
• Circle of Viewpoints
• True for Who?
• Tug for Truth

The Learning Events should always be prefaced by focusing on the essential questions:

• What does it mean to be critically literate? 
• What is the relationship between critical literacy and social justice? 
• How do our personal values, beliefs, and perspectives influence our understanding of texts? 
• How do texts communicate social relationships? 
• What does it mean to consider a different perspective? 
• What strategies can readers use to critically analyze texts in a critical manner?

 

What Strategies Can Readers Use to Analyze Texts in a Critical Manner? (Lesson 4)

1. Juxtaposing Strategy Introduction (A) (M)

• Remind students that to juxtapose means to compare things together to identify the similarities and differences
• Tell students that juxtaposing two texts about the same topic is one Critical Literacy Strategy that
• Have students view or read aloud the classic version of The Three Little Pigs
• Scaffold students to identify the included perspectives and the excluded perspectives, model for students citing textual evidence, be specific and direct in showing how you are using the text to support your opinion
• Have students use a graphic organizer to record observations, provide direct guidance as needed.
• Have students view or read aloud The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by Jon Scieszka
• Scaffold students to identify the included perspectives and the excluded perspectives
• Have students use a graphic organizer to record observations, provide direct guidance as needed
• Have students use a Venn diagram to compare the two books now that they have identified the various perspectives with a focus on how the books tell the same story, but from different perspectives
• Ask students what values and beliefs are being communicated by the inclusion/exclusion of the specific perspectives

2. Juxtaposing Strategy Follow Up Lesson (M) (T) 

• Show students this video. (Note, the police in this vide are shown with guns and as such, the video may require a trigger warning for some students.)
• Ask them to build on their understanding about juxtaposing from previous lesson and compare the perspectives included and excluded in the new texts presented today
• Ask students to consider the value of comparing the various texts on the same topic, pose questions like:

> Do you feel you have a deeper understanding of the situation now that you have heard from multiple perspectives?

> What might the consequences be if you only heard one of these versions?

> What connections can you make to our other areas of learning like Social Studies? Can you identify a time where reading multiple versions of the same event might have helped you gain a deeper understanding?

• Have students take on one of the perspectives presented in the various versions and use the Tug of War thinking routine to argue that the issue should be viewed from their perspective
• Note: Consider connecting this strategy to Social Studies when discussing the changing nature or immigration, past discriminatory policies, human rights responses, land use, and resource development. Consider making connections to Science the nature of sustainable practices and the concept of interconnectedness.

3. Juxtaposing Strategy Assignment  (see Performance Tasks)

 

4. Posing Questions Strategy Introduction (A) (M)

• Select a picture book of your choice
• Pre-read the book a select a number of appropriate questions from the list below

> Read the story aloud, stopping to pose questions such as:

> How might others understand this text differently?

> How has the message of the text been constructed or crafted?

> Who is the intended audience?

> How has this text coloured your view of reality?

> What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented or have been omitted?

> Who created this text and why?

> Who benefits if this “message” is accepted? Who may be disadvantaged?

> What techniques and stylistic elements have been used and why?

• Note: This lesson should be repeated several times using different texts to provide students with multiple exposures to this strategy, model this strategy each time you read aloud to the class (fiction and non-fiction)

5. Posing Questions Strategy Assignment (M) (T) 

• Share list of questions above with students
• Have students select a picture book from the library or ask them to use a book they are already reading
• Have students work in small groups
• Ask students to pre-read the story and select a number of the questions above they feel are important to ask about the story
• Have students take turns reading their stories to the group and posing their selected questions
• Gather back as a class and ask students if they would like to add any additional questions to the list above; give talk time to allow students time to generate ideas
• Post list of questions in classroom for students to refer to as they continue to practice their critical literacy strategies

6. Switching Strategy Introduction (A) (M) 

• Tell students that the switching strategy is effective for considering the impact of alternative perspectives and to further develop their skills with identifying which voices are present and which voices are excluded from a text
• Some examples of switching are:

> Gender switch- replace key characters with characters of another gender

> Setting switch- set the story in a different time or place or switch the social class of characters

> Emotion switch- have characters exhibit a different emotional tone

• Choose a picture book and model at least one switching example for students; ask students to consider how the text changes when the switch is made
• Have students talk together to reflect on the importance of this strategy, ask:

> How does this strategy help us better understand a text?

7. Switching Strategy Activity (M) (T)

• Read aloud The Paperbag Princess by Robert Munch or show
• Break students into four groups
• Have first group take on role of Princess Elizabeth and make a gender switch. Ask students to work together to retell the story if Elizabeth was a boy and not a girl. Have them identify how the story would be different. Students should be prepared to share their retelling with the class.
• Have second group take on role of dragon and make an emotion switch. Ask students to work together to retell the story if the dragon was friendly and did not burn down the castle. Have them identify how the story would be different. Students should be prepared to share their retelling with the class.
• Have the third group take on the role of Prince Ronald and make a gender switch. Ask students to work together to retell the story if Prince Ronald was a girl and not a boy. Have them identify how the story would be different. Students should be prepared to share their retelling with the class.
• Have the fourth group make a setting switch. Ask them to choose two different settings for the story and explain how the story would be different. Students should be prepared to share their retelling with the class.
• Note: Students could use drama skills to act out their retelling or could be assigned this as an extension activity for the lesson.

8. Switching Strategy Assignment (see Performance Tasks) 

 

Unit Extensions

• Use the instructional strategies above to address considering perspectives in content areas
• Model the three Critical Literacy strategies above using non-fiction texts from curricular areas
• Media Stations: Invite your students to bring in samples of everyday text (CD covers, video games, music videos, magazines, food packaging/ads, etc.) and set up a media station for each with “table talk” questions to get the discussion started (e.g., What is appealing to you about this CD cover? Do you think “bad press” makes a singer more popular? What techniques do designers use to grab your attention? etc.).