I admit that I was a bit intimidated using a critical literacy approach to learning, but now my literacy program would be incomplete without it. Very often, people assume that young children are incapable of identifying social injustices, discrimination and stereotyping in the world around them, and not having the power to make a change. This could not be further from the truth! I will give an example of how a recent comment made by a student in my in my classroom set us all on a journey of self discovery.
A male student was looking for a background image to illustrate the “All About Me” information we had just composed about him on the Smartboard. When he came to a pink background with hearts on it, another boy stated, “You can’t choose that one, it is only for girls!” That started a discussion about what is a girl color and what is a boy color. The obvious answer was: pink is for girls and blue is for boys. We talked about whether or not girls could like blue and if boys could like pink. It was interesting to note that some boys took great exception when a lone boy said he liked pink, but nothing was said when several girls stated the liked blue. From this discussion, I knew that I some work to do in the area of gender discrimination.
In our library I found a book called “William’s Doll”, by Charlotte Zolotto. The story is of a boy, William, who wants a doll, but his father refuses to buy him one and his brother along with another friend calls him a “sissy”. The father instead buys him a basketball and a train set. Although William likes those things he still wants a doll. When his grandmother comes to visit, he shows her the basketball and train set, but he told her what he really wanted was a doll. They both went and picked out a doll and when they came home with it, the father was quite upset. The grandmother went on to say to the father that with a doll William could cuddle it, nurture it, take care of it, ect- all the things that would make him a great dad when he grows up.
Before I read the story to the children, we discussed what kinds of toys they liked to play with. Out of that discussion, I asked them if it was ok for boys to play with dolls and if girls could play with Pokemon (as these seemed to be the dominant toys that the boys and girls played with in my class). Some of the girls were quick to say they liked playing with Pokemon, but the boys were reluctant to admit that they liked playing with dolls. The same boy in the earlier discussion who made the comment, “Pink is for girls”, was adamant that boys should not play with dolls, although he didn’t mind girls playing with Pokemon.
As I read the book, I asked the children to pretend they had a camera and I asked them to take a picture of a part in the story that they connected to in their own life. After the story, they drew their pictures on sticky notes and we discussed each of them. Many children drew pictures of a time when they really wanted something, but others made fun of them for it. We revisited the book several times after that and through discussions I could actually observe many children changing their mind about whether toys are “boy toys or girl toys”.
From that activity we decided to look at flyers, Toys R Us flyers in particular, to see what kinds of toys boys and girls were playing with in the pictures. The children discovered many things including: boys were the only ones playing with vehicle toys, boys were driving vehicles and the girls were in the passenger seats, pictures of boys playing were on blue pages, and the girls were on pink pages, only girls were shown playing with dolls and both girls and boys were playing at the art easel.
After the deconstruction of the flyer, the students recreated the flyer so it was unbiased toward the type of toys that girls and boys played with.
To promote social action, the students then wrote a letter to Toys R Us and explained their argument for representing girls and boys in an unbiased way in the flyers.
This is only one example of how I incorporate critical literacy into my grade one classroom. There are so many other examples that I could add. My point is that it can be done, and we have to ensure that we afford our students the opportunity to engage in meaningful learning and to know that even at the young age of 6 and 7 years old, they are important and they have the power to make a difference. If they start believing this and experiencing it first hand now, imagine the possibilities when they are older…
Friday, May 14, 2010
Penguin WebQuest
Young children are naturally curious; they question everything around them and try to make sense of their surroundings- and then they come to school. Very often when children enter the school system, they are taught not to question, nor to explore or make connections to their out of school experiences.
With these points in mind, I began to reflect on my approach to teaching a thematic unit on penguins. Although I support a constructivist approach to learning, I felt that most of my teaching was using a “top down” approach, especially when it came to the teaching and learning of the individual penguin characteristics. During whole group discussion, I did make use of the KWL chart (What I Already Know, What I Want to Know and What I Have Learned) but something was missing- I knew I was doing too much “teaching”, I was not providing my students with enough authentic learning situations, nor was letting them be in control of their own learning. I decided to change my approach from “teaching” the students about penguins to providing them with opportunities to explore, question, inquire, debate, make sense of, and convey meaning to others- in essence, to become active participants in their own learning. Instead of reading the students books about penguins and then as a group filling in information on a matrix to represent penguin facts, I decided I would create a penguin webquest. Although the design of the webquest was in my hands, the path of learning that each child chose was intended to be individual- I would play the role of a facilitator or guide. Throughout the webquest, there would be opportunities for students to construct their own knowledge and convey meaning to others; they were to become active participants in their own learning.
Prior to beginning the webquest the following activities and discussions would be completed:
o Read and discuss various Tacky the Penguin books, by Helen Lester.
o In an effort to bridge the gap between what students already know about penguins and what they might learn, students work together in small groups to make a list of things they “know” about penguins and write penguin “wonderings”- questions they may have about penguins.
o During whole group discussion each group presents their list of things they “know” about penguins as well as their penguin “wonderings”.
o As a facilitator the teacher raises the questions:
How could we find answers to these “wonderings”?
How can we find out if what you “know” is true or false?”
o Students discuss the sources they could use to learn about penguins: i.e, internet websites such as National Geographic for Kids, reference materials, videos, magazines, non-fiction books.
This discussion would lead us into our penguin webquest, entitled:
Tacky Finds His Home
http://teacherweb.com/WQ/ElementarySchool/Penguins101/index.html
With these points in mind, I began to reflect on my approach to teaching a thematic unit on penguins. Although I support a constructivist approach to learning, I felt that most of my teaching was using a “top down” approach, especially when it came to the teaching and learning of the individual penguin characteristics. During whole group discussion, I did make use of the KWL chart (What I Already Know, What I Want to Know and What I Have Learned) but something was missing- I knew I was doing too much “teaching”, I was not providing my students with enough authentic learning situations, nor was letting them be in control of their own learning. I decided to change my approach from “teaching” the students about penguins to providing them with opportunities to explore, question, inquire, debate, make sense of, and convey meaning to others- in essence, to become active participants in their own learning. Instead of reading the students books about penguins and then as a group filling in information on a matrix to represent penguin facts, I decided I would create a penguin webquest. Although the design of the webquest was in my hands, the path of learning that each child chose was intended to be individual- I would play the role of a facilitator or guide. Throughout the webquest, there would be opportunities for students to construct their own knowledge and convey meaning to others; they were to become active participants in their own learning.
Prior to beginning the webquest the following activities and discussions would be completed:
o Read and discuss various Tacky the Penguin books, by Helen Lester.
o In an effort to bridge the gap between what students already know about penguins and what they might learn, students work together in small groups to make a list of things they “know” about penguins and write penguin “wonderings”- questions they may have about penguins.
o During whole group discussion each group presents their list of things they “know” about penguins as well as their penguin “wonderings”.
o As a facilitator the teacher raises the questions:
How could we find answers to these “wonderings”?
How can we find out if what you “know” is true or false?”
o Students discuss the sources they could use to learn about penguins: i.e, internet websites such as National Geographic for Kids, reference materials, videos, magazines, non-fiction books.
This discussion would lead us into our penguin webquest, entitled:
Tacky Finds His Home
http://teacherweb.com/WQ/ElementarySchool/Penguins101/index.html
Thursday, June 18, 2009
To Recommend or Not to Recommend? WWGD?
In preparation for a Critical Media masters course that I will be completing the beginning of July, we had to read "What Would Google Do?" and blog with fellow classmates about our reasons for recommending the book or not recommending it.
First, I’ll just give a brief summary of what the book was about, for those who have not read it.
Jarvis uses "Google" in the title to lure people into thinking the book is going to be about the ever popular search engine "Google". But it is not really about Google at all. It's more of an analysis of how the internet has changed our lives and our culture. He focuses on how Web 2.0 has influenced business, and makes suggestions about what the future may look like using several industries as examples in the second half of the book. Jarvis describes principles and rules for businesses to abide by if they are to succeed in this new 2.0 world.
Overall his principles could be applied to many facets of life, including education. Several major themes found throughout the book were: collaboration, trust, choice, quality, access, honesty, open minded, helpful. Who wouldn't want all these things in our relationships with others? I don't think it matters if you are a teacher or a business person.
The first half of the book was quite thought provoking and I found myself underlining many inspirational ideas as I read. I was able to make connections with how we could change our education system to incorporate some of Jarvis' rules and principles to enhance learning for both students and teachers.
The second half of the book was quite boring. Jarvis' attempted to relate the rules and principles of his business model to various industries. He includes a small section on reforming education, but I was a little disappointed with his ideas. This could have partly been because this topic was not covered specifically until the end of the book, and by that time my eyes were starting to glaze over. I had to force myself to finish the book, and I did so only because I had to- in case I was questioned on it in my upcoming course. I found his ideas to be very repetitive and I kept asking myself if there was something new in what I just read, or if it was more of the same. I concluded that it was more of the same.
As far as recommending this book to educators, I would not. I think there are far better books out there to emphasise how education should be more student directed and teacher facilitated- a student-inquiry approach to learning. Not all teachers will be able, or willing, to make connections to education based on Jarvis' business model. If we want to make a change in education, I think we should be encouraging teachers to read literature that is more specific to our field, with practical examples of what change looks like in our classrooms. As a teacher, I would rate this book a 5 out of 10. If I had read this book prior to completing my first year of a master’s course I would have rated it lower.
However, I would recommend the book to business minded people (as I have done already- I am passing the book on to a friend when I have the course completed). I think the information in the book warrants something to think about with regards to future transactions and business opportunities (I still think the reading the second section of the book would be boring for even people in this field). Overall, I would rate this book 7 out of 10 for business people.
Although this book offers a great insight into how we, everyday people, can make a difference in the world using platforms such as Facebook and Blogger, I don't think many people would read beyond the first few chapters. If they even got that far, if might not even be necessary to read the rest, as it is more of the same (missing except for a few name droppings along the way). Reading from the perspective of this group of people, I would rate the book 4 out of 10. I think they could go to his blog page and read just what interested them, instead of reading all that didn't.
Agree or disagree?? I would love to hear from other people about their opinions on this book.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Critical View of the World
The more I learn about critical literacy in terms of how I can integrate it into my grade one classroom the more I am realizing that I have taken so many things for granted. I think over the years I have almost become desensitized toward all the advertising and subliminal messages that bombard me everyday. Since I have been incorporating critical media literacy into my classroom, I am becoming much more aware of the commercials, posters, news broadcasts, etc. and how they are trying to make me believe certain things and think a certain way.
I realize that I need to be more critical myself in terms of what the media is trying to do to me before I can teach my students. How can I teach what I do not know or understand myself? Through professional learning and personal reflection I have gained a better understanding of what critical media literacy really means. It is important to understand the pedagogy behind such an approach to learning.
I now feel that my literacy program is complete with the incorporation of media literacy. It includes each of the Four Resources that are described by Luke and Freebody. The media literacy component would fall under the Text Analysis resource. Click on the link http://www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=36570 to find out more about their model. This model has changed my approach to teaching literacy in my classroom. I now find that I refer to the model frequently to ensure that I am offering a rich, inclusive literacy program to my grade one children.
I realize that I need to be more critical myself in terms of what the media is trying to do to me before I can teach my students. How can I teach what I do not know or understand myself? Through professional learning and personal reflection I have gained a better understanding of what critical media literacy really means. It is important to understand the pedagogy behind such an approach to learning.
I now feel that my literacy program is complete with the incorporation of media literacy. It includes each of the Four Resources that are described by Luke and Freebody. The media literacy component would fall under the Text Analysis resource. Click on the link http://www.learningplace.com.au/deliver/content.asp?pid=36570 to find out more about their model. This model has changed my approach to teaching literacy in my classroom. I now find that I refer to the model frequently to ensure that I am offering a rich, inclusive literacy program to my grade one children.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Critical Media Site
Media Awareness website: http://media-awareness.ca/english/teachers/index.cfm
A colleague put me on to this website regarding the media and internet education. It has some excellent resources for teaching critical media literacy in the classroom. I especially liked the game young children could play where they design a cereal box using "5 gimmicks". The game is called "Co-Co's AdverSmarts" and can be found under the Educational Games tab on the left hand side of the page. The game is designed to recognize the marketing techniques used on commercial Web sites that target young children.
A follow up lesson to the game could be to have the children bring in cereal boxes from home and identify the gimmicks used on the boxes. They could then redesign the boxes in ways that promote nutrition instead of gimmicks, which could also be part of a health lesson as well as art and language arts.
Another great feature of the site is found when you click on "For Teachers" at the top of the page. It gives you links to other great resources and you can do a search for lessons by curriculum outcomes for your province.
A colleague put me on to this website regarding the media and internet education. It has some excellent resources for teaching critical media literacy in the classroom. I especially liked the game young children could play where they design a cereal box using "5 gimmicks". The game is called "Co-Co's AdverSmarts" and can be found under the Educational Games tab on the left hand side of the page. The game is designed to recognize the marketing techniques used on commercial Web sites that target young children.
A follow up lesson to the game could be to have the children bring in cereal boxes from home and identify the gimmicks used on the boxes. They could then redesign the boxes in ways that promote nutrition instead of gimmicks, which could also be part of a health lesson as well as art and language arts.
Another great feature of the site is found when you click on "For Teachers" at the top of the page. It gives you links to other great resources and you can do a search for lessons by curriculum outcomes for your province.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Other Ideas?
Does anyone have any other ideas on how to incorporate critical literacy into the everyday activities of the primary classroom?
Critical literacy in a grade one classroom
What happens when grade one children are afforded opportunities in critical literacy activities and use technology to represent their learning in multimodal ways?
I am currently involved in a Teachers as Researchers project with the Department of Education of Newfoundland, the Eastern School District and Memorial University of Newfoundland. This is my second year participating in such a project, but my first year focusing on literacy. The first Teachers as Researchers project involved teaching mathematics in the grade one classroom. For those wanting to read the research results, you may indicate in your posting that you wish to receive a copy and I will send one to your inbox.
For the project this year I am focusing on critical literacy, and using technology to represent student's learning, as the heading suggests. Critical literacy is not a new concept, but addressing it in the form of "new literacies" is somewhat recent. In today's society, children are bombarded with multimedia and multimodal images. Do they understand what these images are about and how it is positioning them in society? Are they aware of the influences these images may have on their interactions with each other?
I am hoping to provide opportunities in my classroom for children to examine various forms of multimedia and multimodal text, as well as using a critical approach to examine everyday situations.
The first activity I hope to do is an assessment of the children's internet experiences as I am not even sure who has a computer in my class.
Another activity will consist of examining several children's websites in a critical manner by asking questions such as:
I am currently involved in a Teachers as Researchers project with the Department of Education of Newfoundland, the Eastern School District and Memorial University of Newfoundland. This is my second year participating in such a project, but my first year focusing on literacy. The first Teachers as Researchers project involved teaching mathematics in the grade one classroom. For those wanting to read the research results, you may indicate in your posting that you wish to receive a copy and I will send one to your inbox.
For the project this year I am focusing on critical literacy, and using technology to represent student's learning, as the heading suggests. Critical literacy is not a new concept, but addressing it in the form of "new literacies" is somewhat recent. In today's society, children are bombarded with multimedia and multimodal images. Do they understand what these images are about and how it is positioning them in society? Are they aware of the influences these images may have on their interactions with each other?
I am hoping to provide opportunities in my classroom for children to examine various forms of multimedia and multimodal text, as well as using a critical approach to examine everyday situations.
The first activity I hope to do is an assessment of the children's internet experiences as I am not even sure who has a computer in my class.
Another activity will consist of examining several children's websites in a critical manner by asking questions such as:
- Who wrote this text?
- Where did the text come from?
- What is the author's intent?
- Who is represented?
- Who is missing?
- What is the text trying to do to me?
- Is the text from a reliable source?
(These questions came from Dr. Allan Luke: The New Literacies Podcast)
To view this podcast, click on the link below:
http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/may31.shtml
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