Critical Literacy and Content Literacy Connections
Critical literacy is the ability to read and write in a way that results in a deeper understanding. Critical literacy is an approach that teaches students “to exercise their critical faculties to filter what they understand and are asked to believe from texts” (Temple, Ogle, Crawford, & Freppon). Content area literacy “emphasize two ideas: 1) the significance of reading to learn and 2) the importance of teaching students to become more proficient and efficient readers of content area texts.” (Swafford & Kallus). In essence, critical literacy serves as the foundation for content literacy. The ultimate goal of critical literacy and content literacy is enabling students to be able to analyze and evaluate text. These skills allow students to look for biases in text and evaluate what the author’s purpose is in order to determine their own thoughts on the topic.
Understanding critical literacy and content literacy makes it possible to see the theoretical connections between the two. One connection that exist between critical literacy and content area literacy is that learning is an active process and it requires the learner to be engaged and involved with the learning process and material. Another connection is the idea that students can use background knowledge and combine it with what they are learning to gain new knowledge and understanding. The relation that critical literacy and content literacy have to the constructivist method is another theoretical connection. In the constructivist method, the roles of students and teachers change compared to their roles in the traditional method of learning. In the traditional model, the teacher is the expert who gives the students all the ...
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Critical literacy and content area literacy theoretical connections revolve around the ideas that students must learn to not only comprehend text but also be able to analyze and evaluate it.
The goal is to create students that are active members of their education, students that can take part in their learning and become influential members of our society.
Works Cited
English Learning Area. (2006, 1 10). Critical literacy. Retrieved from English Learning Area: http://www.education.tas.gov.au/english.critlit.htm
Swafford, J., & Kallus, M. (2002). Contenct literacy: A journey into the past, present and future. Journal of Content Area Reading, 7-27.
Temple, C., Ogle, D., Crawford, A., & Freppon, P. (2010). Comprehension and response to literature. In All childre read: Teaching for literacy in today's diverse classroom (pp. 213-214). Boston: Pearson.
In Katherine Anne Ackley’s book, “Perspectives on Contemporary Issues: Seventh Edition”, chapter one instructed the reader how to read critically. Reading critically is defined as the process of making a rhetorical analysis, or examination, of a piece of work. First, a reader must read a piece of work to understand it, then they must be able to assess, or criticize, it. To do so, the reader should examine the author’s position, and the evidence provided to support that position. They should also be able to discern between logical and illogical pieces of evidence. Reading critically can be used to write summaries, critiques, arguments, synthesis’, and research papers.
Colombo introduces his section on critical thinking by asking a question “Why do instructors mean when they tell to think critically?” (2). His point is that we should no just focus on the surface meaning. He uses the example of the cover of our Rereading America textbook. He says that the average student from the United States may just believe that the book only applies to the United States. When a student from anny other country in the Western Hemisphere might complain that the title reflects a discriminatory view of what it maens to be an American. Since America contains all the countries of North, South, and Central America. He goes on to explain that most think they want us to ask questions rather than just relay the text back through memorization. That kind of thinking is nearly useless in the real world. What job is there that all you do is relay data back? There are almost none of these
For students to share responses and express a point of view they must have a deeper understanding of the literary experiences that the text delivers. This understanding and learning can be developed though a class discussion with key guiding questions. Marzaro states that a teachers role during a critical-input experience is to “ask students questions that require them to elaborate on the content, engage students in activities that require them to summarise and re-present the content, and engage students in activities that require them to reflect on their learning” (Marzaro, 2007, p. 184). Students learn best when engaged, therefore the multimodal text is the primary source of engagement, the hook of the lesson.
Knoblauch. Knoblauch shows that there are four main types of literacy that exist. These four types are functional literacy, cultural literacy, personal growth literacy, and critical literacy. Functional literacy is what people use for the very basic everyday functions. Cultural literacy depends on the type of group or people. This is passed down through generations along with cultural heritage. Personal growth literacy has to do with the way people develop cognitive thinking. Individuals in this group let their minds wander in their imaginations. The fourth type of literacy Knoblauch discusses is critical literacy. Critical literacy is very radical and deemed to be negative in society. This type of literacy opposes people and organizations with authority and urges people to strive for equal opportunities. Knoblauch concludes that even though there are several different types of literacy and people, or groups of people, use the type that they want or need literacy to be. They then use this type to try and make everyone else conform to their
Becoming a critical reader means learning to recognize audiences, writers, points of view and purposes, and to evaluate arguments. In addition to the rhetorical triangle, structure of an argument, and rhetorical appeals, you should look at the following devices used by authors when performing critical analysis. Keep in mind too that these are only some of the devices, and that authors may use other rhetorical devices as well.
Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing written by; Gary Colombo, Robert Cullen, and Bonnie Lisle, Eighth Edition, published April, 2007 by Bedford/St. Martin’s, is a textbook about writing and critical thinking. In the first chapter of Rereading America: Cultural Contexts for Critical Thinking and Writing, “Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths”, the Authors begin by setting a relatable scene of what it’s like for a college student. How a new found independence can be overwhelming, especially with regards to critical thinking, showing that what we have learned, needs to be re-evaluated and that an open mind in essential. "What Is Critical Thinking" In this section of the chapter the editors explain what it means to be a critical thinker. They explain that critical thinking is not just studying dates and facts, but rather taking those facts and examining them. The editors then proceed by explaining how having an open mind, and taking others' perspectives into account when formulating our own opinions on what the author is trying to say to us is important. A critical thinker takes all aspects into account and reflects on personal experience as well. The editors also point out that different cultural experiences bring different opinions. They suggest that we need to become active learners, continuously questioning the meaning behind everything, testing not only the theories of others but also our own experiences and analyzing the text rather than going for the obvious. They show that thinking outside the box is the epitome of critical thinking. Basically, we need to step outside our comfort zones and what we have always been taught. The editors also suggest that we need to re-evaluate our per...
While critical thinking can still be achieved without reading; it cannot reach its full potential on thought alone, and it certainly relies on literacy to stand. Literacy provides sources, language provides words to back up thought, and reading opens a person’s mind to new words and ideas. If someone is unable to read or chooses not to read, many facts and ideas are lost to him. Reading also helps a person organize their thoughts. Without organization a person can articulate their thoughts just not as orderly. To better illustrate this point think of this metaphor: Picture a mother and her child. The mother represents the people and language is represented by the child. The mother loves her child so much and wants to do everything she can to help her child along in life. The child grows up and, because his mother did everything in her power to better him and give him a bright future, he flourished and went on to change the world. If a society desires to erect something that can change the world, they need to do everything in their power to better their language. They need to delve deeper into books, yearn for knowledge, listen to others opinions, grow their vocabulary, and know how to establish truth. When a nation strives to better their language and give it all their love and time, that language will continually grow until it changes the
Ellery (2009), states that there are three critical components in order to build a comprehensive literacy classroom. These components are curriculum, assessment and instruction. Research suggests that your curriculum should include the five essential components for teaching reading; Phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension (Learning ...
Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Tenth edition. Edited by Laurence Behrens and Leonard J. Rosen. New York: Longman Publishers, pp. 371-377, 2008.
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Every child deserves a positive, safe, nurturing, and stimulating learning environment where they will grow academically, socially, emotionally, and physically. My role as an educator is to provide my students with this type of environment as well as an education that will help them succeed academically and become life long learners. It is the responsibility of a literacy educator to provide students with this type of environment, but also to provide instruction that will help students become successful readers and writers. There are numerous programs and philosophies about literacy and reading. Through years of experience and research, one begins to develop their own creative approach on teaching these skills. After looking at different programs and seeing the positive and negatives of each, an integrated and balanced approach of literacy seems to be the best way to teach the differing needs of each student.
A comprehensive approach to literacy instruction is when reading and writing are integrated. This happens by connecting reading, writing, comprehension, and good children’s literature. A comprehensive approach to literacy should focus on the many different aspects of reading and writing in order to improve literacy instruction. This includes teachers supporting a comprehensive literacy instructional program by providing developmentally appropriate activities for children. Comprehensive literacy approaches incorporate meaning based skills for children by providing them with the environment needed for literacy experiences. This includes having a print rich classroom where children are exposed to charts, schedules, play related print, and
In class, we have been focusing on the explanation of what Literacy III: Research and Pedagogy in Content Area Literacy actually means. Content Area Literacy is defined by as “the ability to use reading and writing for the acquisition of new content in a given discipline” (McKenna and Robinson 1990). Because of the explanation of the class, I feel as if I am learning about the background and deepening my knowledge and understanding of the class as a whole. Content Area Literacy gives each subject areas a reason to include reading strategies in those lessons. These subject areas include mathematics, science, history, and English (Hodges 2015). When you can include reading strategies in these lessons, you are expanding student’s horizons and giving them multiple exposures. I think that this is extremely beneficial in the all classrooms. As for the negatives on Content Area Literacy, it should be noted that teachers should not only focus on reading during the other subject areas. Teachers need to have a medial balance between the content area and the literacy strategies
John Steinbeck stated that “Learning to read is probably the most difficult and revolutionary thing that happens to the human brain, and if you don 't believe that, watch an illiterate adult try to do it.” (142). The first time a child really understands the concept of reading it becomes an introduction to a whole new world. When one thinks of literacy the first thing one thinks of is the ability to be able to read and write. But literacy is much more than that, to me literacy is the key to all forms of knowledge as being literate opens up the doors to all forms of learning and continued learning. Building confidence as a reader, writer, listener and speaker is transformational in a person 's life. These core abilities are used every minute of every day to live in the world. Even in society a large degree of importance is placed on literacy. The in-class text by Sylvia Scribner states “I want to depict that is, the tendency in many societies to endow the literate person with special virtues”. (16) Throughout my life literacy has played a very important role, and has evolved and manifested itself in different styles, from my introduction as a small child
Students need to be inspired to think critically. By this they comprehend what has been learned and be able to use it. I hope my students will be able to achieve their greatest potential that they can accomplish anything they set their minds to. We can give our children these building blocks thru education to use in decision making situations, moral value of their thoughts and actions. This will guide them to realize how their actions and decisions will affect themselves and others.