Critical Literacy and Content Literacy Connections

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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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...nformation.
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.

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