Final Thoughts on Critical Literacy

After having participated in this class, I think I have a broader perspective on how to use books in the classroom. In the past, I have used books as story starters or to introduce and reinforce concepts. Now, I think my book choices will be more selective. I will try to find books that stimulate children to ask questions and to explore a text further. There are many books out there, why not use ones that can challenge students to extend their thinking?

I think one of the important messages of critical literacy is helping children understand there can be more to a book than just a story. What is the author telling us, why was this illustration chosen, what could the character have done differently, how does that change the story, what would you change about the story? These are some of the questions critical literacy challenges us to explore. Teaching children to ask what is the meaning behind a message whether it is in a book, on TV or on the Web is an important life-long skill.

I really enjoyed some of our books discussions in class. My son and I read My Dad by Anthony Browne this morning as well as The Paper Bag Princess. It was interesting to hear what other students have enjoyed reading as children or with children. I am always on the lookout for great books.

Mini Research #5 Examples in Media, 10/28

Mini Research #5

The only example I thought of regarding children’s literature in the media was in the movie and TV series, Sex and the City. The main character, Carrie, has pursued the evasive, aloof Mr. Big since the beginning of the series. His extreme wealth and good looks place him into the Prince Charming role. In the final episode, he rescues Carrie from and ill-fated romance and brings her back to New York to live with him.

In the movie, Carrie plans an over the top wedding that never culminates because Mr. Big is a no show. He gets cold feet from the wedding pressure and decides to split. Carrie is destroyed and runs off to Mexico with her friends. While reading her friend’s daughter Cinderella, she jokes that “another one bites the dust.” Meaning that another girl has fallen for the dream of being rescued by the perfect mate. In the end, Mr. Big comes to his senses and decides to pursue Carrie once again. This time around they have a simple courthouse wedding and live a fairy tale happy ending.

Counter Narrative Text 10/22

My counter narrative text has been on the back burner for a few weeks. I wrote a first draft with a male, lead character. He is the Cinderella figure because he does all the chores for his family day after day. He longs to travel and decides to join an adventure club with his friend. His sisters are left to take care of the family home and discover that they are very capable, successful homemakers on their own.

I plan to rewrite my first version to add more depth to my characters and to make the story more interesting. I may find that trying to write from a male perspective might not work for me. As I sat down to write my first draft, I knew that
I did not want my counter narrative to be about a female character getting saved by a male. This rescue theme is prevalent in Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Red Riding Hood. It is not a message I would want young females to receive.

Teacher Interview 10/29

Interview with Classroom Teacher

I did my interview with a first grade teacher in Montgomery County. She has taught first grade for three years.

What role does literature play in the classroom curriculum?

Literature is used in every subject area of the curriculum. We just read a book by Gail Gibbons about fossils for our rock unit. We read Time Magazine for Kids to learn about current events. Students do an author study each month in language arts and have daily silent and oral reading. Books are all around the classroom. I have a mix of fiction, nonfiction and a wide range of books for the many ability levels in my classroom. At the moment, I have one student reading on a 4th / 5th grade level. She is in her own reading group. It is very challenging finding books that are stimulating for her. Right now, I decided to have her read some biographies to help diversify the types of books she reads.


What kinds of books are chosen,Why and How?

Well, the first grade teachers work as a team with the Reading Initiative teachers to develop reading groups. Each reading group progresses through a series of books based on their reading level. The books are chosen because of the reading level and what we have available in the classroom. Beyond the reading program, teachers have autonomy over the books placed in the classroom and the books read to the class during story time. We have guest readers every week who choose the book they plan to share. The challenge in a mixed-ability classroom is having a wide range of books for all ability levels. At the moment I have a student from Japan who has very limited English. I want her to enjoy looking and experiencing books without being to bogged down by text. The librarian has been helping me find books for her.


Who decides what books are used in the classroom?

The teacher decides on the books used in the classroom except for the ones supplied for reading groups. These books have to have predetermined skill levels. The Reading Initiative program and the County dictate the choice of books in the reading program. Teachers have a lot of choice over the books for story time, silent reading, and content area reading. Most the books in my classroom library have been supplied to me through Scholastic orders. I also find books at the library related to the themes we are learning about.





What is the teacher’s theoretical perspective on teaching or specifically on using children’s literature in the curriculum?

This teacher emphasized having a language rich environment. She believes in exposing her class to a wide variety of reading materials. She uses literature across the curriculum primarily in science and social studies. She is enthusiastic about books and specific authors. She creates an environment where children enjoy learning to read.

Banned Book 10/22

The banned book I chose was Alice in Rapture, Sort of by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. The Alice series is very comparable to Judy Blume’s books, Forever and Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. In this story Alice is having a summer romance with her first boyfriend, Patrick. There is a little kissing and one discussion about whether kissing was a venial sin or a mortal sin. In one scene the girls contemplate whether or not they are going to hell for making out with boys. This seems to be the most controversial part of Alice in Rapture. The Alice books have been banned for “sexual content and offensive language.” The Alice series is mostly about Alice trying to fit in and attract friends and boyfriends. The challenge in Alice’s life is that she has to go through these awkward and humiliating preteen years without a mother.

Sociopolitical Book 10/22

Oct. 22

The sociopolitical book I chose was The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton. It is an African American folktale illustrated by Leo and Diane Dillon. It is a mystical story of how the African people knew how to fly but forgot the magical words that released them into flight when they were brought to the new world.

One day in the cotton fields, a man named Toby spoke the forgotten, magical words to the exhausted slaves enabling them to fly away. I interpreted the flying away in the folktale as a metaphor for escaping. According to the Author’s Note there are many references to flying in black folktales.


I found myself spending more time looking at the illustrations than reading this story. The pictures depict African people captured as slaves, on slave ships and in cotton fields. I think the art in the book is as powerful as Virginia Hamilton’s words. This is book that would captivate students and stimulate many discussions about history, folklore, and artistry.

Web Review

My last job was working for PBS Kids Interactive doing Web content for teachers and students. One project I worked on was the Reading Rainbow Web site. Reading Rainbow was a popular program in the 80’s and 90’s. Every episode showcased a different children’s book. Then school-age kids would appear on camera to recommend other related books. The site still exists with an amazing book list http://pbskids.org/readingrainbow/books/index.html. The only problem is that it is not a searchable database. The books are chosen because their diverse subject matters and ability to attract readers. In the Cleveland Park Library they have a section with Reading Rainbow books by the librarian’s desk. These all have Reading Rainbow stickers on the cover. If you are a new teacher or parent, this is a good place to find high-quality books.

When I was looking at the Reading Rainbow site, which is quite dated, I discovered another PBS resource:
http://www.pbs.org/parents/bookfinder/. Wow, what a find. You can search books by age and theme. Some of the many themes are special needs, African American, multiculturalism, and friends. Each book has a description, jpeg of the cover, age recommendation and list of awards the book may have won.

Another site with a searchable database is http://www.commonsensemedia.org. I thought this was a good site for parents and teachers. It reviews children’s books, movies, video games, music, TV, and Web sites. Books and other media are rated for age appropriateness and are reviewed by parents, kids and the site producer: CSM. Books are searchable by age range, title/author and subject matter. Some reviews are very detailed and helpful. However, it seems unclear to me how books are selected for the database. There is a mix of new releases and classics. On the main page for books there is a list of top picks from parents, kids and the CSM organization. The site also has articles for parents such as “How Can Parents Manage Media in Their Home,” “Kids and Scary Movies” and “Politics and Your Tween.” This is an article to help parents explain political ads and the electoral process to their kids. I thought this was a great subject to tackle in the classroom. Overall, I felt the site described a wide array of books diverse in subject matter and authorship.

One site I enjoyed visiting was http://www.bookwink.com. There is a book review / podcast on the main page with links to find books by title, subject, and grade. In the podcast, Lost Treasure of the Inca by Peter Lourie was reviewed by a woman visiting the Andes mountains. There are around 500 book reviews for grade levels (3-8). Books were very diverse in subject matter and genre. Some are classics but others are new releases. When I did a subject search, the site provided 16 subject areas with many more specific subtitles. Some of the subjects were: Problems in Society, Funny, Countries and Cultures, Families (all kinds), Friendship, etc.

The mission of http://www.bookwink.com is to “inspire kids to read.” The creators of the site are a middle school librarian and high school English teacher. They update the site with their “newest favorite books” and do podcasts of their book reviews. I liked the scale of the site; it wasn’t an overwhelming amount of information. It had just enough to help parents and teachers choose books for their children. I would recommend this site to others.

Library Visit

I visited Little Falls Library in Bethesda. This is a middle or upper middle class area of Montgomery County. I was impressed with their children’s collection, specifically the wide selection of text representing diverse cultures. Sections containing these texts were: Spanish, Juvenile Fiction, Picture Books, Biography, Encyclopedias / Reference Books, Holidays, Native Americans and Geography.

Most books representing diverse cultures were in the Geography and Biography sections. There were many books about different countries and peoples. The population in this part of Bethesda has many international families who are employed by the World Bank or embassies in the area. My son’s first grade class, located a mile from the library, has students from Japan, the U.K. and Columbia. The geography section has books representing almost every country in the world. I found books about Myanmar, Yemen, Sri Lanka, the Ivory Coast, and Uzbekistan. It was truly impressive to see so many countries represented.

The library is very accessible by bus and has parking (unlike most DC libraries). However, it is not Metro accessible. The children’s area is on the first floor and the adult section is on the second. I like that the two floors are separated because children are freer to explore and make noise. There is a reading area with tables and a floor area for playing. Computers are available as well.

As I looked for books that may portray cultural stereotypes a few series stood out to me. One is the Lois Lenski books: The Little Fire Engine, The Little Train, Farmer Small, Papa Small, etc. These are lovely books with simple illustrations for young children. The series was published in the 1930’s and 1940’s which why all the women are moms and all the dads are workers. Her books feature Captain Small, Cowboy Small, Pilot Small and Policeman Small doing their jobs. There are no people of color in her books. Despite the stereotyped roles, I love these books because of their simplicity. However, I am always reluctant to read them to my children because I don’t want them to think that all women stay home with children (like their mother and their mother’s friends.) The Froggy series by Jonathan London also has Froggy’s mom in aprons and curlers even though she is a frog. This is a very funny set of books and my kids love them but sometimes I think they perpetuate the stereotype of all women as stay-at-home moms.

Some of the books that I found represented diverse cultures are:

Freedom Walkers, The Story of Montgomery Bus Boycott by Russell Freeman
Like many of Russell Freeman’s books, there are many historic photos. There are many images of the Segregated South. He has included photos of signs that say, “Waiting Room for Colored People” or “Whites Only” and others of blacks sitting in the back of the bus and protests against segregation.


The Kids Book of World Religions by Jennifer Glossop
Illustrations of festivals and temples are included with descriptions of the world’s religions: Sikhism, Buddhism, Baha’I, Hinduism, to name a few.

Series of books on different ethnicities in America: East Indians, Italians, Chinese, etc. by Lerner Publications
This somewhat dated collection was remarkable because the amount of cultural groups covered by the series. It was interesting to look at the many photos of these distinctive communities within the United States.


Hank Aaron: Brave in Every Way by Peter Golenbeck
This biography discusses how Hank Aaron faced hate mail and death threats as he surpassed Babe Ruth’s homerun record.

Visual Geography Series presents books on many different countries even less recognized ones: Pakistan, Yemen, Iran, Uzbekistan, Myanmar, etc.

Raymond Bial’s Lifeways Series is an informative set of books about many different American Indian tribes. I counted 21 tribe. Some of the groups he writes about are: The Huron, The Ojbwe, The Sioux, The Wampanoag, etc.

Oryx – Multicultural Cookbook of Life Cycle Celebrations by Lois Sinaiko Webb has many recipes from all over the world. She describes when and why certain cultures prepare dishes and includes descriptions of the countries represented.

The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students by Mark Zanger was another interesting collection of recipes. Groups represented in the book are Dutch, Finnish, Polish, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.

Reflection Point 2.6 - Ideas for Media Literacy

Media literacy is a broad topic when one begins to consider all the ways we are influenced by media in the marketplace. I think David’s poster project was a good introduction to a wide-ranging topic. He could continue to strengthen their awareness and understanding of the commercial messages by venturing into other media outlets. Some activity ideas are:

1) View television commercials to interpret the nonverbal and verbal messages in an advertisement. What message or mood does the soundtrack create? What do the visual images of the commercial reveal? How did the commercial make your students feel? Did they want to buy the product, why?
2) Discuss sponsorship and brand placement. How sports figures are paid to wear certain brands and how movies and TV shoes also do brand placement as a way to get more money from companies.
3) Who is in the ad, is it a famous person, a movie star, or sports hero? Why are they acting in the commercial? Why do advertisers choose to have celebrities sell their products?
4) View banner ads on the Internet, spam and companion ads on Web sites. Where do these lead, what are they trying to sell, and are they legitimate?
5) Discuss the models in an ad. How are they stylized? What kind of effort was made to give a model a certain look? Is it realistic for regular people to look like that? Why do advertisers choose professional models for their commercials? Is an ad sexist or does it stereotype?
6) Have students write down the commercial brands they like to eat and investigate the companies they choose to buy food from. Do these companies use false advertising? Do they harm the environment? Is the product healthy? How do food advertisers try to sell their food to kids?

Following discussions about messages in the media, students may want to take action against a company that was unscrupulous or whose product was inadequate. Students could create their own “Consumer Reports” or write to companies, politicians, and generate their own ideas on how to take action. They could do research on different ads then conduct their own awards show with categories such as most persuasive ad on TV, most aggressive Internet ad campaign, etc. There are many ways to help children become more media literate and aware of the messages they receive everyday.

2 Literacy Moments

Describing my first encounter with a children's book is quite a challenge for me. I have read so many children's books over the last 16 years that I can't separate the books of my childhood from my adulthood. However, one memory I have is of a first grade teacher reading Charlotte's Web by E.B. White everyday after lunch. I was captivated by the story and found the animal characters in the story so endearing that it was hard to say good-bye to them when the book was over. As a child, I think I related to Fern’s love for Wilbur because of my affection for our family dog, Abigail (a basset hound, that was smelly and poorly behaved like most basset hounds). As a child, I also liked books that with mischievous characters. Templeton, the self-absorbed, scavenging rat, who lives in Wilbur’s barn, is one of my favorites. E.B. White’s simple descriptions and lively characters make this story memorable even for people like me; whose childhoods are blurred by age and parenthood.

Elie Wiesel’s autobiography, Night, is both his memoir and testimony of what happened to him during the Holocaust. It is a book that made a difference in my life because his painful story is a reminder of what occurs when people are intolerant of other races, religions, classes, etc. When I teach children, I always try to bring a message of tolerance to the classroom. Helping children accept each other’s differences is important to me.

Night is also a book about survival. Survival stories remind me of the strength people are able to find within themselves to overcome the worst circumstances. How does someone survive such destruction and go on living? Where do they find their strength? How does someone live with so much fear? Why didn’t they give up? It is inspiring to know someone can survive the darkest of times.

Visit to Politics and Prose

Mini Research #2 Observations in a Local Bookstore

The bookstore I visited was Politics & Prose located in Northwest D.C. My visit coincided with the toddler story hour so I was unable to spend much time in the easy reader, picture book section. However, I did spend time browsing in the non-fiction and juvenile fiction areas. There were many books representing diverse cultures and social issues. I found most of these books in non-fiction areas. Books are displayed in brightly labeled sections such as Sports, Holidays, Parenting, Science, Poetry, Art, Geography, Biography, World Religion, Juvenile Fiction and entire section devoted to Ramadan. I found that the authorship was as diverse as the cultures represented in the books.

Some of the books that touched on social issues and cultural diversity were:

What the World Eats by Faith D’Aluisio
This book presents family photographs from around the world. In the photos, families are positioned next to all the groceries they eat in a week. Each chapter discusses the cost of the food in that country and how people transport it and buy it. This book represents a diverse group of cultures through a simple topic.

A School Like Mine: A Unique Celebration of Schools Around the World by UNICEF
This book presents images and information about many schools around the world. Some of the countries represented are Ireland, Peru, China, Egypt and Canada.

Prita Goes to India by Prodepta Das
This story describes a young girl’s trip to India to visit relatives. There are many photographs of Indian life.

Snow Fallng in Spring: Coming of Age in China During the Cultural Revolution by Moying Li
Moying Li describes how she fled from her private school during the Cultural Revolution to the countryside. While in the country, she escapes the communist takeover by burying herself in classic literature but the Maoists begin to destroy all the books.

My Heart Glow: Alice Cogswell, Thomas Gallaudet and the Birth of American Sign Language by Emily Arnold McCully
After struggling to teach Alice Cogswell, a young deaf girl, basic reading and writing. Thomas Gallaudet travels to Europe to find a way to help deaf students communicate. When he returns from Europe, he sets up a school where he and his students develop American Sign Language together.





Poetry for Young People by Langston Hughes
This collection of Langston Hughes poems has striking illustrations and depicts American life during the Great Depression and Harlem Renaissance. Some of the poems in the book are: “Sue Wears Red” and “Mother to Son.”

Up Close: Ella Fitzgerald Jazz Legend by Tanya Lee Stone
The author describes Ella Fitzgerald’s success as a jazz singer as well the discrimination she faced on the road, especially in the Segregated South.

Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Is the story on a young girl hoping to find her estranged mother while she goes on a week-long car trip with her grandparents to Idaho.

The White Nights of Ramadan by Maha Addasi
This is a fictional story about a family celebrating Ramadan. The illustrations show how a Muslim family spends time together during this holiday period.

Some of the books that I felt stereotyped were:

Famous Movie Wedding Gowns by Tom Tierney. I have to admit I really enjoyed looking at this paper doll book but I do think it was geared to the “princess” audience.

The Daring Book For Girls by Miriam Peskowitz and The Dangerous Book For Boys by Hal Iggulden are reference books about a range of topics. Some of the chapters for girls were how to jump rope, play cards (hearts and gin), press flowers and negotiate a salary.

Topics for boys were how to tie knots, fish, play poker and perform coin tricks. Two of the chapters were entitled “The Golden Age of Piracy” and “Famous Battles.” The publisher did not have a section on how to negotiate salary for boys.



The books in the store were accessible to everyone who can speak and read English. It is a family-friendly space where young children and their parents would like to stay awhile and read stories. (Some places are not very accessible to families with young children.) One thought I had was that there were not a lot of books in Spanish. Given D.C.’s large Hispanic population, I found this surprising. Washington is an international city and I think the store grasps the need to appeal to a diverse population. However, their Spanish language resources were limited.