CRITICAL

LITERACY
Reporter: Danry Y. Saez
OBJECTIVES
At the end of the discussion, the pre-service teacher
should be able to:

1. Evaluate the key tenets of critical literacy

2. Characterize critcal literacy; brief thoery background
of critical literacy, and;
3. Apply principles of critical literacy in designing
lessons classsroom activities
What is Critical Literacy?
 Critical Literacy
Critical literacy is the ability to read texts in an
active, reflective manner in order to better
understand power, inequality, and injustice in
human relationship
Purpose
“Vehicle through which individuals
communicate with one another using
codes and conventions of society”
Accordingly, songs, novels,
conversations, pictures, movies and etc.
The development of critical literacy
skills enable people to interpret
messages in the modern world
through a critical lens and challenge
the power relations withtin those
messages.
 Look closely to the images below

Image 1 Image 2
Thank you
Danry Y. Saez
History & Theory of
Critical Literacy
Marron P. Pasa
The term “critical literacy” was developed by social
critical theorists concerned with dismantling social
injustice and inequalities. Social critical theorists
contend that unequal power relationships are
endemic and the dominant culture transmits certain
ideologies as absolute truths.
According to Ann Beck,

“Critical educational theory or

critical pedagogy applies the
tenets of critical social theory to
the educational arena and takes
on the task of examining how
schools reproduce inequality and
justice.”
Critical social theorists are
concerned with oppressive and
unjust relationships produced by

traditional forms of schooling and

critique the traditional models of
education,
 In the Pedagogy of the Oppressed,
Paulo Freire provides an example of
how critical literacy is developed in an
educational context. Freire describes
a traditional type of education as the
“banking concept of education.”
Paulo Freire
“knowledge is a gift bestowed by those
who consider themselves knowledgeable
upon those whom they consider to know
nothing,” and the teachers separate
themselves as being the possessors of
knowledge.
“Knowledge emerges only through
invention and re-invention,
through the restless, impatient,
continuing, hopeful inquiry human
beings pursue in the world, with
the world and with each other”.
THANK
YOU!
Critical
Literacy
in Practice Edlyn Talania
reporter
 i t i c a l
C r c y
L i t e r a – to read texts in an active,
reflective manner in order
to better understand
power, inequality, and
injustice in human
relationship.
Critical Literacy in Practice
- 2 encourages students to question issues
1

of3 power — explicitly disparities within

social
4 contexts like socio-economic status,
5
race, class, gender, sexual orientation,
etc.
BECOMING CRITICALLY LITERATE
MEANS THAT STUDENTS HAVE
MASTERED THE ABILITY TO READ AND
CRITIQUE MESSAGES IN TEXTS IN ORDER
TO BETTER UNDERSTAND WHOSE
KNOWLEDGE IS BEING PRIVILEGED.
 OB EL AND
MICHELE KN suggest that when students
AN KS HE AR
COLIN L become critically literate, they
can examine ongoing development,
the parts they play in the world,
and how they make sense of
experiences.
 ACKLEDGE “To be a tool for people to
N BL
ADRIA
analyze the division of
power and resources in
their society and
transform discriminatory
structures.”
D O Y O U H A V E A N Y
QU E S T I O N S ?
 THANK YOU FOR
LISTENING
BSED FILIPINO 3A!
 E D U C 20 6

CR I TI CAL LITERACY
I N THE
CLASSROOM

RHO L A I DA M . S O RI ANO
WHY CRITICAL LITERACY IS IMPORTANT
FOR THE LEARNERS?
INTRODUCE CRITICAL LITERACY
IN THE CLASSROOM THROUGH

1. CRITICAL QUESTIONNI
T O E X C E E D T HENG
E X P E C T AT IO NS O F
T HE C U S T O M E RS
A ND P R O V I DE
ASK A QU ESTIONT HE M WITH T H TAT
HE PRO MP TS
B E S T I NT E R NE T
ST UDENTS TOS E RV APP LY,
I CE S A ND
S YNTH ESI ZE,
AN ALYZE , O R TEHE
VALU M O S TATE I D E AS
RE L I A B LE
SUPPORT SYSTEM.
INTRODUCE CRITICAL LITERACY
IN THE CLASSROOM THROUGH

2. JUXTAPOSED TEXT
T O E X C E ESETS
D T HE
E X P E C T AT IO NS O F
T HE C U S T O M E RS
JU XT APO S ITION M EA
A ND P R O V I DE
N S PL ACI NG
TWO THI N GST HE SIMDE WIB THY TSIDE
HE SO AS TO
HIGHLIGHT THEIR
B E S T I NTDIFFERENCES
E R NE T .
S E RV I CE S A ND
T HE M O S T
RE L I A B LE
SUPPORT SYSTEM.
 INTRODUCE CRITICAL LITERACY
IN THE CLASSROOM THROUGH

3. WRITING FOR SOCIAL

T O E X C E E D TCHANGE
HE
E X P E C T AT IO NS O F
T HE C U S T O M E RS
A ND P R O V I DE
T HE M WI T H T HE
4. CLASS DEBATES/DIS CUS SIO N
B E S T I NT E R NE T
S E RV I CE S A ND
T HE M O S T
RE L I A B LE
SUPPORT SYSTEM.
EDWARD BEHRMAN
- TH E D EV ELOP MEN T OF CRI TI CAL
LI TERACY ENC OURAG ES SO CIAL
JU STIC E AND EXP LORATION OF
LANGUA G E AND L ITERATURE IN
MA N Y FO R MS .

- HE SUG G ES TS THA T TH E S P ECI FIC

TYP ES OF LESSON S EXAMINE
POW ER R ELA TION SHIP THAT AR E
FOUND IN LANG UAG E AND
LI TER ATURE .
• Publi sh e d bet ween 1999
and 2003
• It f oc used on le sson s a nd
un i t s e mph a si zi n g c ri ti cal
Li t e ra c y pe da gogy in
mi ddle an d hi gh sc h ool
gra de s .
 LISTENING!
R H OL A I D A M .
SORIANO
C o n te n t
De p a r t me n t
 E D U C 20 6

Reading Supplement Text and

Reading Multiple Text

Catherine M. P abustan
 Reading Supplemental Texts
- Reading supplementary texts
representative of
S u p p l e me nta today's
ry t e x t s a l s o p r o v i
c o n t e x t f o r s t u d e n ts t o c o n f ron
changing media and technology
social issues that are often avo
allows students b y cto a n o ni c al wmake
o r k s a n d /o r a r e
c o v e re d i n d a t e d t e x t b o oks .
connections with the literature or
content being studied.
 S u p p l e me nta ry t e x t s a l s o p r o v i
c o n t e x t f o r s t u d e n ts t o c o n f ron
social issues that are often avo
b y c a n o ni c al w o r k s a n d /o r a r e
c o v e re d i n d a t e d t e x t b o oks .

Supplementary texts also provide the context for

students to confront social issues that are often
avoided by canonical works and/or are not
covered in dated textbooks.
Students have the opportunity
to critique themes and issues
similar to those found in
traditional texts, but they can
also look at other mediums.
According to Morrell, by offering
students the opportunity to review
appropriate Internet resources,
songs, television programming, and
advertisements, as well as many
other visual mediums, students
have exposure to popular texts they
can analyze outside of school as
well.
 Reading Multiple Texts
Incorporating multiple texts based
on similar literary themes offers
students the opportunity to
critique the values or voices that
are being promoted.
 Further more, this practice
challenges the idea that meaning is
fixed and encourages students to
use evidence to support their
interpretation. Students can
evaluate the social, cultural, and
historical frameworks of texts by
analyzing differing perspectives of
a single event.
Catherine M. Pabustan
BSED FIL-3A.
 educ 206

READING FROM A
RESISTANT
PERSPECTIVE,PRODUCING
COUNTER TEXT
PRESENTED BY: NINA NATASHA OGIEN
 EDUC 206

Reading from
a Resistant
Perspective
Behrman suggests that the practice
of reading from the perspective of
resistance involves students in the
interpretation of a text from the
viewpoint of the world and not just
the common Euro-centric ideology
often found in standard texts
 EDUC 206

Producing
Counter Texts
Another common practice found in
classrooms that promote a critical literacy
involves having students produce counter-
texts. Essentially, this involves having
students generate narratives or other texts,
including multi-media creations, from a non-
mainstream perspective
 “Be there for others,
but never leave yourself
behind”
 “Be there for others,
but never leave yourself
behind”
"Critical literacy isn't an addition to the literacy
program; it's a transformative lens embedded
within classroom practice, illuminating a path
where understanding goes beyond words,
fostering thoughtful minds in the journey of
learning."
 Key Concepts
The media literacy strand in Ontario curriculum, also
help us to position crititcal literacy conversations within
a broad curriculum context (Ontario Ministry of
Education, 2008)
 • All text are constructions.
What is written is the product of many decisions and determining
factors. Much of our view of reality is based on messages that have
been constructed in this way, with the author’s attitudes,
interpretations and conclusions already built into the text.
 Whether oral, print or visual media, texts
contain messages which reflect the biases and
opinions of their authors/creators; whether
intentionally manipulative or not, this means
that no text can be neutral or value free.
Each person interprets messages
differently.
Demographic factors such as age, culture, gender and socio-
economic status as well as prior experience and knowledge play
a role in how we interpret a message.
 Texts serve different
interests.
Most media messages are created for profit or to persuade,
but all texts are produced intentionally for a purpose. These
interests can be commercial, ideological or political
Whether TV program, website or novel, each
medium creates meaning differently and each
has distinctive techniques, conventions and
aesthetics
 1. Code breaking
Students need to be able to identify letters in the alphabet and sounds in
words, decipher spelling and grammar conventions such as sentence structure
and text organization, and use graphics and other visuals to break the “code”
of text. Code breaking is equivalent to basic or functional literacy.
 Making meaning
Rather than approaching text passively, students need to be encouraged to be
a “text participant” – to use their own prior knowledge and experience when
reading to interpret what the author is saying and to anticipate where he or
she might be going next.
 Using text
Students need to be introduced to different text forms and how these have
different uses which shape the language, structure and organization chosen by
the author.
 Analyzing text
Critical literacy teaches that no text is neutral, that students need to ask,
“What is this text trying to convince me of and why?” and “Whose interests
does it serve?”. Students need to be encouraged to analyze the author’s
motive/intent, to consider fairness, accuracy and reliability and to recognize
their own power as readers.
Grade 9 Media Studies
Critical Literacy
Strategies
Arnelio E. Remegio Jr.
BSED Filipino 3A
EPBLOMR POSING
PROBLEM SNGPOI
 Problem posing
Just as texts position us to think of
ourselves in a certain way, so that
we feel compelled to buy a
product or identify with a
character in a film, we as readers
or viewers can problematize texts.
 Problem posing requires that we ask
students questions such as the following:
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 colored 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?
JUXTAPOSING
IUNTJGOSAPX
 The intent of this
strategy is to have
students come to an
understanding of
point of view

Juxtaposing
SWITCHING
TNSICHGWI
 Switching
This is an effective strategy for
getting students to consider the
impact of alternative perspectives
and to identify which voices are
present and which voices are
missing from a text.
 The intent of this
strategy is to have
students come to an
understanding of
point of view

Juxtaposing
Institutional
Approaches
IMADE ONATTSSI
MEDIA STATIONS
 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
HIKNT ALOUD
THINK LDOUA
 This strategy encourages
teachers and students to
make their thinking explicit so
that others in the class can
join the discussion.

Think Aloud
GQEISIUNONT THE AUTHOR
QUESTIONING UARHTO
 Questioning the Author
When responding to question prompts
from the teacher (e.g., “What does the
author mean here?” and “Whose voice
is absent?”), students use an organizer
divided into four columns that are
labelled: “The question ...”/ “The author
says...”/ “I say ...”/ “So?”
URFO CORNERS
FOUR RSCNORE
 This collaborative activity encourages
students to consider different points of
view by engaging them in dialogue with
not only those who have the same opinion
but those who have differing viewpoints.
The classroom is labeled with four points
of view (e. g., Strongly Agree /Agree
/Disagree / Strongly Disagree)

Four corners
XSI HATS
SIX STAH
 Six Hats
Based on Edward Debono’s identification of
different thinking styles and selecting a
metaphorical hat to represent each (e.g., white
hat for factual approach, black hat for critical
approach, blue hat for metacognitive approach
and so on), this exercise can be used to structure
group discussion that generates rich
understanding of how point of view is
constructed and how meaning is interpreted.
MARAMING
SALAMAT
PO!
•
•
•
(Moon, 2001, cited in Jetnikoff, 2006, p. 37)
The Arts, literacies and reality are dynamically linked,
and the understanding attained by critically reading
aesthetic texts involves perceiving the relationship
between the art, its creator and its context