Critical Reading, Critical Literacy, and Critical Classrooms

Critical reading and critical literacy are skills that preservice teachers need to cultivate not only in their future students, but also in their own literacy practices. Picturebooks have the unique power to facilitate critical reading and critical literacy with preservice teachers. This chapter analyzes critical reading, critical literacy, and the power of picturebooks and then presents three approaches for using picturebooks to develop critical reading and critical literacy skills with preservice teachers: (1) field-based coursework with multicultural children's literature, (2) analyzing voices and perspectives in read-alouds, and (3) analyzing wordless picturebooks. Through intentional use of picturebooks in educator preparation programs, preservice teachers can gain the expertise necessary to use picturebooks to craft their own critical classrooms.

A study of parents reading aloud habits with research on reading aloud applied to research-based practices for promoting students’ intrinsic motivation to read

Read-alouds play an important role in young children’s literacy development. This study investigates how, and to what extent, Swedish parents of children aged 1–16 engage in reading aloud. Previous research on reading aloud is also applied to research-based practices for promoting students’ intrinsic motivation to read and discussed in the present study. The results show that 9 out of 10 parents read aloud to children aged 0-4 years while only 4 of 10 read aloud to children aged 10-12 years. Several content areas that overlap were found where research on children's own reading can be easily transferred to the area of reading aloud.

Exploring the impact of interactive read-alouds on student perceptions of women’s history

PurposeThis study aims to investigate elementary students’ perceptions about women’s roles throughout US history, and the extent to which these perceptions can be challenged or expanded by interactive read-alouds.Design/methodology/approachThird-grade students participated in interviews designed to investigate their thoughts about women’s historical roles before and after engaging in a series of interactive read-alouds featuring notable women in history. Pre- and post-interviews were analyzed to assess shifts in perception.FindingsThe research findings suggest that students initially perceived historical women as insignificant and held stereotypical views about their roles and that this perception was challenged following the interactive read-alouds. Changes were indicated through increased references to women during interviews and through answers that challenged stereotypical views.Originality/valueThis study adds insight about students’ perceptions regarding women’s history and supports the use of interactive read-alouds to challenge stereotypical views of women’s historical roles.

Repositioning Disability in Children’s Picture Books Through Classroom Read-Alouds

Students with disabilities represent an increasing percentage of students in general education classrooms. Yet, in early elementary grades, they may not see themselves represented in picture books. Teachers face many challenges in this issue, including choosing and evaluating books. In this article, we provide six questions to guide teachers' evaluations of picture books. We also recommend the use of these books in class read alouds that meet Common Core State Standards, and provide a guide for using these books to monitor a student's progress toward mastery of individualized education program (IEP) goals.