Building Bridges Instead of Walls: Engaging Young Children in Critical Literacy Read Alouds

Abstract

Situated in the months after the 2016 United States presidential election, this qualitative case study illuminates third-grade children’s sense-making about the GOP Administration’s proposed border wall with Mexico. In light of these present-day politics, close analysis of how young children discuss social issues remains critical, particularly for social studies educators. Looking across fifteen book discussions, we zero in on three whole-class conversations about (im)migration beginning with initial read alouds through the final debrief wherein children conversed with a local university anthropologist about the clandestine migration of individuals across the U.S.’s southern border. During initial discussions, children in the Midwestern school demonstrated their frustration towards racist laws of the mid-1900s. Others responded with empathy or made personal connections to their own family heritage. In the findings, we note a clear progression in how children understood (im)migration issues as evidenced by how their questions and curiosities shifted in later lessons. We highlight how, when children are encouraged to engage with social topics, they can act as critical consumers and position themselves as politically active and engaged citizens.

Analogy as racial and political literacy: Taking Children's analyses seriously

“…There is some research on supporting children's racial and political literacies (see Baines et al, 2018; Brownell & Rashid, 2020; Frantz Bentley & Souto‐Manning, 2018; McClung, 2018; Vasquez, 2017), but more work to define those literacies and share teaching practices is needed. This requires adults to become comfortable discussing racialized topics that come up in the lives of children.…”

“…Although it is not common in classrooms, some teachers have documented how they support students' racial and political literacies (Brown et al, 2017). Preschool and elementary teachers have used children's literature, digital resources, news media, and interviews of community members to support students' understanding of events in the news, such as the expansion of the U.S./Mexico border wall (Brownell & Rashid, 2020; Price & Jurow, 2018) and the Women's March (Frantz Bentley & Souto‐Manning, 2018). Teachers also have used these texts to help students analyze how power dynamics affect their own situations, such as ongoing racial segregation in schools (Souto‐Manning, 2009), the local effects of climate change (Wargo, 2019), and gentrification of neighborhoods (Baines et al, 2018).…”

Transforming the Reading Preferences of Today’s Youth in the Digital Age: Intercultural Dialog

“…In recent studies, more and more often it comes to what and how young people read, which arouses interest in certain literary genres, fantasy in particular (Adams, 2020;Aleksandrov, 2001;Ammosov, 2005;Bell, 2010;Black, 2003;Brevnova, 2005;Campbell, 2010;Lerer, 2008;Pomogalova, 2006;Vasilieva, 2005;Vinogradova, 2003;Winterle, 2013), and what factors contribute to the formation of reading literacy and socialization of a young reader (Broeder & Stokmans, 2013;Brownell & Rashid, 2020;Chudinova, 2017;Morgan, 2015). The issue of reading naturally embraces ever wider layers of the cultural state of society, going far beyond the traditional approach.…”

Inclusive STEM High School Factors Influencing Ethnic Minority Students’ STEM Preparation

“…Triangulation was applied as the themes were established to emerge by converging multiple data sources of information (e.g., interviews, schools' websites reviews, and observation notes during the interview) (Creswell, 2012). We also applied member checking to determine the accuracy of our qualitative findings by sharing our major findings with the participants from whom the data were originally obtained (Brownell & Rashid, 2020;Creswell, 2012;Lincoln & Guba, 1985;Sim & Sharp, 1998). Member check is particularly important because researchers and participants look at the data with different perspectives and applying this enabled us to determine the participants feel that their ISHSs experiences were accurately represented.…”