Critical Literacy Strategies

1. Problem Posing

   • Who is in the text/picture/situation? Who is missing?

   • Whose voices are represented? Whose voices are marginalized or discounted?

   • What are the intentions of the author? What does the author want the reader to think?

   • What would an alternative text/picture/situation say?

   • How can the reader use this information to promote equity?

2. Switching

   • Gender Switch- switching the gender of the characters in the text

   • Theme Switch- switching the story to an opposite theme or closely related theme to the current theme of the text

   • Setting Switch- switching to tell the story in a different time, place, or social class

   • Body-Style Switch- switching the main character's body type (tall, athletic, short, etc)

   • Clothing Switch- switching how the characters are dressed (formally, preppy, gang, etc.)

   • Emotion Switch- switching the character's emotional tone

   • Ethnic/Race Switch- switching the character's race or ethnicity

3. Alternative Perspectives

   • Alternative Texts- propose a perspective that is different from the one present

   • Character Substitutions- substituting out a character in a book for a different character, or changing the character (personality, beliefs, traits, thoughts, etc.)

   • Character Perspectives- change the character's motives and perspectives to fit the desires of a different character in the book

   • Juxtaposition- looking at two different texts and comparing them

   • Mind and Alternative Mind Portraits- students visualize/draw what the characters in the text look like

4. Exploring Identities

   • Critically analyze own identify and how that shapes the kind of reader you are

   • Analyze sense of self- Am I stereotyping the characters, places, voices, or dialogue within a text?