Critical Thinking & Literacy By Kajavia Woods Arkansas State University kajavia07@gmail.com

Defining Critical Thinking It’s a process of reasoning and reflecting that is done in order to decide what to believe or what course of action to take. Is done in response to: A problem we are facing in life Something we’ve read An argument we hear

What children and teachers do when they think critically: They read or watch or listen as if the meaning of the text were the starting point in their pursuit of greater awareness and not the endpoint. They ask not only “What does the text mean?” but also “What can I do with the meaning?” They make meaning by constructing interpretations of what they hear and read and supporting those interpretations with evidence from text.

What children and teachers do when they think critically: They use reading and discussions reading as opportunities to learn what their classmates think, even joining their ideas with those of others to create more sophisticated insights. They look below the surface of texts, and use their knowledge of literary structures and genres as they construct meaning and venture interpretations. They hold texts up to scrutiny, sometimes questioning their messages and the purposes of those behind the messages.

Defining Critical Literacy When readers examine the social, political, and cultural purposes and values that the text they read reflect Critical readers ask: Who is behind the text? Why is the argument being made? Whose voices are missing from the text?

It is not good to teach children to be skeptical of some things they read. It will make them bitter people if done. a. True Emphasize the false b. False

Critical Thinking and “The New Literacies” New Literacies are… Making meaning from non-print forms of communication These forms are emerging rapidly and may require new reading and writing strategies Information that comes from the internet, ebooks, and iPads Twitter, Youtube, Snapchat, Instagram Students need to know how to navigate the web and use it for different purposes

Students who do very well at comprehending online materials have been very poor at comprehending in traditional text task. a. True b. False

Using a Discussion Web Prepare a thoughtful binary question A question that can be answered “yes” or “no” with support Ex. In discussing “Jack and the Beanstalk” you could ask “Was Jack right to steal from the giant?” Ask pairs of students to prepare a discussion web chart Give them four or five reasons to think up and list three reasons each that support both sides of the argument

Using a Discussion Web Next, each pair of students joins another pair They review the answers thy had on both sides of the issue and add to each other’s list Then they argue the issue through until they reach a conclusion A position they agree on with a list of reasons that support it End the lesson by calling on several groups of four to give brief reports of their position and the reasons that support it.

Questions That Focus In Questions that ask about the article or topic If a question is about a story you can ask about: A character’s motives “Why did she agree to do that?” The relationships between characters “Do you think he is a good influence on her?” Why the author wrote the story? “What did this author want us to see or to understand?”

Questions That Focus Out Questions that are geared toward the world outside the text or topic of study. Whether the characters made good choices. Would you have done what he did? What is another way to solve that problem? Whether the behavior picture in this story should serve as a model for us in real life. Is that the way boys should really behave with girls? Suppose she was your sister?

Critical thinking is a process of reasoning and reflecting in order to decide what to believe or what to do? a. True b. False

Critical literacy is concerned with the social or political purpose of messages and the contexts in which they are understood. a. True b. False

References Temple, C., Ogle, D., Crawford, A., & Temple, C. (n.d.). Critical Thinking and Critical Literacy. In All Children Read: Teaching for Literacy in Today's Diverse Classrooms (5th ed., pp. 225-252). NewYork, NewYork: Pearson.