Lessons in Critical Literacy
Melissa N. Matusevich
(Some) medical
organization says that
drinking orange juice
might reduce the risk of
getting some types of
cancer (from a current television commercial).
I know that Democrats talk
about saving the environment,
but I can prove that it is the
Republicans who really care.
When I voted, I saw the
Democrats passing out sample
ballots that were pink.
Republicans passed out sample
ballots that were yellow. After I
voted, I looked into the
recycling bin and noticed that
for every one pink sheet, there
were eight yellow ones (from a caller to a talk radio
show).
Russian car comes in
second!
American car comes in
next to last (from a headline in a Russian newspaper
describing the results of a test comparing the quality of
automobiles).
Critical Literacy Lesson #1
I. Introduction
Begin the lesson by telling students that you plan to share with them
information you have heard or read recently. Explain you have
selected three quotes that you gathered, and there is a reason why the
class will be spending time reading and discussing them. Using a
projector, show the first example and read it aloud. Ask students to
reread the quote and to write down what they believe it means. After
everyone has finished, ask volunteers to read their interpretations.
Draw students’ attention to the word "might." Discuss the meaning of
the word and how it may be misinterpreted by members of the
audience not paying close attention. Have students rewrite the quote
in such a way that it better conveys the message.
II. Critical Thinking
Following, ask students to think of all the places and ways in which
they gather information. If necessary, add to the discussion as you list
their responses on the board. The list might include the following:
- hearing information--from friends, from the teacher, from the radio,
from television, and other media, from Internet resources, etc.
- reading information--books, magazines, newspapers, World Wide
Web, e-mail, regular mail, etc.
- witnessing things first hand
Have students, in pairs, discuss which of the above they believe would
probably be more reliable and to tell why. Next, discuss healthy
skepticism versus gullibility. (This discussion can continue in many
ways. The teacher needs to vary the lesson according to the
discussion. As an example, students might mention information in
books that are out of date, or how easy it is to misinterpret a scenario
that is witnessed.)
Tell students that when gathering information, a good question to ask
is, "How do I know this is true?" Another is, "How reliable is this
source?" Remind them of the old adage, "If it sounds too good to be
true, it probably is."
Use the second scenario, the one that highlights a radio caller’s
conclusion based on information he gathered. Ask students if his
conclusion can be drawn from the information he provided. Why or
why not? What else could the difference in the numbers of pink
versus yellow papers mean? Guide students in generating as many
explanatins as possible.
III. Discovery Activity
Project the headline from Tass, the Russian newspaper. Ask students
what they believe it means. After a short discussion, pass out, to pairs
of students, five different 3" x 5" colored pieces of paper, each labeled
with the name of a country--England, France, Italy, Russia, and
United States. Tell students each represents a car manufactured by
the country whose name is on it. Using the headline, have students
recreate the headline. Discuss the various ways the cars can be
arranged to make the headline true. Next, have the student remove
the English car and repeat the activity. The third time, remove the
Italian car, and the fourth time remove the Italian card. Each time
discuss the results, noting all possible configurations. (When the
students have only three cars, the headline is impossible to illustrate.)
Now, two cars are remaining, the Russian and the one from the United
States. Have the students recreate the headline using these two cars.
Watch for the "ahas" of excitement as students begin to discover the
clever use of the headline. Remind students this headline is
authentic; ask them to tell why the Russians chose to report the news
in this way. Assist as needed.
IV. Conclusion
Ask students what they learned from the lesson and why someone
would purposefully use information in misleading ways. Tell them to
be on the alert for misleading information in television commercials, to
write down their examples, and to be ready to discuss their findings
next time.
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