Constructing Meaning through Critical Literacy
Keona Shorter
Grand Canyon University:
EED-475 Curriculum, Methods, and Assessment: Reading
April 17, 2016

The Poem I, Too, by Langston Hughes, is a literary classic. It illustrates the societal struggles America has been through and reflects a common perception about a class of people in that day. Students can use this poem to learn about social issues and societal norms of 1925 while also developing an opinion about how to treat other people in everyday life. Middle school students have the mental capacity to understand conflicts and racial indiscretion. These activities can help the students to create a resolution in common problems they may face in life as well. Langston Hughes, "I Too" is a Common Core reading from Appendix B. “Hughes, Langston. “I, Too, Sing America.” The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes. New York: Knopf, 1994. (1925)” (Common Core, 2016).

—From The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes, edited by Arnold Rampersad (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1994), p. 46.

Platform Strategy | Activity | Reading Supplementary Texts"Practitioners can use lyrics from popular music as supplementary texts to engage students in a discussion about race, gender, religion, politics, etc." (UNC- Chapel Hill School of Education, 2016). Using accessible supplementary materials will help to open the understanding of the students and provide then with a more analytical perspective of the poem. The song is essentially a poem. Students can reflect on the meaning of the song and connect it to the social environment in the times of Langston Hughes. | Usher - Chainshttps://www.youtube.com/watch? list=SRusher%20chains&v=slN1CEUhA-E As an introductory lesson, students will watch the YouTube video of a song produced by a famous artist. At specific points, the teacher will stop and discuss keywords to open the student’s minds to the idea of looking for a deeper meaning.The teacher will ask students to turn and talk about the question before asking for developing opinions about the lyrics of the song.Students then compare and contrast the poem "I Too" by Langston Hughes with the song. While comparing the changes in history from these particular points of view students will discuss shifts in a group setting facilitated by the teacher. Using a Venn Diagram students will plot the information they have gained to show similarities and differences in societal changes. | Reading from a Resistant Perspective“By considering how people from different backgrounds (i.e., racial, cultural, gender, religious, socio-economic status, sexual orientation) would read the same text, students can gain a better understanding of how the representative group would be affected by a reading of a text” (UNC- Chapel Hill School of Education, 2016). By providing students with the opposing view, it will give students a more balanced perspective regarding the social dynamics of 1925 America. Students can understand the realities associated with the topic and see the effects the situational thinking had on both sides. | Students will visit the website belowhttp://americainclass.org/sources/becomingmodern/prosperity/text1/text1.htm and view the counter perspective to how Langston Hughes saw America in 1925. Students will be split into pairs and given opposing views of the argument of inequality. After researching the opposing view, students will provide four reasons to be for their assigned viewpoint on the topic. Students will debate the issue to show a clear understanding of the political state of the United States in 1925 and how it related to the verses in Langston Hughes poems. Once students have explained what they know, they will create an idea map focusing on the poem "I Too" and how it relates to the political structure of 1925. | Creating a Counter Text“Producing counter-texts can serve to validate the thoughts, observations, and feelings of students and other underrepresented groups. This approach to curriculum offers students occasions to speak from the point of view of those voices that are often silenced or marginalized, thereby empowering them” (UNC- Chapel Hill School of Education, 2016). This strategy will force students to think critically about the particular topic and help them to see the underlying message to texts. | Students will analyze newspaper cartoons from 1925 to look for the deeper meaning and to see the message behind the text by relating it to the poem "I Too," by Langston Hughes. Once the students have analyzed the cartoons, they will make a newspaper page to reflect the underlying message in the poem "I Too." | Inferencing“Inferencing, the process of judging, concluding, or reasoning from given information, has been described by some researchers as the heart of the reading process” (Education Place, 2016). When students can make inferences, they can make decisions about the text based on the information provided within the document and construct meaning from the information. | The teacher will lead a class discussion about how to make inferences with based on the information given in a text or clues provided from an illustration.After the discussion students will use what they have learned to make assumptions about the author of the poem "I Too" and write a one paragraph biography about the author using only context clues and the tone and other information in the text.Students will then research the author and gain insight on his life, demeanor, and other attributes. | Monitoring“Monitoring, the process of knowing when what you are reading is not making sense and having some means of overcoming the problem, is an important part of students' meta-cognitive development” (Education Place, 2016). Meta-cognition helps students analyze their thinking and use clarifying strategies to understand written information. | Students will read the poem on their own and develop questions and wondering about the text. After 15 minutes' students will be given a partner and together they will discuss what is written on the sticky to gain a deeper meaning of the poem.Students will write down key phrases from the text and interpret the sense from the authors point of view and create their opinion to share with the class. | Summarizing“Summarizing, pulling together the relevant information in longer texts, has been shown to be an important strategy in helping readers improve their abilities to construct meaning” (Education Place, 2016). When given these skills students can apply it to any text. They can deconstruct the text to understand the structure and make valid statements based on what they have read. | Students will read the poem “I Too” and summarize the general meaning of the text in seven sentences. Students will incorporate evidence to support their claim based on vocabulary and contextual meaning during the time the book was written. | Activating Background Knowledge Students take an interest and create meaning from stories and informational texts when they can find ways to connect to the information. Activating background knowledge builds a bridge from what the student already knows about the information they are studying. “Rather than approaching text passively, students need to be encouraged to be a "text participant" – to use their prior knowledge and experience when reading to interpret what the author is saying and to anticipate where he or she might be going next, to unmask an author’s purpose and intent, to form interpretations in light of their knowledge and point of view,and to examine and then find the most effective ways to convey their thinking” (Education Place, 2016). | The teacher will lead a discussion about Langston Hughes to probe the students understanding of historical attitudes in 1925. Using an interactive smart board to display a KWL chart the teacher will write down what the students already know about social attitudes in 1925. Students will create a KWL chart and record the information in the K as well. The teacher will display old photographs and word cutouts and write down their interpretations or the feelings they receive from viewing them. Lastly, the students then will read the poem “I Too” on their own and fill in the L. Using the information they have learned the students will write a response based on the what they understand. | TAKING SOCIAL ACTION“Moving students to social action is also a practical characteristic of critical literacy; students engaging in social action projects can improve the conditions of their communities” (UNC- Chapel Hill School of Education, 2016). Social changes in the community reflect the conditions of student’s life. Creating opportunities to evoke changes gives students ownership of their surroundings and energizes them to make a difference. This strategy will motivate students to dig deeper | In a group, students will investigate the premise behind the poem "I Too". They will ask questions about the nature of the lyric and why it was relevant to the times by showing the condition of their neighborhoods in 1925, and the way they live today. Students will use the information gathered identify problematic behaviors, attitudes, and cultures of today and address them by writing a letter to society, or an ad that explains the concept of the poem in relation today. | Technology Integration“Incorporating media and technology is another popular strategy for including critical literacy in the classroom. The internet, modern media, and technology play an increasingly larger function in American society” (UNC- Chapel Hill School of Education, 2016). Technology is engrafted 21st-century living and should be used as a support to education within the classroom and without. Students can use technology to enhance the way they deliver and obtain information to make their opinion more visible. | Students will use the internet to investigate key words in the poem “I Too” to find out the problematic conditions of society in 1925. Using the Read, Write, Think website students will create an interactive comic strip of Langston Hughes and America having a conversation to resolve what was perceived as a real problem in America in 1925 that can relate to his poem. | PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENT CHOICE“Student choice in any research has long been touted as an effective way to involve, encourage, and empower students to actively participate in the construction of knowledge. Similarly, proponents of critical literacy theory in classrooms suggest that by allowing student choice, teachers legitimize interests and experience of their students. Choosing a topic for research, however, is not considered critical unless students evaluate the problems involved in society and how the conditions of society created this problem" (UNC- Chapel Hill School of Education, 2016). Giving students a choice to investigate information in their desired manner allows them to take an active role in obtaining, retaining, and constructing their knowledge. Students who research their topics most times can understand the information because they use multiple forms of comprehensible input to gain literacy of the subject. They use the information to construct knowledge and develop a solid grasp of understanding. | Students will choose one prompt from the list and write a commentary on the poem "I Too" written by Langston Hughes. * Students must support their theories with credible information and cite their sources. * Students must provide examples of how the problem was started. * Students must provide two statements explaining why this problem is detrimental to society. * Students must provide a researched based resolution to the problem. * How can we prevent this problem from continuing or from happening again? |

References
Education Place. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/st_read2.html
The Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat. 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/literacynumeracy/inspire/research/Critical_Literacy.pdf UNC-Chapel Hill School of Education. 2016. Retrieved from: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4437-- Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. 2004. Retrieved from: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar04/vol61/num06/Creating-Fluent-Readers.aspx Tompkins, G. E. (2014). Literacy for the 21st century: A balanced approach, sixth edition.
Published by Pearson. Retrieved from http://gcumedia.com/digital-resources/pearson/literacy-for-the21st-century_a-blanced-approach_ebook_php