"NO EASY ROAD TO FREEDOM”: CRITICAL LITERACY IN A FOURTH‐GRADE CLASSROOM

Abstract

A fourth‐grade class in suburban New Jersey culminated its study of the South African elections with a play for parents and students: “No Easy Road to Freedom.” This article describes how a group of elementary‐age students of varying abilities exploited the power of literacy to examine issues of justice and democracy in distant Africa and in their own community. Literacy was a primary means by which students shared what they learned and raised the political consciousness of fellow students, parents, and the community in which they lived.