“Everybody Treated Him Like He Was From Another World”: Bilingual Fourth Graders Develop Social Awareness Through Interactive Read-Alouds Focused on Critical Literacies

Abstract

This study explores read-aloud discussions of students in a fourth grade, bilingual classroom located in a rural district in the Southwestern United States. This article argues that teachers can develop students’ critical literacy skills through the use of interactive read-alouds with specific texts that problematize specific social issues for older readers (fourth graders). Finally, the study cultivates deeper understanding about how critical read-aloud contexts open spaces for students to deepen understandings of the ways in which social justice issues manifest in real world contexts. Data sources included field notes, audio and video recordings of the read-aloud sessions, semi-structured interviews, and student- and teacher-created artifacts. Analysis included constant comparative methods as well as traditions of interactive sociolinguistics.

Keywords:

• elementary
• children’s literature
• qualitative research