ABSTRACT
Middle school teachers recognize the importance of students reading historical literature with a critical perspective. Teachers who support students' critical literacy abilities offer all dimensions of a standard language arts program, but they also encourage students to recognize connections between their lives and the lives of real or imagined story characters. In addition, teachers help students explore text to discover authors' possible biases, and to reflect on how to take social action to create a more compassionate world. The strategy described in this article (Question, Connect, Transform) helps middle school students in inclusive settings question social justice and inequity issues.
The author thanks Dr. Nancy A. Anderson, Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, for supplying the listing of historical literature appropriate for middle school students. Additional social issue literature may be found in Heffernan, L. (2004). Critical literacy and writer's workshop. Newark, Del.: International Reading Association.
Focus on Inclusion is edited by Michael E. Skinner.