Critical literacy.

Critical literacy is a way of teaching students to read any text—whether print, performance, graphic, photographic, artistic, or musical in form—from a position in which the reader questions the intentions of the author, explores the issue from multiple perspectives, considers sociocultural or political conditions, and takes action to interrupt and change current conditions. As critical readers, students are encouraged to reflect upon the content and the intentions of a text and to question and challenge textual authority—rather than simply accept the author’s stance—to understand and respond to an issue, a historical event, a theory, an advertisement, or a call to action. Critical-literacy approaches question relations of power, examine historic and current inequities, and encourage students to seek resources that feature marginalized voices and provide perspectives typically absent in traditional or mainstream communications.