Critical Comprehension [Grades K-6]

Katie Kelly is a Professor of Education and Coordinator of the Literacy Graduate Program at Furman University in Greenville, SC. As a former teacher and literacy coach, Katie’s teaching and research interests include engaging children in meaningful literacy experiences and practices to foster lifelong literacy, equity, and justice. She is widely published in several peer-reviewed journals including The Reading Teacher and Voices from the Middle. She has co-authored three other books: Reading To Make a Difference: Using Literature to Help Students Think Deeply Speak Freely and Take Action (Heinemann), From Pencils to Podcasts: Digital Tools to Transform K-12 Literacy Practices (Solution Tree) and Smuggling Writing: Strategies that Get Students to Write Every Day, in Every Content Area (3-12) (Corwin). She can be contacted on Twitter @ktkelly14 and by email katie.kelly@furman.edu. Lester Laminack, Professor Emeritus, Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina is now a full-time writer and consultant working with schools throughout the United States and abroad. He is the author of over 25 books for teachers and children. His academic publications include Climb Inside a Poem (Heinemann) Cracking Open the Author’s Craft (Scholastic), Bullying Hurts: Teaching Kindness Through Read Aloud and Guided Conversations (Heinemann), The Writing Teacher’s Troubleshooting Guide (Heinemann), Writers ARE Readers: Flipping Reading Strategies into Writing Instruction (Heinemann), The Ultimate Read Aloud Collection Fiction and Nonfiction (Scholastic).Lester is also the author of several children’s books including: The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor’s Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth, Saturdays and Tea Cakes, Jake’s 100th Day of School, Snow Day!, Three Hens and a Peacock  (2012 Children’s Choice K-2 Book of the Year Award), and The King of Bees all published by Peachtree Publishers. His new book, Three Hens, a Peacock, and the Enormous Egg is expected in February 2023, and A Cat Like That is expected in Summer 2024.His newest work is Reading to Make a Difference (Heinemann) and The Ultimate Read Aloud Guide 2nd. Edition (Scholastic) and The Ultimate Read Aloud Collection Fiction and Nonfiction (Scholastic).  Lester is available for professional development and school author visits. You can contact him via his website www.LesterLaminack.com and follow him on Facebook or on Twitter @Lester_Laminack Vivian Vasquez is a Professor in the School of Education at American University in Washington, DC. She is a former pre-school and elementary school teacher. Her interests in creating spaces for critical literacies, in early years classrooms, began while she was a kindergarten teacher in the early 90s. She has published numerous articles and book chapters, and she has authored or co-authored fifteen other books including the award winning Negotiating Critical Literacies with Young Children. Vivian’s honors and awards include the Outstanding Elementary Educator in the English Language Arts Award, the NCTE Advancement of People of Color Award , the AERA Division B Outstanding Book of the Year Award and The James N. Britton Award. The NCTE Early Childhood Assembly honored her with a scholarship in her name - The Vivian Vasquez Teacher Scholarship. She can be reached at vvasque@american.edu.

• IntroductionChapter 1: What is Critical ComprehensionChapter 2: Exploring Individual and Collective IdentitiesChapter 3: PerspectiveChapter 4: Examining StereotypesChapter 5: Confronting BiasChapter 6: Interrogating the Past and the PresentChapter 7: Consuming CriticallyConclusion

I so wish I could have read this book years ago when making my first (clumsy) attempts at helping my second and third graders think more critically about the endless stream of texts they consume each and every day. I could have been so much more effective. Katie Kelly, Lester Laminack, and Vivian Vasquez have provided a treasure trove of detailed lessons and resources designed to help justice-minded teachers not only understand the need for literacy learning rooted in efforts to address issues of injustice, but better understand what it might look like in their own classrooms. My hope now is that teachers are brave enough to do the work that needs to be done!