Critical Literacy in Fairytales: Through the Eyes of a Preschooler

Abstract

Critical literacy theory says that students can make connections between a text and the meaning of its words, thereby, connecting it to societal ideas around them. Critical literacy in the classroom has often been tied back to various texts, including fairytales. When most think of critical literacy, the common idea is that it is used in an upper elementary classroom and the grades following. Various articles provide lots of insight into the minds of students in relation to critical topics; however, one age group has not been given much of an opportunity to participate in these discussions. This paper applies critical literacy to this age group--preschoolers. Through four fairytale lessons, students engaged in critical discourse with questions preplanned and facilitated by the researcher. This study aims to show that even young students can think critically about topics if they are challenged and provided with questions that push them to think about a topic.