Critical Literacy in a Kindergarten Classroom: An Examination of Social Action

Social action is an important part of critical literacy practice. In this chapter, we feature a case study of a child from a kindergarten classroom who, over the course of the year, develops the personal and collective resources that enable her to act on the injustice of bullying. Situated in a yearlong study of critical literacy practices, we draw on critical discourse analysis to trace one child’s ways of representing, interacting, and being across time and texts to show how she engages with social action. We argue that social action in the critical literacy classroom is more than a project. It is the development of meanings and stances that prepare people for the kind of long-term work necessary for making the world a better place.