Teaching for Change in the Ela Classroom: Integrating Social Justice and Critical Literacy for Grades 9-12

This book can help you incorporate critical literacy pedagogy into your high school English Language Arts (ELA) classroom, so that your students can use what they study in class to work toward making a more just and equitable world.

Through the acronym CHANGE, the book explores how critical literacy pedagogy can support students as they Challenge injustice to Help make a difference in the world by Asking and answering tough questions and Noticing ways to Get involved and Engaged in making the world a better place. It first centers on the theory behind critical literacy pedagogy with Bob Fecho’s concept of wobble, the tensions teachers experience when different points of view collide in the classroom, and why being mindful of and responding to moments of wobble can help educators grow in their teaching practice. The book then provides practical, specific suggestions by grade level for high school ELA teachers to implement critical literacy pedagogy in their classrooms, and address the tensions and moments of discomfort and uncertainty they might experience while providing critical literacy pedagogy.

With detailed lesson plans and case study examples from in-service ELA teachers, this book is an incredible resource for high school language arts teachers who are interested in teaching for social justice and integrating critical literacy pedagogy into their classrooms.

Dan Stockwell taught high school English language arts (ELA) in South Carolina for 8 years, and is now an assistant professor in the Department of English at California State University, Bakersfield, where he teaches courses for students studying to become secondary ELA teachers. His research focuses on how secondary ELA teachers can provide critical literacy pedagogy, even in restrictive contexts.