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1 What Is Critical Literacy? Scenario 1: Tasha and her parents are driving home one afternoon when they approach a construction site on the side of the road. A bright orange, diamond- shaped sign is posted to alert drivers. Tasha notices the sign that says, “Men Working.” She begins to wonder about the sign’s message. “Can’t girls be con- struction workers?” she asks herself. “I can be a construction worker if I want to. So why does the sign say ‘men’ instead of ‘people’? Who wrote this sign? Why don’t they think girls can do construction?” These questions nag at Tasha for the whole ride home. Later, she decides to write a letter to her county’s transporta- tion department to share her concerns. Tasha suggests the county could create new signs that say “Workers Present,” noting this language is more inclusive than “Men Working.” Scenario 2: Sam and his family are watching a local broadcast of the evening news when a story airs about a fight between two students at Sam’s school. The fight was captured on video by an observer’s cell phone, and one of the students sustained severe injuries and was hospitalized. The reporter grimly shares that the fight is the latest in a string of violent acts occurring at Sam’s school in the past year. Although Sam is saddened to hear about the fight, he wonders why the news reports only on the bad things happening at school. Just last week, Sam and other members of the Friendship Club raised money to purchase a “buddy bench” for the elementary school playground so lonely children can have a place to seek companionship at recess. “Why can’t the news report on a story like this?” Sam wonders. “Why do they always have to say bad things about what happens at my school? People probably think my school is a bad place for kids, but a lot of good stuff happens, too.” That night, Sam logs on Twitter and tweets about the Friend- ship Club’s fund-raiser to the news station. “How about you share more stories like this about my school?” he asks. Scenario 3: Carlos is an avid reader. He reads all kinds of books: fantasies about animals, stories about kids facing problems, and biographies about famous people he admires. He has already read most of the books in his classroom library, and he is a frequent visitor to his school’s library. As he reads more and