Critical Literacy and Podcasting in a 2nd Grade Classroom

Research with young children, critical literacy and new technology is limited (Burnett, 2009; Carrington, 2006; Marsh, 2005.) The purpose of this study is to describe the literacies produced in a second grade classroom, through podcasting, where the teacher attempted to frame my teaching from a critical literacy perspective. The study of this classroom reveals the literacies that come within a critical literacy structure for learning as well as those developments that were significant during the classroom's creation of a podcast. Such efforts also reveal the social practices of a teacher and her students as well as the identity and positioning work of selected individuals. A case study approach was used to provide the unique details that describe the classroom experiences of students engaged in such literacy work. The information that this study provides will be useful to researchers and educators as they seek to understand the shifts and possibilities of what critical literacy involves in a second grade classroom. Key findings include changes in the children's literacy learning when engaged in critical literacy and the literacy work that occurs with the use of technology.