Developing Critical Literacy Skills: Exploring Masculine and Feminine Stereotypes in Children's Literature

Developing critical literacy skills is a major challenge for teachers who are preparing students for a world that is saturated with information.1 A major part of the challenge is to show students how text, in all its forms, carries subtle messages regarding relationships of power, often justifying social inequities. Many researchers suggest that by integrating critical literacy into daily classroom activities, teachers can help students understand how texts are constructed and how authors are able to influence their understanding of the world.2