Learning to Talk Back to Texts

Abstract

This article describes an informal study that focused on teaching eighth graders to take a critical stance and talk back to texts. In this era of “fake news,” “alternative facts,” and what has been called a “post‐truth” culture, it is imperative that students do not simply accept everything they read, see, or hear at face value. They must be made aware that information presented as fact is not necessarily true and that it is up to them to identify the messages embedded in texts before deciding whether they agree with them, disagree with them, or need more information to make a decision. Data sources include students’ responses to three sophisticated picture books, their responses to questions about what talking back means and why people do it, examples of students talking back to common sayings, and examples of them talking back to an instance of administrative censorship.