Using critical pedagogy, Cathie Wright-Lewis encourages students to connect current events with fiction. In this lesson, Wright-Lewis provides perspective on Octavia E. Butler's novel Parable of the Sower by asking students to make connections between newspaper articles and issues Butler raises in the book.


Session 7: Critical Pedagogy: Ruthanne Lum McCunn

Sandra Childs uses critical pedagogy to help students understand Ruthanne Lum McCunn's Thousand Pieces of Gold. The class discusses the Chinese practice of footbinding and then explores how contemporary American women suffer to make themselves conform to society's standards of beauty. Divided into groups, the students read first-person accounts by women addressing the pressure to conform.

Lesson Plan 1