“I Used Rainbow Colors Because She Was Gay”: A Critical Multiliteracies Curriculum in Elementary School

Abstract

In response to increasing efforts to mandate scripted literacy curriculum and legislative overreach in banning books from school classrooms, this study examines the implementation of a critical multiliteracies curriculum as a form of pedagogical resistance. Using qualitative and quantitative data, this work documents how learners used various forms of meaning making to explore complex life experiences, histories, and stories while developing foundational and expansive literacy practices. Findings suggest that critical multiliteracies pedagogies foster engaged and joyful learning, create spaces of belonging, and enable multiple forms of literacy learning for students, including strengthening foundational literacy skills.