The effect of activities developed using fairy tales on the development of critical literacy skills of primary school 4th grade students

This study aimed to develop the critical literacy skills of elementary school students. The primary objective was to investigate the impact of reading and writing activities, developed using fairy tales, on the development of critical literacy skills of 4th grade students. Additionally, it sought to explore the role of fairy tales and writing-based activities in fostering critical literacy. The research was conducted with 4th grade students with a class size of 31 at a public primary school in Alanya during the 2023-2024 academic year, employing a qualitative case study methodology. 23 students were evaluated as participants due to having complete texts. A three-stage modular program was developed, comprising deconstruction, reconstruction, and transformation phases for the study. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and Jack and the Beanstalk were chosen as fairy tales. Students rewrote selected fairy tales by reconstructing and transforming them. Data was collected through students' written texts, pre- and post-research interviews with selected 10 participants, and researcher field notes. Content analysis and constant comparative analysis were utilized for data interpretation. Findings revealed that among critical literacy skills, 'disturbing the commonplace' was most prominent, followed by 'defining the problem critically and in all its complexity,' 'examining multiple perspectives,' 'taking social action,' and lastly, 'questioning one's own presuppositions.' The fairy tales elicited varying degrees of critical content, with Snow White generating the most, followed by Cinderella, Puss in Boots, and Jack and the Beanstalk. A decrease in critical literacy content was observed in students' transformation texts compared to their reconstruction texts, particularly in the latter two fairy tales. Interview responses indicated that while the interventions did not significantly impact students' text participant perspectives, they were effective in enhancing students' views as text users. Notably, no substantial changes were observed in students' ability to critically analyze texts, with some subdomains showing unexpected shifts. The study concludes that critical literacy skills and related content should be consistently emphasized throughout the educational program. It recommends incorporating diverse materials and activities alongside fairy tales and including genre-specific writing exercises to enhance critical literacy development.