This article describes a classroom study that investigated how working with interpretive stances supported eighth graders in becoming more critical readers. The research team included two university faculty members and an eighth‐grade language arts teacher. The teacher introduced the idea of reading from six interpretive stances (metaphorical, philosophical, aesthetic, analytical, intertextual, critical) and used a sophisticated picture book to demonstrate how to use the stances to respond to it in different ways. Students then used descriptions and examples of the stances to respond to written and visual texts. Data sources include field notes, teacher reflections, and students’ written and multimodal responses. The study was repeated with a second eighth‐grade class a year later after revising the definition of critical stance given to students. Findings suggest that students’ use of the stances supported them in identifying inequities, seeing issues from multiple perspectives, and challenging stereotypes.

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.