Climate Literacy in Education, Volume 3, Issue 3 (Winter 2025) 19 Cultivating Critique, Hope, and Action The Cordel as a Multimodal Invitation to Environmental Education Topics Lauren Fletcher, California State University-Stanislaus, Stanislaus, California, United States Erica Holyoke, University of Colorado-Denver, Denver, Colorado, United States Abstract The cordel is a multimodal, interactive instructional strategy that invites students to engage with environmental education topics by exploring a variety of curated artifacts displayed along a string. Rooted in a traditional Brazilian practice, the cordel has been adapted for use in classrooms to activate students' background knowledge and foster critical thinking. It offers multiple entry points to ecological justice and collectively builds background knowledge. The cordel invites a critical and intersectional view of environmentalism and justice, fostering stances of reciprocity, shared knowledge building, and action. Keywords Environmental education, multimodality, community reflection, critical literacy, environmental action Fletcher & Holyokeú Cultivating Critique, Hope, & Action 20 Introduction The cordel is a multimodal instructional strategy that invites students into a topic, such as environmental justice or water rights. This approach activates and builds students' individual and collective background knowledge by presenting a variety of related artifacts along a string or cordel. The roots of this practice trace back to northeastern Brazil, where vendors would hang chapters or passages from books in marketplaces to attract potential buyers. These vendors often drew crowds by performing these snippets. The cordel allowed artists to directly work with the community, bypassing traditional gatekeepers like publishers and reviewers. Over time, this simple yet effective method of displaying narratives and artifacts has been adapted for use in the classroom (Landay & Wootton, 2012; Slater, 1982). In the classroom, the cordel serves as a powerful tool to frame a unit. Before beginning a topic, educators curate a collection of materials related to the subject such as photographs, maps, timelines, infographics, book excerpts, artwork, and even QR codes linking to songs.These artifacts are hung along a string, allowing students to explore them at their own pace and in any order. As Whitmore and colleagues (2020) noted, this creates a museum-like experience that encourages curiosity and personal engagement. Students then reflect on the artifacts, sharing their insights, personal connections, or questions, either in small groups or as a class. An extension to the cordel can be once students have explored a topic over a number of days or weeks; the cordel can be rehung, this time showcasing students’ own work (i.e. artifacts, ideas, and reflections) alongside the original materials. This second iteration positions students' contributions within the broader field of study, fostering a sense of ownership and accomplishment. The cordel can be shared with the class or even extended to the broader school community, such as other grades, administrators, or local community members, creating an opportunity to celebrate and share students’ learning. As educators and researchers working outside of Brazil, we approach the cordel with deep respect for its cultural and historical roots in northeastern Brazil, where it has long served as a grassroots medium for sharing stories, poetry, and political commentary. We recognize that cordel literatura is not simply a teaching tool, but a rich social and cultural practice with deep ties to community identity, resistance, and oral tradition (Slater, 1982). While we are not part of the communities that created or sustained this tradition, we engage with the cordel as a model of community-centered storytelling and multimodal expression. In adapting it for classroom use, we do so with care, aiming to honor its participatory spirit and to invite students into similarly reflective, justice-oriented engagements with text, image, and voice. Climate Literacy in Education, Volume 3, Issue 3 (Winter 2025) 21 Figure 1. An image of the cordel set up in Erica’s literacy methods course. Instructional Sequence Over the past four years, Lauren and Erica have used the cordel to introduce preservice teachers to the concept of being a good ancestor, encouraging them to explore literacy learning through the lens of environmental justice and land stewardship. In addition to using this practice with preservice teachers, Lauren has also applied it with elementary students on a variety of topics related to environmental education. The image below (Figure 2) provides an overview of how Lauren has used the cordel in her course to introduce the topic of being a good ancestor. Fletcher & Holyokeú Cultivating Critique, Hope, & Action 22 Figure 2. An illustrated diagram of Lauren’s instructional sequence in her Reading Methods course. Creating A Cordel When creating the cordel, there is no formula or one way of selecting artifacts. As we have curated materials over the years, we have always considered which pieces will invite critique, hope, and action. We aim for a balanced selection, ensuring that students leave feeling hopeful while also recognizing opportunities for real change. The process of creating a cordel is both creative and investigative. Figure 3 provides tips and a QR code that links to a handout to help you curate your cordel. Climate Literacy in Education, Volume 3, Issue 3 (Winter 2025) 23 Figure 3. Tips for how to create the cordel In a time marked by digital misinformation, algorithm-driven content, and the erasure of climate truths from public discourse, the tactile, community-oriented nature of the cordel offers learners an analogue form of storytelling grounded in relationality, care, and critical engagement. Returning to print-based, participatory texts like the cordel invites students to slow down, reflect, and co-construct meaning in ways that resist the speed and disposability of much digital content. At a Glance Title Cordel as a Multimodal Launch for Environmental Action Unit Time 30 - 45 minutes Grade Level(s) ECE to adult Core Text Be A Good Ancestor, by Gabriella & Leona Prince Supporting Texts Other multimodal texts that support the goals of the unit (linked to climate literacy) Climate Literacy Terms Will be based on the subject of the cordel Objectives • Build and activate prior knowledge through an arts-based shared experience around environmental stewardship. Fletcher & Holyokeú Cultivating Critique, Hope, & Action 24 • Offer a breadth of knowledge and entry points and foster rich discussions and future collective action. Materials and Resources • a clothesline cord (15–25 feet); • clothespins (about two per artifact) • selected artifacts printed on lightweight paper for easy hanging (~20-50) Adaptations for Different Spaces The cordel is a highly engaging experience that supports students in learning expansively about a topic in an interactive way. The above steps were delineated in planning and implementing a cordel. We also provide a frame for considering how to make a cordel work in various learning contexts and learning spaces, such as online and hybrid learning, as well as adaptations for young learners (Figure 4). Digital Adpatations The cordel is a highly interactive experience. However, depending on learning spaces, it can also be adapted for online and hybrid classrooms to ensure high engagement and participation while accommodating the learning environment. We have done this in higher education with hybrid and asynchronous learning formats. The figure below provides initial guidance on how to make this work in a digital space. One key to highlight in any adaptations is how learners are encouraged to engage with one another in the learning and how they are invited to connect with and talk with and to the content in the cordel. The emphasis on multimodality can be elevated in the digital learning space. The interactions can and should also be multimodal and include audio responses, annotations, digital stickies, and the utilization of various digital tools and platforms. Climate Literacy in Education, Volume 3, Issue 3 (Winter 2025) 25 Figure 4. Tips for using a cordel in a digital or hybrid learning environment Fletcher & Holyokeú Cultivating Critique, Hope, & Action 26 Adaptations for Young Learners Young learners may not yet access conventional print and require adaptations for the cordel content and interactive responses. Before you begin, consider the purpose and focus of your cordel. What responses do you hope to elicit? Plan with these in mind. In planning for young children, you can begin by reflecting on their strengths and drawing on genres/modes that suit their strengths. For example, if young children are highly engaged in songs and rhymes, have audio experiences playing while they engage in the cordel print materials. Or, if students are drawn to art, seek out representations of art across modalities that can be shown in images to communicate various perspectives and voices. It is also strongly encouraged to use text formats familiar to young people, such as picturebooks and environmental print. It is also highly recommended that young learners have interactive elements of the cordel. For example, use sensory resources, lift the flap content, and other strategies that help children engage holistically and across their senses with the content. The engagement should also be more scaffolded and be broken into multiple passes. For responses, have students pick their favorite piece and why, use stickers to ‘annotate’ the various pieces, and follow up by creating their class cordel with multimodal materials, oral stories, and drama. References Landay, E., & Wootton, K. (2012). A reason to read: Linking literacy and the arts. Harvard Education Press. Prince, L., & Prince, G. (2022). Be a good ancestor (Illus. Carla Joseph). Orca Book Publishers. Slater, C. (1982). Stories on a string: The Brazilian literatura de cordel. University of California Press. Whitmore, K. F., Chisholm, J. S., & Fletcher, L. (2020). Fostering, activating, and curating: Approaching books about social injustices with the arts. Language Arts, 98(1), 7- 18.