Balanced Literacy

Guided Reading – A Snapshot

In Mrs. Martin’s classroom, five students are seated around a table. Mrs. Martin is seated with them. She appears to be simply watching them read a story. But there’s a powerful strategy at work here. It’s called guided reading. Guided Reading is Part of a Balanced Literacy Approach Guided reading is one component of a [...]

Independent Reading – The Foundation of Lifelong Reading

Successful independent reading is the end result of a well-executed balanced literacy program. It allows students the chance to “practice” the strategies they’ve learned through guided reading, shared reading, and teacher read alouds – the other components of balanced literacy. With level appropriate materials, students now have the skills they need to read on their [...]

Shared Reading – A Critical Component of Balanced Literacy Instruction

In kindergarten and first grade, shared reading is the anchor of a Balanced Literacy program. But what exactly is it? What does shared reading look like? Here’s an illustration… In Ms. Avery’s classroom, kindergarten students are sitting on a colorful rug waiting for the “show” to begin. It’s shared reading time, one of their favorite [...]

Word Study Makes Language Learning Fun

Many students find word study to be one of the most enjoyable components of balanced literacy instruction. Teachers find it to be one of the most powerful. That’s because reading ability dramatically improves as students use meaningful games and activities to discover: Letters and the sounds they make How to pick out root words, and [...]

The Read Aloud Component of Balanced Literacy Instruction

For many fortunate students, the read aloud strategy was first introduced to them on their parent’s knee. Long before they were developmentally capable of learning to read they experienced the joy and pleasure of reading. These students were not only given a strong foundation for becoming lifelong readers, they were also given a head start [...]