Balanced literacy is a theory of teaching reading and writing the English language that arose in the 1990s and has a variety of interpretations. For some, balanced literacy strikes a balance between whole language and phonics and puts an end to the so called "reading wars". Others say balanced literacy, in practice, usually means the whole language approach to reading.[1][2][3]
Some proponents of balanced literacy say it uses research-based elements of comprehension, vocabulary, fluency, phonemic awareness and phonics and includes instruction in a combination of the whole group, small group and 1:1 instruction in reading, writing, speaking and listening with the strongest research-based elements of each. They go on to say that the components of a balanced literacy approach include many different strategies applied during reading and writing workshops.[4]
On the other hand, critics say balanced literacy, like whole language, is a meaning-based approach that when implemented does not include the explicit teaching of sound-letter relationships as provided by systematic phonics.[5][6][7] Also, it is reasonably effective only for children to whom learning to read comes easily, which is less than half of students.[8]
Reading
During balanced literacy reading workshops, skills are explicitly modeled during mini-lessons. The mini-lesson has four parts: the connection, the teach (demonstration), the active engagement and the link. The teacher chooses a skill and strategy that the class needs to be taught based on assessments conducted in the classroom. During the connection phase, the teacher connects prior learning to the current skill the students are currently learning. The teacher announces the teaching point or the skill and strategy. In this approach, the teacher shows students how to accomplish the skill by modeling the strategy in a book the students are familiar with. The teacher likewise uses a "think aloud" in this method to share thoughts and then allow the students to work this out in their own books or in the teacher's book during the active engagement. During the link phase, the teacher reminds students about the strategies they can do while they are reading.[9]
Shared reading is when the students read from a shared text. Often this is a big book projected on screen using a website or documents camera. If possible students should have their own copies also. Students and the teacher read aloud and share their thinking about the text. During mini-lessons, interactive read-aloud and shared reading the class will create anchor charts. These anchor charts remind students how and when to use different skills and strategies.[10]
Guided reading is a small group activity where more of the responsibility belongs to the student. Students read from a leveled text. They use the skills directly taught during mini-lessons, interactive read aloud and shared reading to increase their comprehension and fluency. The teacher is there to provide prompting and ask questions. Guided reading allows for great differentiation in the classroom. Groups are created around reading levels, and students move up when they note that the entire group is ready. During guided reading time the other students may be engaged in reading workstations that reinforce various skills or partner or independent reading. They often work in pairs during this time. Stations can include a library, big book, writing, drama, puppets, word study, poetry, computer, listening, puzzles, buddy reading, projector/promethean board, creation station, science, social studies.[11]
Independent reading is exactly what it sounds like: students reading self-selected text independently. Students choose books based on interest and independent reading level.
Word study content depends on the grade level and the needs of the student. Kindergarten begins with phonemic awareness, then adds print for phonics, sight word work, and common rimes/onset. In first and second grade phonics work intensifies as students apply their knowledge in their writing including adding endings, prefixes, suffixes, and use of known sight words to study other words. To "know" a word means the student can read it, write it, spell it and use it in conversation.
Writing
The second half of balanced literacy is the writing component giving students practice writing, for extended periods of time, on topics of their choice. Allowing students to write about topics they find interesting gives them a sense of ownership.[12]
There are four main components of the writing workshop: the mini-lesson, check-in, writing/conferring time, and sharing.[13][14]
The mini-lesson is a whole class activity. The teacher introduces a skill or strategy they want students to be able to apply during the independent writing time.[15] Examples of skills or strategies could include: using strong verbs; how to transition from one idea to another; the importance of adding vivid details; how to organize writing with a beginning, middle, and end, and tips for writing a good introduction or conclusion.[15]
Just before the students begin writing, the teacher will check in to see where each student is in the writing process.[13] This is a quick check-in to check their status and make sure someone is not stuck in one area.
After modeling the skill or strategy taught during the mini-lesson, students then begin writing independently, putting those new skills to work. Students utilize all the steps of the writing process: brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.[15] Depending on the size of the writing piece, this may take place in one session, or over several days. While the students are writing, the teacher is conferencing one-on-one with each student.[16] Meeting with students individually, allows the teacher to target specific skills for each student. Each conference lasts approximately five minutes with the goal being to meet with each student at least once a week.[15] At times, peer conferencing may also take place, where students seek feedback from their peers.[16]
The final step in the writing workshop is sharing. This is a crucial element, almost as much as the writing itself. This process allows students to show off their work and take ownership for what they have written.[16]
Implementation
Balanced literacy is implemented through the Reading and Writing Workshop Model. The teacher begins by modeling the reading/writing strategy that is the focus of the workshop during a mini-lesson (see above description) Then, students read leveled texts independently or write independently for an extended period of time as the teacher circulates amongst them to observe, record observations and confer. At the culmination of the workshop session, selected students share their strategies and work with the class.
It is recommended that guided reading be implemented during the extended independent reading period. Based upon assessment, the teacher works with small groups of students (no more than 6 students in each group) on a leveled text (authentic trade book). The teacher models specific strategies before reading and monitors students while they read independently. After reading, the teacher and students engage in activities in word study, fluency, and comprehension. The purpose of Guided Reading is to systematically scaffold the decoding and/or comprehension strategy skills of students who are having similar challenges.
Direct Instruction in phonics and Word Study are also included in the balanced literacy approach. For emergent and early readers, the teacher plans and implements phonics based mini-lessons. After the teacher explicitly teaches a phonemic element, students practice reading and/or writing other words following the same phonemic pattern. For advanced readers, the teacher focuses on the etymology of a word. Students who are reading at this stage are engaged in analyzing the patterns of word derivations, root words, prefixes and suffixes.
The overall purpose of balanced literacy instruction is to provide students with a differentiated instructional program which will support the reading and writing skill development of each individual.
Comprehension strategies
Children are taught to use comprehension strategies including: sequencing, relating background knowledge, making inferences, comparing and contrasting, summarizing, synthesizing, problem-solving, distinguishing between fact and opinion, finding the main idea, and supporting details.
Teacher modeling or showing kids what a reader does when reading a text, thinking aloud about the mental processes used to construct meaning while reading a book aloud to the class.
Active Engagement during the mini-lesson; students try the work they were shown by the teacher.
"Link" Students are reminded of all the strategies they can do as readers and writers.
Independent practice where children begin to work alone while reading books by themselves, trying out the work they have been taught by the teacher, not only on that day but any previous lessons as well.
Application of the strategy is achieved when the students can correctly apply comprehension strategies to different kinds of texts and are no longer just practicing but are making connections between and can demonstrate understanding through writing or discussion.[17]
Throughout this process, students progress from having a great deal of teacher support to being independent learners. The teacher support is removed gradually as the students acquire the strategies needed to understand the text by themselves.
Reception and critics
Critics such as Diane Ravitch say that balanced literacy may use elements of phonics and whole language but it focuses mainly on reading strategies such as "predicting what they will read, visualizing what they will read, inferring the meaning of what they have read, reading alone, reading in a group, and so on".[5] Others, such as Louisa C. Moats, say that balanced literacy is just whole language "wearing the fig leaf of balanced instruction".[6]
Neuroscientist Mark Seidenberg, a proponent of the science of reading and the teaching of phonics, writes that balanced literacy purports to end the reading wars "without resolving the underlying issues", and that "balanced literacy provided little guidance for teachers who thought that phonics was a cause of poor reading and did not know how to teach it". In particular, he does not support practices such as the three-cueing systems[18][19] or encouraging struggling readers to skip over or guess puzzling words.[20][21]
Timothy Shanahan, a well known literacy educator and researcher, is on record as saying he does not support the reading workshop because "it definitely is not research based" and the workshop method is not particularly supportive of reading instruction.[22]
Whole language is a philosophy of reading and a discredited educational method originally developed for teaching literacy in English to young children. The method became a major model for education in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK in the 1980s and 1990s, despite there being no scientific support for the method's effectiveness. It is based on the premise that learning to read English comes naturally to humans, especially young children, in the same way that learning to speak develops naturally.
Phonics is a method for teaching reading and writing to beginners. To use phonics is to teach the relationship between the sounds of the spoken language (phonemes), and the letters (graphemes) or groups of letters or syllables of the written language. Phonics is also known as the alphabetic principle or the alphabetic code. It can be used with any writing system that is alphabetic, such as that of English, Russian, and most other languages. Phonics is also sometimes used as part of the process of teaching Chinese people to read and write Chinese characters, which are not alphabetic, using pinyin, which is alphabetic.
Reading for special needs has become an area of interest as the understanding of reading has improved. Teaching children with special needs how to read was not historically pursued under the assumption of the reading readiness model that a reader must learn to read in a hierarchical manner such that one skill must be mastered before learning the next skill. This approach often led to teaching sub-skills of reading in a decontextualized manner, preventing students with special needs from progressing to more advanced literacy lessons and subjecting them to repeated age-inappropriate instruction.
The National Reading Panel (NRP) was a United States government body. Formed in 1997 at the request of Congress, it was a national panel with the stated aim of assessing the effectiveness of different approaches used to teach children to read.
Phonemic awareness is a part of phonological awareness in which listeners are able to hear, identify and manipulate phonemes, the smallest mental units of sound that help to differentiate units of meaning (morphemes). Separating the spoken word "cat" into three distinct phonemes,, , and, requires phonemic awareness. The National Reading Panel has found that phonemic awareness improves children's word reading and reading comprehension and helps children learn to spell. Phonemic awareness is the basis for learning phonics.
Reading comprehension is the ability to process written text, understand its meaning, and to integrate with what the reader already knows. Reading comprehension relies on two abilities that are connected to each other: word reading and language comprehension. Comprehension specifically is a "creative, multifaceted process" that is dependent upon four language skills: phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics.
Synthetic phonics, also known as blended phonics or inductive phonics, is a method of teaching English reading which first teaches letter-sounds and then how to blend (synthesise) these sounds to achieve full pronunciation of whole words.
Interactive writing has been described by Swartz (2001) as "a teaching method in which children and teacher negotiate what they are going to write and then share the pen to construct the message." Interactive writing is a cooperative event in which text is jointly composed and written. The teacher uses the interactive writing session to model reading and writing strategies as he or she engages children in creating text.
Miscue analysis was originally developed by Ken Goodman for the purpose of understanding the reading process. It is a diagnostic tool that helps researchers/teachers gain insight into the reading process.
Guided reading is "small-group reading instruction designed to provide differentiated teaching that supports students in developing reading proficiency". The small group model allows students to be taught in a way that is intended to be more focused on their specific needs, accelerating their progress.
Adolescent literacy refers to the ability of adolescents to read and write. Adolescence is a period of rapid psychological and neurological development, during which children develop morally, cognitively, and socially. All of these three types of development have influence—to varying degrees—on the development of literacy skills.
Shared reading is an instructional approach in which the teacher explicitly models the strategies and skills of proficient readers.
High frequency sight words are commonly used words that young children are encouraged to memorize as a whole by sight, so that they can automatically recognize these words in print without having to use any strategies to decode. Sight words were introduced after whole language fell out of favor with the education establishment.
Analytic phonics refers to a very common approach to the teaching of reading that starts at the word level, not at the sound (phoneme) level. It does not teach the blending of sounds together as is done in synthetic phonics. One method is to have students identify a common sound in a set of words that each contain that same sound. For example, the teacher and student discuss how the following words are alike: pat, park, push and pen. Analytic phonics is often taught together with levelled-reading books, look-say practice, and the use of aids such as phonics worksheets.
Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of sight or touch.
The Teachers College Reading and Writing Project's Writing Workshop was a method of writing instruction for children developed by teacher Lucy Calkins and her colleagues at the Teachers College, Columbia University.
Emergent literacy is a term that is used to explain a child's knowledge of reading and writing skills before they learn how to read and write words. It signals a belief that, in literate society, young children—even one- and two-year-olds—are in the process of becoming literate. Through the support of parents, caregivers, and educators, a child can successfully progress from emergent to conventional reading.
Fountas & Pinnell reading levels are a proprietary system of reading levels developed by Irene Fountas and Gay Su Pinnell and published by Heinemann to support their Levelled Literacy Interventions (LLI) series of student readers and teacher resource products. In its marketing material, Heinemann refers to its text levelling system by the trademark F&P Text Level Gradient.
Teachers College Reading and Writing Project was founded and directed by Lucy Calkins, The Robinson Professor of Children's Literature at Teachers College, Columbia University. Its mission was to help young people become avid and skilled readers, writers, and inquirers through research, curriculum development, and in-school professional development. TCRWP developed methods and tools for the teaching of reading and writing through research, curriculum development published through Heinemann, and professional development with teachers and school leaders. TCRWP supported the Reading Workshop and Writing Workshop approaches through its Units of Study curriculum. The project involved thousands of schools and teachers in New York and around the country in an ongoing, multi-faceted in-service community of practitioners engaged in the application and continual refinement of approaches to helping children become effective writers and readers.
The history of learning to read dates back to the invention of writing during the 4th millennium BC.
References
↑ Reading at the Speed of Sight: How we Read, why so many can't, and what can be done about it, 2017, pages 248, Mark Seidenberg ISBN978-1-5416-1715-5
↑ Brotherton, S. & Williams, C. (2002). "Interactive Writing Instruction in a First Grade Title I Literacy Program". Journal of Reading Education. 27 (3): 8–19.
1 2 The Death and Life of the Great American School System, 2016, page 39, Diane Ravitch, ISBN978-0-465-09799-9
1 2 Whole Language Lives On: The Illusion of "Balanced" Reading Instruction, 2008, Forward, Louisa Cook Moats, ISBN978-1-4379-0236-5
↑ Reading at the Speed of Sight: How we Read, why so many can't, and what can be done about it, 2017, pages 248, 266, 267,303–304, Mark Seidenberg ISBN978-1-5416-1715-5
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