Balance Approach to Teaching Reading
A balanced literacy program provides numerous and varied literacy opportunities for all children. The framework acknowledges that children do not all learn in the same way and provides meaningful and appropriate instruction to support a variety of learning styles.
Balanced approach to literacy it is an instructional model. It is not what we teach but how we teach. The framework provides a structure for the teacher that focuses on a balanced approach to literacy instruction each and every day.
Following is a brief description of the elements of a balanced approach to literacy.
Reading Aloud
Primary purposes are to: * Provide a model of fluent reading * Increase vocabulary * Demonstrate reading for a purpose * Read for enjoyment * Promote oral language development * Develop phonemic awareness
The teacher reads aloud to the whole class. The selected text can be from a variety of genres. The teacher often uses this text for direct instruction in reading comprehension, literary elements, and analyzing text. Community Shared Reading
Primary purposes are to: * Explicitly demonstrate the processes of reading * Involve children in behaviors of readers
The teacher involves the children in reading together with enlarged text such as big books, large-print charts, and individual copies. Common genres are poems, songs, and class writing samples. The text is
References: Christie, J. (2011). Teaching language and literacy: Preschool through the Elementary Grades. Fourth (Ed.), Allyn & Bacon. Weaver, C. (1998). toward a balanced approach to reading in C. Weaver (Ed.), Reconsidering a balanced approach to reading. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Cunningham, P.M., & Hall, D.P. (1998). the four blocks: A balanced framework for literacy in primary classrooms in K.R. Harris, S. Graham, & D. Deshler (Eds.), Teaching every child every day: Learning in diverse schools and classrooms. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.