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Balanced Literacy is a curricular methodology that integrates various modalities of literacy instruction. Assessment-based planning is at the core of this model. The balanced literacy approach is characterized by explicit skill instruction and the use of authentic texts. Through various modalities, the teacher implements a well-planned comprehensive literacy program that reflects a gradual release of control, whereby responsibility is gradually shifted from the teacher to the students. The labels to, with and by characterize the modalities as follows: The teacher models by reading or writing to the students within the following modalities: Demonstration or Modeled Writing (I use my digital camera ELMO- to achieve this.) The teacher reads or writes with the students within the following modalities:

Shared Reading Shared Writing or Interactive Writing Guided Reading (contains independent reading with close conferring)

Reading and writing is done by the students, independently within the following modalities:

Independent reading (with teacher observation and conferring) Writing process (with teacher observation and conferring)

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. Subsequently, students are engaged in practicing the focal strategy in small groups or independently as the teacher monitors and provides guidance. Selected students share their work. 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 may 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 (usually 4 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. 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. Teaching comprehension of text is one of the five essential elements of the balanced literacy approach to reading instruction. The teacher begins every lesson by activating students' prior knowledge (schema) through discussion or written activities and continues this throughout the lesson to help students make connections to other books (text to text) as well as their own experience(text to self) and current events around them (text to world). 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

During the Reading and Writing Workshop teachers use scaffolded instruction as follows:

Teacher modeling or showing kids what a good reader does when reading a text, thinking aloud about the mental processes used to construct meaning while reading a book aloud to the class.

Guided practice gradually gives the students more responsibility with the teacher stepping in to help as needed. Students practice a comprehension strategy during discussion in a large group or in smaller groups with peers.

Independent practice where children begin to work alone while reading books by themselves, conferencing individually or in small groups with the teacher to make sure they are using a comprehension strategy correctly.

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.[2]

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.

Balanced Literacy:
Teaching the Skills AND Thrills of Reading By Dorothy Strickland In a truly balanced literacy program, how you teach is as important as what you teach. That's one of the conclusions my network of teachers, administrators, and curriculum supervisors has reached. Like most educators today, we've been changing our practices to reflect new knowledge about learning and teaching. Our students are reading more, writing more, and learning through themes. Yet we share a mixed bag of excitement and uneasiness excitement about the learning taking place in our classrooms every day, and uneasiness about the public perception that schools are not as good as they used to be, especially when it comes to teaching reading. We wonder: How can we maintain the good practices of the past without ignoring current evidence about how children learn? Have we gone too far in one direction? What we're searching for, then, is balance, and in that search, concerns common to all teachers have surfaced. In this article, I focus on some of them and how we have found middle ground. Teaching Basic Skills "Teaching phonics with literature seems so hit or miss. What about a correct sequence of skills?" Apply the thinking behind good textbooks to trade books. "I'd like to teach using trade books, but I worry about abusing the literature." Include some literature that naturally lends itself to language study. Start by sharing the literature for its content and overall language qualities, with the intention of going back to look at some aspect of the words more carefully. After a while the children will initiate the process independently. Consider other types of whole texts as well, such as brief notes, shopping lists, and even traffic signs. These offer opportunities to anchor phonics in something real.

"Many parents want grammar taught 'the old-fashioned way.' What can I tell them?" Use a whole-part-whole approach that integrates. Studies indicate that teaching grammar in isolation has little effect on students' oral and written language. Start by immersing students in real examples of whatever it is you want to teach. Talk about those passages, guiding students toward recognizing the aspects of language under study. Notice, for example, how the poet uses adjectival phrases to create pictures, or how the novelist conveys action through verbs. Introduce grammar terms and rules during the discussion. Also, encourage students to relate terms and rules to their own writing. "My administrators want me to return to traditional spelling lists."Develop lists inspired by other components of your language arts program. For example, you might select a particular aspect of language to study, such as vowel generalization, inflectional endings, root words, or word families, and choose examples for spelling lists. Words connected to a thematic unit are another option, but choose ones that are appropriate and useful. You can also use misspelled words from the children's writing. After all, teachers who look for patterns in errors across the work of individuals and groups, and respond with beneficial instruction, are more likely to make an impact on children's spelling development. Effective Grouping and Planning "Flexible grouping is still my biggest challenge."Establish a routine and stick to it. Effective flexible grouping takes time, so don't get frustrated if things don't work immediately. Keep in mind, however, that careful planning, good organization, and an established routine are essential. Your day should include a regular sequence of whole-class, small-group, and one-onone instruction. You may want to start the language arts block with whole-class instruction. After that, call a planning meeting with students to clarify who will come to you for small-group or one-on-one work, who will work at centers, and who will work independently or in pairs. Be sure to explain how they will rotate. Also, find time for small-group work with struggling readers I recommend at least three times a week for about 20 minutes. "I plan each day so carefully, yet I never have enough time to accomplish what I want to do."Do your planning weekly, around thematic units. Before you begin a unit, determine teaching and learning goals for each week. If your curriculum guide has objectives that you must cover, try to link your goals to those objectives. You might want to start each day with shared reading, emphasizing important skills. You could then assign a series of independent follow-up activities that allow children to practice those skills, allowing time for sharing responses. Once you begin planning the week around themes, you will find yourself covering more territory in greater depth. Covering Content "As an upper-grade teacher, I have to teach facts. I don't have time for reading instruction during science." Choose interesting activities that promote literacy skills and content knowledge. When you teach literacy and content together, you expand students' chances to

learn both. Having students create their own information books, for example, is a collaborative activity that can be used in any content area. Not only does it build reading and writing skills, but it requires students to learn facts well enough to convey them to others. It also invites various kinds of inquiry, such as using the card catalog or the Internet. Remember, everything we do to facilitate process helps students gain access to content. Dealing with Assessment "With all the news reports about test scores, how can I convey to parents how their child is really doing?" Tell them that standardized tests don't reveal as much about an individual learner as daily informal assessments do. In conferences, explain to parents that news reports give an overall picture of how a school is doing in relation to other schools. If they want to know what their child has learned, they need to look at the evidence. Work samples, anecdotal notes, and checklists demonstrate their child's progress. As you begin to discuss a child's work with his or her parents, they get a better idea of what a standardized test score really is a snapshot of student performance on a particular day. A collection of the child's work gives a more comprehensive picture of progress over time. "Portfolios are fine, but I have trouble gathering all that information for a conference."Collect information on an ongoing basis. Portfolios are meant to be operational documentation of work over time work that should be collected naturally, as part of daily instruction. When observations of reading behaviors are assembled continuously, in addition to work samples, the resulting portfolio provides a vivid profile for parents, teachers, and the student. Most important, it forms a basis for instructional decisions. Five Rules of Thumb for Maintaining Balance Teach skills as a way to gain meaning. Skills are not ends in themselves. Each day, include time for both guided instruction and independent work. Otherwise, students will never internalize skills and make them their own. Avoid teaching children as if they were empty receptacles for knowledge. Instead, allow them to build knowledge in a process-oriented way. Integrate print and electronic materials effectively. That way, your classroom will reflect the multimedia world in which students live. Always consider standardized test scores in light of informal assessment data. Encourage parents to do the same.