REA--Day One 1

Reading Excellent ActLooking at the Balanced Literacy Approach

REA--Day One 2

Balanced Literacy Programs

Emerged in 1990’sUse basal readers, decodable text and other traditional programmed reading materials selectivelyInclude daily encounters with fiction and nonfiction trade booksOral reading by teachers and studentsSome direct skill instructionGuided reading groupsIndependent readingProcess writingSpelling instruction

REA--Day One 3

Balanced Reading Program

Centers on Reading to children Reading with children Reading by children

Adapting basal with Teacher Read Aloud Shared Reading Guided reading Independent Reading

REA--Day One 4

Strengths of Basal ReadersSpiral curriculumContinuous from grade to gradeTime efficientAscending difficultySkills gradually introducedLesson plans providedVariety of genresHelpful to beginning teachersReassuring to administrators

REA--Day One 5

Seven Principles for Literacy Development

Balanced Reading ProgramsHelp all students become independent, fluent readers in the early education yearsHelp students to expand their literacy abilities throughout their schooling

REA--Day One 6

Principle OneBegin with the teacher’s knowledge of student reading processes Knowledge of stages and milestone

skills associated with reading and writing development

Bedrock upon which all learning and assessment activities are constructed

REA--Day One 7

Principle TwoRely on process and product student assessments that link directly to the knowledge base of reading Informs teaching Aids in grouping children efficiently and

effectively according to learning needs Examines students processes Used to encourage students about progress Conducted over time Compare past and present abilities

REA--Day One 8

Principle ThreeInvolve families in support of the reading development process Has profound influence on the

development of child’s reading ability Encourage parents to create homes

that stimulate literacy growth

REA--Day One 9

Principle FourSupport reading to, with, and by students Flexible and practical model for

instruction Embedded within it

Skill instruction and practice Instructional level reading routines Oral reading by students and teachers Massive amounts of reading practice Great deal of writing instruction and composition

REA--Day One 10

Principle FourReading TO children Every student is read to each day by

a masterful reader Teacher read alouds Reading one to one by peer or adult Lap reading

REA--Day One 11

Principle FourReading WITH Children Teacher reads with students daily Usually in small groups, “house calls”,

group choral reading, or shared reading

REA--Day One 12

Principle FourReading BY Children Daily independent reading

opportunities Time set aside for pleasure reading Performance Reading Students read to each other

REA--Day One 13

Principle FiveIntegrate the development of reading with writing instruction and compositionStudents who become writers rapidly improve as readers Learn phonetic elements Become better decoders Learn story elements Improve comprehension

REA--Day One 14

Principle SixDevelop reading and writing skills via “whole-to-parts-to-whole” instruction Skills to be learned are taught within

the context of the story Helps students understand the

relevance and usefulness of what they have learned

REA--Day One 15

Principle SevenAddress the needs of all children Ensures that most students attain

reading fluency Some students may require some

program modifications Need flexible, quality instruction Support found in specialists and

special education teachers

REA--Day One 16

ChallengesPreservice teachers Disharmony with past belief systems Conflicting views among educators Overcoming traditions in the schoolsInservice teachers Time commitment Comfort Zone Administrative risk taking

REA--Day One 17

Constructivism and Reading

Piaget--cognitive psychology Vygotsky--sociohistorical psychology Bruner, Gardner, Eisner, and Goodman--Semiotic interactionism Learning is not the result of development; rather, learning is developmentErrors are not to be avoided by are viewed as evidence of seeking to learn

REA--Day One 18

Constructivism and Reading

Prior knowledge is a key factorLearners represent their knowledge through a variety of symbol systems (movement, song, play) of which language is only one symbolTalking, conversing, and dialoging= opportunities to develop critical thinking

REA--Day One 19

Constructivism and Reading

Meaningfulness is centralConstructivism means whole to part to whole Syntax=word order to word meaning Graphophonics relates letters to

sounds

REA--Day One 20

Relationship of Constructivism to Balanced Literacy Curriculum

Balanced literacy instruction Children learn to read by reading Children learn to write by writing

Therefore, children and teachers engage in daily oral reading and writing activities

Teachers read to students Helps develop concepts about and

attitudes towards reading and language

REA--Day One 21

Relationship of Constructivism to Balanced Literacy Curriculum

Children’s innate desire to use and learn language to express themselves and to meet their own social needs should be respectedTeachers use children’s oral language to create supplemental reading and writing materials (language experience approach)

REA--Day One 22

Relationship of Constructivism to Balanced Literacy Curriculum

Includes use of emergent reading materials that students read independentlyGuided reading and interactive writing Teacher guides, teaches, models, and

assists students Children are given abundant reading materials and time to read

REA--Day One 23

Relationship of Constructivism to Balanced Literacy Curriculum

Writing Write for their own purpose and

choose their own topic Given time to write each dayStudents construct meaning from print and, in the process, learn to read and write

REA--Day One 24

Relationship of Constructivism to Balanced Literacy Curriculum

Goal of a BLP Help students become independent,

fluent readers Seeks to create effective literacy

learning situations