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The Daily Cafe

Learning Blocks for Literacy and Numeracy

Paying Attention to Literacy

The Components of Balanced Literacy

A Balanced Literacy Approach

Balanced Literacy Program Components & Strategies

Fitting It All in: How to Schedule a Balanced Literacy Block for Kindergarten

A Guide to Effective Instruction in Reading

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https://www.k12reader.com/balanced-literacy-instruction/

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http://www.education.gov.yk.ca/pdf/publications/BalancedLiteracyBooklet.pdf

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from balanced literacy discussion board in primary abq

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from balanced literacy discussion board in primary abq

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To me, balanced literacy in a primary classroom should include an array of literacy experiences for students. Everyday, there needs to be a significant block of time devoted to literacy (as is required by the Ministry of Education). The teacher should provide the following literacy and learning opportunities on consistent basis:

Read Alouds

Shared Reading and Writing

Guided Reading and Writing

Independent Reading and Writing

Word Study with multiple activities for mastering vocabulary and spelling.                                                                        In order to incorporate differentiated instruction into a balanced literacy program, I think having literacy stations could be really effective. e.g. There could be a writing station where students choose to journal, write a summary of a book, work on graphic organizers to make connections to a recent read aloud etc. There would be stations for each topic--a word study station with multiple games and activities to practice this week's vocabulary or new vocabulary from a shared reading session... During the week, students will rotate to different stations and complete work at each station--perhaps one or two stations per literacy block. At each station, there could be several choices of activities that meet the needs of different learning styles. The teacher could be working on guided reading with small groups while the other students are at their assigned stations. For this to work, the students would have to have clear expectations for behaviour and finishing their work at the different stations. The teacher must always allow time for read alouds and shared reading/writing as well. This would happen outside of the literacy stations.

I also like the idea of the Daily 5 that I found on this Daily Cafe site: https://www.thedailycafe.com/daily-5.

Students choose one of 5 literacy tasks to complete during each literacy block. It is important to ensure that students aren't always choosing the same 5 tasks though.

Personally, I have been a little confused about the differences between some of the aspects of balanced literacy. By reading the following pages, it helped me clarify some of my questions.

Guiding Reading https://www.k12reader.com/guided-reading-a-snapshot/

Independent Reading https://www.k12reader.com/independent-reading-the-foundation-of-lifelong-reading/

Shared Reading https://www.k12reader.com/shared-reading-%E2%80%93-a-critical-component-of-balanced-literacy-instruction/

Word Study https://www.k12reader.com/word-study-makes-language-learning-fun/

Read Alouds https://www.k12reader.com/the-read-aloud-component-of-balanced-literacy-instruction/

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View profile card for Kathleen Peters

Kathleen Peters

yesterday at 1:32 PM

Literacy Stations are a great idea.  I like how you point out examples of having multiple options for activities at each station.  You also mention the importance of readalouds, which I agree with, as it gives the teacher a chance to model expression, and fluency, and pace in reading.  Shared reading/writing gives students with similar interests the chance to work together and read something or write about something they are both interested in.  Interesting point to fit it in outside the stations, but yes, you can only do so much!

I noted in my post that there seem to be lots of ways to run a program, no one seems better than the other.  As long as differentiating along the way I think they all work.

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View profile card for Chelsea Crozier

Chelsea Crozier

yesterday at 3:08 PM

I agree that the different aspects of balanced literacy can be both confusing and overwhelming.  The numerous components of a balanced literacy program definitely requires teachers to be flexible in their planning, however I think creating a set daily & weekly routine is the best practice in this case. Once this is established, you can start building in aspects from your current unit.

Regarding your Daily 5 point about students not appropriately choosing tasks... Daily 5 is supposed to help students take responsibility for their learning, but I feel this skill still needs to be taught and developed before "letting them loose". As the teacher, there is no reason you can't discuss the student's choice with them and recommend a different station.  This is part of the Daily 5 learning process.  They are still required to complete all tasks. I have seen some great bulletin board displays and Smartboard pages to keep track of Daily 5 progress.

I agree with Kathleen that there are various ways to organize and run the literacy block.  I feel like exploring different instructional practices (e.g. learning stations, GROR lessons, etc.) and seeing what works well for your class is the best option.

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Paying Attention to Mathematics Education

Balanced Mathematics

Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching with Dr. Deborah Loewenberg Ball

Math Talk Learning Community

A Guide to Effective Instruction in Mathematics

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http://www.readingrockets.org/article/seven-strategies-teach-students-text-comprehension

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Metacognition and Monitoring your own comprehension-recognize when you do and when you do not understand what you have read.
When you do not understand:
Identify what you do not understand
Adjust reading speed
Restate the difficult sentence/passage in your own words
Look back through the text to find clues to help you understand the part you are reading now
Look forward in the text to help clarify what you're reading
For teachers:
Give students graphic organizers to visualize their thinking
Provide questions for students before they begin the reading to help them focus
Teach students to recognize story structure
Teach students to summarize- They identify the main idea and eliminate unnecessary information and remember what they read