Gail Tompkins maintains that balanced literacy is “an approach to literary instruction in which teachers integrate instruction with authentic reading and writing experiences” (Tompkins, G.E., 2015, p. 399) and that balanced literacy combines “explicit instruction, guided practice, collaborative learning, and independent reading and writing” (p. 16). The Common Core State Standards are integral in any approach to literacy and explicitly state what “children are expected to learn at each grade level, beginning in kindergarten” (p. 17). The Standards for English Language Arts let teachers know exactly what students should know and be able to do at a certain grade level and serve as the basis for lesson plans and instruction. Since mastering literacy is the key to success in every subject area, it essential for practitioners of early literacy education to incorporate the English Language Arts Standards into their curriculum.
There is a total of eight Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction. Principle Three states that “effective teachers create a community of learners” (Tompkins, G.E., 2015, p. 14). A classroom community is a safe, inviting learning environment in which the teacher and students respect one another (p. 14). Educators create a classroom culture by modeling certain activities or expected behaviors, setting high expectations, promoting collaboration, and giving students choices (p. 15). Principle Four maintains that “effective teachers adopt a balanced approach to literacy instruction” (p. 16). Teachers adopt balanced literacy as it effortlessly balances reading and writing, does not place all of the responsibility on the teacher or students, and allows for differentiated instruction. Principle Five states that “effective teachers scaffold children’s reading and writing” (p. 19). Teachers scaffold children’s literacy development by demonstrating, guiding, and teaching, and “vary the amount of support they provide according to the instructional purpose and children’s needs” (p. 19). There are five levels of scaffolding: modeled, shared, interactive, guided, and independent (p. 20). Teachers provide more or less support depending on the amount of help the student needs (p. 20). When teachers model reading, they read the text aloud to students, and when teachers scaffold writing at the interactive level, the teacher and students write the text together and share the pen when writing (p. 20). As an educator, I will employ the aforementioned principles so that my students are given the most comprehensive literacy education possible.
What I have learned in Literacy Development so far has prepared me to make recommendations as to how I can support my students in the classroom. First, I will employ the guided reading approach so that I can better meet individual student’s needs. Not every student reads at the same level, so it is beneficial to have the teacher meet with students “at approximately the same proficiency level for teacher-directed lessons” (Tompkins, G.E., 2015, p. 23). Within these short lessons, the teacher teaches students word-identification and stresses the importance of comprehension (p. 23). Next, I will employ literature focus units so that students become familiar with literary genres and interested in literature (p. 23). With this approach, every student in the class reads and responds to the same grade-level book, and the teacher scaffolds children’s learning via explicit instruction and reading and writing activities (p. 23). Lastly, I will employ reading and writing workshops so that children can develop responsibility, learn to work independently, and read and write like adults do (p. 24). In reading workshops, students select books, read independently, and discuss their reading with the teacher, and in writing workshops, students write on topics of their choosing and meet with the teacher to discuss their writing (p. 24). The above approaches can be combined to maximize students’ learning experiences and will enable me to effectively incorporate the balanced literacy approach to instruction into my classroom.
Reference
Tompkins, Gail E. (2015). Literacy in the early grades: A successful start for pre-k−4 readers and writers. United States of America:
Pearson Education.
There is a total of eight Principles of Effective Literacy Instruction. Principle Three states that “effective teachers create a community of learners” (Tompkins, G.E., 2015, p. 14). A classroom community is a safe, inviting learning environment in which the teacher and students respect one another (p. 14). Educators create a classroom culture by modeling certain activities or expected behaviors, setting high expectations, promoting collaboration, and giving students choices (p. 15). Principle Four maintains that “effective teachers adopt a balanced approach to literacy instruction” (p. 16). Teachers adopt balanced literacy as it effortlessly balances reading and writing, does not place all of the responsibility on the teacher or students, and allows for differentiated instruction. Principle Five states that “effective teachers scaffold children’s reading and writing” (p. 19). Teachers scaffold children’s literacy development by demonstrating, guiding, and teaching, and “vary the amount of support they provide according to the instructional purpose and children’s needs” (p. 19). There are five levels of scaffolding: modeled, shared, interactive, guided, and independent (p. 20). Teachers provide more or less support depending on the amount of help the student needs (p. 20). When teachers model reading, they read the text aloud to students, and when teachers scaffold writing at the interactive level, the teacher and students write the text together and share the pen when writing (p. 20). As an educator, I will employ the aforementioned principles so that my students are given the most comprehensive literacy education possible.
What I have learned in Literacy Development so far has prepared me to make recommendations as to how I can support my students in the classroom. First, I will employ the guided reading approach so that I can better meet individual student’s needs. Not every student reads at the same level, so it is beneficial to have the teacher meet with students “at approximately the same proficiency level for teacher-directed lessons” (Tompkins, G.E., 2015, p. 23). Within these short lessons, the teacher teaches students word-identification and stresses the importance of comprehension (p. 23). Next, I will employ literature focus units so that students become familiar with literary genres and interested in literature (p. 23). With this approach, every student in the class reads and responds to the same grade-level book, and the teacher scaffolds children’s learning via explicit instruction and reading and writing activities (p. 23). Lastly, I will employ reading and writing workshops so that children can develop responsibility, learn to work independently, and read and write like adults do (p. 24). In reading workshops, students select books, read independently, and discuss their reading with the teacher, and in writing workshops, students write on topics of their choosing and meet with the teacher to discuss their writing (p. 24). The above approaches can be combined to maximize students’ learning experiences and will enable me to effectively incorporate the balanced literacy approach to instruction into my classroom.
Reference
Tompkins, Gail E. (2015). Literacy in the early grades: A successful start for pre-k−4 readers and writers. United States of America:
Pearson Education.