Balanced+Literacy

= = =//WHAT IS BALANCED LITERACY? //=

= //“…teaching literacy lies in matching instruction to the unique strengths and needs of each student in a class. Just as there is no single way all readers read, there is no one way all readers learn about reading. Supporting so many individual readers and writers require a consistency of practice throughout the city…” (CABL, 2003, p.22)// =

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 = = **  Historical Foundations for Balanced Literacy   ** The City of New York’s Department of Education has adopted the Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy (2003) on four significant principles for students become lifelong readers and writers: ** A) ** How to prepare students to face the needs of the future.   ** B)  ** How to educate students from various parts of the world who speak many languages to become literate citizens. ** C) ** How to prepare professionals to address the diverse needs of a large population of students wile insuring rigorous standards based assessments.   ** D)  ** Designing an instructional program that instructs and supports students while challenging and enriching their experiences. The Comprehensive Approach to Balanced literacy is designed around New York State Content Standards, New York City Performance Standards and the federal guidelines established under the No Child Left Behind law, which was signed into law on January 2002. The No Child Left Behind initiative is supported by research that was published in 2000 by the **//National Reading Panel’s Teaching Children to Read//**. Under the auspices of this research four themes emerged and were reflected in the No Child Left Behind law and the subsequent publication of the Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy (2003): **// 1) //**// The importance of the role of parents and other concerned individuals in providing children with early language and literacy experiences. //  **// 2)  //**// The importance of early identification and intervention for all children at risk for reading failure. // **// 3)  //**// The importance of phonemic awareness, phonics and good literature in reading instruction, and the need to develop a clear understanding of how best to integrate different reading approaches to enhance effectiveness of instruction for all students. //  **// 4)  //**// The importance of the role of teachers, their professional development and their interactions and collaborations with researchers, which should be recognized and encouraged. //  The No Child Left Behind Act, which builds on additional research also stressed the five essential components to literacy instruction: **//Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency and Expression, Vocabulary and Comprehensiveness//**. Accordingly, these five components are also reflected in the three pillars of The Comprehensive Approach to Balanced Literacy (2003) **//Reading//****//, Writing and Word Work.//** These three pillars constitute the f oundation of balanced literacy in that the program is comprised of three significant components: Reading Workshop, Writing Workshop and Word Work because, “…all three components are essential in developing confident readers, writers and speakers … however, the majority of time should be devoted to reading and writing with word work being a critical but less time consuming aspect of literacy learning.” (CABL, 2003, p.22)

= = = = = = media type="custom" key="898323" =READING =

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=GUIDED READING:= //**“The teacher works with a small group of students (no more than 6) who are reading at about the same level and who have similar needs. The students have individual copies of the text (preferably short selections) and independently read orally or silently as the teacher observes, coaches, prompts and evaluates their performance. The teacher encourages student to think critically about the text.” (CAB)**// media type="custom" key="659009"

=media type="youtube" key="MD_zW0Rd3HU&hl=en" height="355" width="425"= = = = = =SHARED READING:=
 * //“When a text that is too difficult for student(s) to read without help, the teacher read aloud at rate that allows the student to join in, although usually silent behind the teacher”(CABL//)**

"Shared reading is a time when the entire class gathers together to share a variety of literacy experiences by reading and discussing a variety of texts. Many of the texts are enlarged so that all the children can see the print and pictures and thus talk more easily about them. Shared reading is a noncompetitive time when children of different abilities adn experiences learn from and with each other" (Fisher & Medvic) > media type="youtube" key="tP0bh55hfBk&hl=en" height="355" width="425"
 * Supports the foundations of literacy learning
 * Builds on literacy started at home
 * Develops a love of learning
 * Help children learn to read
 * Involves rigorous teaching and learning
 * Provides literacy models for children to practice
 * Builds community
 * Builds SELF-ESTEEM

//“The first purpose of shared reading is to provide children with an enjoyable reading experience, to introduce them to a variety of authors and illustrators and the ways these communicators craft meaning, and to entice them to want to be readers themselves. The second purpose, is to teach children systematically and explicitly how to be readers and writers themselves. It is this second purpose that distinguishes shared reading from read-aloud…enjoyment of the experience is paramount” (Parkes)//

[|Shared Reading: An Instructional Model]
= = = = =READ ALOUD:=

“We read aloud to children because it is the best way we know to help them learn to love readeing. Reading aloud to children forms the foundation of literacy learning" (Fisher & Medvic)
WHY WE READ ALOUD? media type="youtube" key="xw4ebg0jV4o&hl=en" height="355" width="425" "Every day the teacher reads aloud material that are at the student's listening level, but usually above their independent reading level" (CABL) media type="custom" key="659039" =INDEPENDENT READING:=
 * Reading aloud provides opportunities for literacy learning.
 * Readign aloud teachers us about owerselves and the world
 * Reading aloud builds community
 * Radign aloud promotes gains in CONFIDENCE

===“Students self-select books at their reading levels (books they can read with 95%-100% accuracy). Students take responsibility for working through the challenges of the text independently. The teacher’s role is to observe, acknowledge, and teach the student during conferences.” (CABL”)=== media type="custom" key="659015" =     = =     = =  ** WRITING **  =

A Balanced Approach
 media type="custom" key="2102163" = What Is Interactive Writing? = == "Interactive writing is an instructional context in which a teacher shares a pen-literally and figuratively-with a group of children as they collaboratively compose and construct a written message. We want to help children learn how written language works so that can become independent writers." (McCarrier, Fountas &Pinnell)==

KEY FEATURES OF INTERACTIVE WRITING

 * Group children based on learning goals
 * Write for authentic purposes
 * Share the task of writing
 * Use conversations to support the process
 * Create a common text
 * Use the conventions of written language
 * Make letter-sound connections
 * Connect reading and writing
 * TEACH EXPLICITLY

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 120%; COLOR: rgb(184,0,255); FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,serif">What is Guided Writing?
==//<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,3,255)">"Guided writing is a bridge between shared writing and independent writing, a scaffold that supports students with helpful tools as they move into writing on their own. //== <span style="COLOR: rgb(0,140,255)"> =<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,140,255)"><span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 130%; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); TEXT-ALIGN: center">TOUCHSTONE TEXTS / MENTOR TEXTS =

===//<span style="FONT-SIZE: 110%; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-FAMILY: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','Lucida Grande',sans-serif">"Mentor tests are pieces of literature that we can return to again and again as we help young writers learn how to do what they may not yet be able to do on their own..mentor texts serve to show, not tell, students how to write well. They,along with the teacher, provide wonderful examples that help students grow into successful writers through supportive partnerships" (Dorfman & Cappelli) //=== media type="custom" key="1318329"

**<span style="COLOR: rgb(61,182,47)">//<span style="COLOR: rgb(0,0,0)">READ LIKE WRITERS // **
"What does it mean to write like a writer? How does a writer read? To understand this it is helpful to think about any craftsperson would study the techniques of others who practice the same craft-how a chef would visit a restaurant, for example or a potter another pottery gallery, a painter an art exhibit... reading is the writer's way of visiting another crafts-person's gallery. If the writer knows what to look for, he or she can learn a lot from looking closer at another crafts-person's work, and the text, of course, is the writer's work gallery." (Wood Ray) <span style="COLOR: rgb(18,52,211); FONT-FAMILY: Georgia,serif"> =<span style="FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma,Geneva,sans-serif"><span style="DISPLAY: block; FONT-SIZE: 140%; COLOR: rgb(0,0,0); FONT-FAMILY: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; TEXT-ALIGN: center"> =
 * CHOOSING A TOUCHSTONE TEXT / MENTOR TEXT (Sturgell)**
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//You and your students have talked about the text a lot as readers first// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//You find many things to teach in the text// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//You have read the text and you love it// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//You can imagine talking about the text for a very long time// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//Your entire class can have access to the text// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//Your students can read the text independently or with other support// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//The text is a little more sophisticated than the writing of your best students// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//The text is written by a writer you trust// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//The text is a good example of a particular kind of writing// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//The text is a genre you are studying// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//Select books that remind readers of other texts// ====
 * ====<span style="COLOR: rgb(238,58,58); FONT-FAMILY: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif">//Select books that are crafted with interesting structures// ====