Balanced Literacy Instruction

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Balanced Literacy Instruction

• Riverside District 96
• Creating a Community
• of Readers and Writers

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Gradual Release of Responsibility
Demonstration Shared Practice Guided
Practice Independent Practice
Teacher Responsibility
Student Responsibility
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Balanced Instruction

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Demonstration
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Demonstration

• Whole class or small group instruction
• The teacher is modeling
• The teacher thinks aloud

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Demonstration Examples

• Reading Aloud and Writing Aloud
• Shared Read Aloud
• Direct Explanation or Lecture
• Immersion in a genre

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Shared Demonstration

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Shared Demonstration

• Whole class or small group instruction
• Teacher leading the lesson with students
  participating
• Social interactions between teacher and students
  scaffold comprehension
• Materials usually at students instructional
  level, but with the teachers support, students
  can be successful with harder materials

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Shared Demonstration Examples

• Shared Reading and Writing
• Interactive Writing
• Shared Read Aloud
• Scaffolded Conversations

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Try reading this...

• The man leaned against the current as he waded,
  waist-deep, upstream. His hands steadied either
  end of the FURNWUNCH balanced across his
  shoulders. He had moved about 90 yards from the
  DNUP where he had entered the stream. A few yards
  ahead, a part of the wooded bank had been
  replaced by an ACNRID FRUD. He came abreast of
  it, and with effort, pressed the FURNWUNCH up and
  over his head, and then set it on top of the
  FRUD. He placed his hands on his hips, pulled his
  elbows back, and arched his back in an attempt to
  stretch out muscles that were knotted from long
  exertion.
• He relaxed somewhat and began a visual
  inspection of the FRUD. He moved close to it and
  reached under the water to explore its surface.
  Moving slowly, he started the search from the
  downstream end. At about the RONDTIP he stopped
  and probed one area intently. Satisfied that he
  had located a GRUNDLE, he continued to the
  upstream end. There was only one GRUNDLE to
  contend with. He retrieved the FURNWUNCH and
  cradled the heavy implement as he made his way
  back to the RONDTIP. He gingerly lowered the
  FURNWUNCH, holding it perpendicular to the FRUN.
  When it reached the GRUNDLE he slid it in its
  full length. He held it in place with one hand
  and turned the expansion lock handle until the
  instrument was seated tightly in place. His
  mission accomplished, he was clearly relieved. He
  waded easily downstream to the DNUP.
• From Hargis, C. H. Curriculum Based Assessment
  A Primer

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Shared Practice

• Politicians use a variety of propaganda to
  influence opinions and to avoid the truth.

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Shared Practice

• Politicians use a variety of propaganda to
  influence opinions and to avoid the truth.

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Shared Practice

• She argued that although Splenda was an ersatz
  sugar, it worked just as well to sweeten her
  coffee.

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Shared Practice

• She argued that although Splenda was an ersatz
  sugar, it worked just as well to sweeten her
  coffee.

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Shared Practice

• She argued that although Splenda was an ersatz
  sugar, it worked just as well to sweeten her
  coffee.

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Guided Practice
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Guided Practice

• Based on the notion of proximal development
• Gradual handover of responsibility
• Instructional level
• Homogenous small groups

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Guided Practice
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Guided Practice Examples

• Guided Reading
• Reciprocal Teaching
• Literature Conversations
• Partner Reading
• Guided Writing Experiences
• Individual Conferences

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Guided Practice Example

• Gear Up! For Guided Reading
• (Wright Group Video)

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Independent Practice
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Independent Practice

• Independent level
• The students try to apply learning on their own
• Teacher builds on the students competence and
  strengths

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Independent Practice Examples

• Independent Reading and Writing
• Informal Conferences
• Homework and Assignments

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Balanced Literacy Instruction

• Celebrate everything the learner does well
• Raise expectations for all learners
• Teach and assess more effectively and efficiently
• Collaborate

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Balanced Literacy Instruction

• The beating heart provides a good visual
  metaphor for instructional delivery in
  classrooms, where the balance between modeling
  instruction and guided practice pulses back and
  forth. Gathering kids in front for instruction,
  releasing them to practice, and then bringing
  them back to share their thinking represents the
  steady flow that is the heart of effective
  teaching and learning.

Strategies That Work Harvey Goudvis