This Is Balanced Literacy, Grades K-6
- Douglas Fisher - San Diego State University, USA
- Nancy Frey - San Diego State University, USA
- Nancy Akhavan - California State University, Fresno, USA
Fisher/Frey Imprint
Corwin Literacy
Literacy (Primary/Elementary)
Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. But how do you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential?
The answer lies in the intentional design of learning activities, purposeful selection of instructional materials, evidence-based teaching methods, and in strategic groupings of students based on assessment data. Together, these create the perfect balance of high impact learning experiences that engage and excite learners. In this hands-on essential guide, best-selling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan help you define that balance for your students, lighting the path to implementing balanced literacy in your classroom. Their plan empowers you to integrate evidence-based approaches that include:
• Instructional materials comprised of both informational and narrative texts.
• The best uses of instructional delivery modes, including direct and dialogic instruction.
• Grouping patterns that work best to accomplish learning aims for different learners at different stages.
• Instruction in foundational skills and meaning making, including oral language, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency,
vocabulary, comprehension, and writing.
• Technology used as a tool for increasing learning of a specific literary process.
All the tips and tools you need to realize the goal of balanced literacy learning are included, with classroom videos that show strategies in action. Tap your intuition, collaborate with your peers, and put the research-based strategies embedded in this roadmap to work in your classroom to implement or deepen a strong, successful balanced literacy program. Grow as a reading and writing teacher while leading your students to grow as readers and writers.
Free resources
Reclaiming Balanced Literacy for Higher Learning
Douglas Fisher, co-author of This Is Balanced Literacy, explains how the term "balanced literacy" today is used to describe instructional arrangements. A simple Internet search for “balanced literacy” will result in a wide range of graphics that indicate that whole class and small group instruction must be in balance. But that’s not where the term originally comes from.
The Role of Assessment in Balanced Literacy
"Balanced literacy is more than grouping students. But grouping for instruction is important and, sadly, neglected." Read more from Nancy Frey, co-author of This Is Balanced Literacy, on Corwin Connect.
Gradual Release of Responsibility Within Your Balanced Literacy Groups
Read how you can enact a gradual release of responsibilty within your Balanced Literacy groups in this blog post from Nancy Akhavan, co-author of This Is Balanced Literacy.
Webinar: This Is Balanced Literacy
What factors come to mind when you hear the term “Balanced Literacy?” It is a term that has been used (and misused) for so long that it has lost meaning. Join the authors of This Is Balanced Literacy, Grades K-6, for as they outline the essential evidence-based approaches that define the balance for your students, lighting the path for you to implement true balanced literacy in your classroom.
What Is Balanced Literacy?
Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. But how do you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential? Watch this video with Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan, authors of This Is Balanced Literacy, Grades K-6, as they answer the question: What is balanced literacy?
Letter from the Authors
In this letter from This Is Balanced Literacy, Grades K-6, by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan, the authors briefly discuss their view of what balanced literacy is and the impact it can have on teaching and learning.
These authors (if more than you!) have brilliantly synthesized evidence-based best practices for quality instruction - breaking down the complexities of a balanced literacy classroom and aligning excellent instruction with formative assessment to meet the needs of all learners. This resource exemplifies the distinguished practices of Danielson’s framework and makes it digestible as a tool for classroom teachers in planning and implementing a balanced literacy approach sure to yield tangible achievement results!
"Balanced literacy means different things to different people. In This Is Balanced Literacy, Fisher, Frey, and Akhavan take a research-based, best-practices look at what balanced literacy can and should be. Readers will leave with loads of practices and ideas to fine-tune every aspect of their balanced literacy curriculum to truly maximize student learning!"
