What It Means
Balanced literacy is a way of organizing reading and writing time in a classroom that balances lessons the teacher leads with reading children do on their own. Reading Rockets lists its usual parts as reading aloudReading aloudReading a book out loud with a child, from birth on. The AAP advises it because shared reading builds language, early literacy skills and the parent-child bond. See more, shared reading, guided reading, independent reading and word study. Children get some phonicsPhonicsTeaching children how letters and letter groups stand for the sounds in spoken words, so they can sound out words to read them and spell them. See more in this approach, but it generally isn't the focus, and educators disagree about how well that serves beginning readers.
Try It: Pick a Part of Balanced Literacy to See What It Is
Pick a part of balanced literacy to see what it usually looks like, based on Reading Rockets' descriptions.
The teacher reads a book to the class.
An interactive read-aloud: children join in while the teacher models reading with fluency and expression.
A small group reads a text the teacher chose, with close teacher support for each child's attempts.
Children read books on their own, matched to their level and interests.
Work with words, such as letters, sounds and spelling patterns.
Part of 5. The National Reading Panel found systematic phonics more effective than teaching with little or no phonics, so ask how much time goes to word study.
How Parents Say It
- "They do guided reading groups every morning."
- "Her school uses balanced literacy, with leveled books."
- "Is phonics taught every day, or only in word study?"
The Breakdown
The parts, as Reading Rockets describes them
| Part | What happens | Who leads |
|---|---|---|
| Read-aloud | The teacher reads to the class | Teacher |
| Shared reading | Children join in reading a book while the teacher models fluent, expressive reading | Teacher and class |
| Guided reading | A small group reads a teacher-chosen text with close support; Buhata's related page on guided reading levelsGuided reading levelA letter from A to Z, most often from Fountas and Pinnell's text gradient, that a teacher uses to match a child with books for small-group guided reading. See more explains the levels often used | Teacher with a small group |
| Independent reading | Children read on their own, at their level and interests | Child |
| Word study | Letters, sounds and spelling patterns | Teacher |
Where the federal research reviews stand. The National Reading Panel's 2000 report found systematic phonics, taught in a planned order, significantly more effective than teaching with little or no phonics, with the biggest effect in kindergarten and 1st grade. The 2016 IES practice guide for kindergarten through 3rd grade recommends teaching children to decode words, analyze word parts, and write and recognize words, including reading decodable words in sentences. Both put phonics nearer the center than balanced literacy usually does, and both also cover fluency and comprehension, which read-alouds and shared reading can support.
When to talk to the teacher. Ask how phonics is taught, how often, and in what order, and how the class checks that each child can sound out new words. If your child guesses at words they can't decode, say so at the meeting.
Good to Know
A school's label alone doesn't tell you how much planned phonics your child gets, so ask what a typical reading block includes. The IES practice guide and the National Reading Panel findings are posted on ies.ed.gov and nichd.nih.gov if you want to compare your school's approach with what they found.
FAQ
What is balanced literacy?
A classroom approach that balances teacher-led reading lessons with children's own reading, through read-alouds, shared, guided and independent reading and word study. Reading Rockets says phonics is included but generally isn't the focus.
How is balanced literacy different from the science of reading?
Balanced literacy describes how a classroom spends its reading time, while the science of readingScience of readingThe large body of research on how people learn to read and how reading is best taught; it names a field of evidence, not one curriculum or program. See more names a body of research. The federal research reviews, the National Reading Panel report and the IES practice guide, give systematic phonics and decoding a more central place than balanced literacy usually does.
Is balanced literacy bad?
Educators disagree. Reading aloud is something the AAP encourages from infancy, as Buhata's page on reading aloud explains, while the National Reading Panel found systematic phonics more effective than little or no phonics, so the key question for a parent is how much planned phonics your child gets.
Do It in Buhata
Reminders and Tasks
Add a Task in Buhata to ask the teacher how phonics is taught in your child's class, and tick it off once you've heard the answer.
Open BuhataRelated Terms and Categories
- Science of reading
The large body of research on how people learn to read and how reading is best taught; it names a field of evidence, not one curriculum or program.
- Phonics
Teaching children how letters and letter groups stand for the sounds in spoken words, so they can sound out words to read them and spell them.
- Guided reading level
A letter from A to Z, most often from Fountas and Pinnell's text gradient, that a teacher uses to match a child with books for small-group guided reading.
- Reading aloud
Reading a book out loud with a child, from birth on. The AAP advises it because shared reading builds language, early literacy skills and the parent-child bond.
- Decodable books
Simple books for beginning readers written mostly with the letter-sound patterns a child has already been taught, so most words can be sounded out.
- Sight words
Words a reader knows instantly, without sounding them out; schools also use it for common words like "the" and "said" that children practice early.
Sources
Reading Rockets (WETA), "Glossary"; Reading Rockets, "Guidance for Educators Using a Balanced Literacy Program"; Reading Rockets, "Shared Reading"; NICHD, "Report of the National Reading Panel" (findings, 2000); What Works Clearinghouse, Institute of Education Sciences, "Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade" (practice guide, 2016)
- www.readingrockets.org/resources/glossary
- www.readingrockets.org/topics/assessment-and-evaluation/articles/guidance-educators-using-balanced-literacy-program
- www.readingrockets.org/classroom/classroom-strategies/shared-reading
- www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubs/nrp/findings
- ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/docs/practiceguide/wwc_foundationalreading_070516.pdf
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