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Balanced Literacy InstructionReading and Writing WorkshopOur balanced approach to literacy instruction follows a workshop model. After a brief focus lesson, I send students off to engage in authentic literacy activities. Children work individually, with partners, and in small groups of children whose needs are similar. At the end of the workshop session, we meet again as a class for a time of sharing and direct teaching. During reading workshop, students read books of their own choosing at their individual reading level. During writing workshop, children write stories, reports and poems on self-selected topics.
Word StudyStudents explore phonics and spelling patterns and learn how words work! The focus is on patterns rather than a limited list of words. Students analyze words, enabling them to apply patterns to new words they encounter while reading and writing.Daily lessons include blending sounds to read words and breaking words into parts to spell them. They practice by reading and writing these words in the context of books and poems.Students also learn high frequency words so that they automatically recognize them when reading and can write them quickly in their daily journals and stories. We focus on a few new words each week.Interactive Read Aloud & Shared ReadingFirst graders listen to stories read by their teachers and join in the reading of stories and poems. These interactive lessons provide authentic contexts for teaching reading strategies, high frequency words, comprehension, fluency, vocabulary, and grammar. Perhaps most importantly, these reading experiences stimulate a love of books!
