There are many instructional aides available that claim they are the best when it comes to teaching literacy skills. However, perhaps there is no “best” program, but a combination of programs, such as a balanced approach that encourages teachers to make conscious decisions every day about the best way to help each child become a better reader and writer; specifically to “fine tune” what he or she is doing in order to meet the needs of each child. A balanced approach recognizes the contributions of many different perspectives.
A balanced literacy program is made up of several components, such as a teacher reading aloud as this provides an example of adult literacy while developing a sense of text and story. Reading aloud also helps to improve vocabulary and active listening skills, which then encourages a prediction. Shared reading by the teacher and student helps to improve reading skills, as it develops phrasing and fluency, and increases comprehension.
Additional components involved with the balanced literacy programs include teacher guided reading. This refers to a teacher assigning a reading selection that is at the appropriate level for the individual student. Experts believe that this helps to expand the student’s belief in their own abilities and encourages independent reading skills to improve. This will also increase comprehension, help to develop fluency and will provide opportunities for the student to use mistakes as learning experiences.
Interactive writing is another portion of a balanced literacy program and involves the teacher and student writing portions of text together. In this instance, opportunities are provided to plan and construct the text, and it creates an opportunity to teach students how to apply what they have learned. It is also a great method for improving spelling and using resources that are available.
Once the above components have been introduced, the final stage of the balanced program is independent writing. Using these types of programs will strengthen the student’s text sequences, sentence structure, reading development, and will help to improve writing strategies, which in turn will help them to understand the abundant uses of reading and writing. Above all, this balanced literacy method helps children to develop active independence that improves their problem solving abilities, which of course will be needed throughout their adult life.
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