The methodology that I use to teach reading is "Balanced Literacy." Many of my blog posts refer to "Balanced Literacy" as I share units, lessons, and activities.
Balanced Literacy is a curricular methodology that integrates various modalities of literacy instruction, which are aimed at guiding students towards proficient and lifelong reading. The balanced literacy approach is characterized by explicit skill instruction and by the use of authentic texts.
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Below is a synopsis of each of the components of "Balanced Literacy," for those who are unfamiliar with this literacy instructional approach.
METHOD 1: READ ALOUDS
An interactive experience in which readers are engaged in discussing a text throughout the reading
Develops high-level thinking and discourse
An opportunity to deepen comprehension through discourse and active thinking
Using cognitive resources that actively engage students in thinking about the text, such as the DOK and Bloom's levels will increase rigor and raise the caliber of conversation
Students are reading a common text with teacher support
The text is re-read over the course of several days with various teaching points in mind
Fluency is a key goal of this component ultimately leading to higher levels of comprehension
METHOD 3: READING MINI-LESSON
Direct and explicit instruction
About 10 minutes in length
Clear and consistent structure
Connection
Teach
Try/Active Engagement
Link
Drawn from a unit of study or a class need
Refers to a text for instructional clarity such as a read-aloud or shared reading
METHOD 4: INDEPENDENT READING
Students are reading a “Just-Right” book of their choice
Students are practicing reading strategies taught in the mini-lesson
METHOD 5: CONFERRING
The teacher meets with students individually in order to discuss and document specific needs and the progress of the individual reader
The teacher may review a skill or strategy from a previous conference or may set a new goal with the student
Conferences with students can be based on formal (pre-and post-assessments) and informal (observations & reader's response journal) data
Questions during a conference can be focused on the data collected, or can be used as a means to decide what levels the individual still needs work on
Goals around the levels can be set with the student
Format: research >> decide >> teach
METHOD 6: SMALL GROUP WORK
Guided Reading: One type of small-group differentiated instruction designed to help individual students learn how to process a variety of increasingly challenging texts with understanding and fluency
This small group of students is at the same or similar instructional reading level based on a variety of informal and formal assessments
Strategy Instruction: Another type of small group differentiated instruction that brings readers together who are not necessarily on the same instructional level, yet these children have demonstrated a common “strategy” need, which is identified by the teacher
METHOD 7: ASSESSMENT
Formative assessments are assessments FOR learning
Journaling, conferring, observation, self-assessment, portfolios, and so on
Summative assessments are assessments OF learning
Unit assessments, standardized assessments, portfolios, and so on
See what more and more classrooms across the country are doing to integrate various literacy instruction and guide students toward proficient and lifelong reading. Set up your balanced literacy classroom with the Balanced Literacy Kit!
I encourage all of the literacy specialists and ELA teachers I work with to use the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Webb’s Depth of Knowledge (DOK) when planning lessons and activities. This ensures lessons are rigorous and tap higher-order thinking skills.
The Revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Webb's Depth of Knowledge also support Balanced Literacy objectives. If you are not familiar with Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and The Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, you can read a summary of each, and a comparison of the two here.
When planning out lessons and various activities that support Balanced Literacy, one of my favorite resources to reference is the DOK and Bloom’s Cheat Sheet. This breakdown simplifies the DOK and Bloom’s learning objectives.
Depth of Knowledge and Bloom's Taxonomy Cheat Sheet
Bloom's Taxonomy: focuses on the tasks that students complete in order to deepen student understanding
Webb's DOK: focuses on the thinking process, not just the product; it is about the cognitive demands of instruction, activities or assessments; it extends beyond the verb, beyond the "what" to the "how" in order to expand student learning; it is the thinking required not if the task is difficult
The level of complexity does not necessarily increase as you move through Bloom’s, but the thinking required should "extend" as you reach the higher levels of the DOK.
Here’s an example of "extended thinking" using the DOK:
Nonfiction Reading Utilizing the DOK
DOK 1: Students list a set of questions around a topic they would like to research the answers to
DOK 2: Students research the topic and collect information from multiple media sources. Students explain the information learned to their peers
DOK 3: Students draw conclusions about the topic researched. Students expand their thinking through discussion
DOK 4: Students decide the best way to present the information learned in order to show an in-depth understanding
USING WEBB’S DOK WITH SHARED READING (METHOD 2)
Shared reading is when students are reading a common text with teacher support. The text is re-read over the course of several days with various teaching points in mind. Fluency is a key focus, as well as, developing higher levels of comprehension.
Using the DOK with shared reading helps to support students' deepening of comprehension with each repeated reading. Download the Shared Reading chart!
USING WEBB’S DOK AND BLOOM’S TAXONOMY WITH GUIDED GROUPS, STRATEGY GROUPS, AND READING UNITS (METHOD 3, METHOD 6)
The Revised Bloom's Taxonomy and DOK questions can be used as guiding questions for a comprehension check with your guided groups and strategy groups. The questions can be asked orally or in written format, and works with both short and long texts.
Questioning strategies can also be incorporated into almost any reading unit. Many of my unit read alouds’ mentor texts are accompanied with questions that are based on the DOK and Revised Bloom's Taxonomy.
A unit can be specifically developed around questioning and accountable talk (some of my literacy units focus on just the DOK, or only the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy, as well as, a combination of both). Small group work within a unit can focus on questioning and accountable talk.
Use the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy Ladder and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Level Chart to:
Incorporate each level of reasoning skills with categorized verbs
Include various levels of complexity with DOK stem questions
Assess your students' depth of knowledge
Efficiently align objectives to the CCSS
Below is an example of using Webb’s DOK with the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, which provides possible teaching points and student reading activities that are open-ended, without specifics on how to use them.
I did this because, as a teacher, you might use these differently, based on your students' level and needs. I like to print both out for my students, but most teachers will just weave them into their instruction. If you are like me and want to print the lesson out, download the print-ready teacher guide and student worksheets!
USING THE REVISED BLOOM’S TAXONOMY DURING CONFERRING & ASSESMENT (METHOD 5, METHOD 7)
Finally, the DOK and Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy can support balanced literacy when conferring with students and assessing reading skills.
Student conferences provide a unique experience for teachers to meet with individual students to see how they are employing effective reading comprehension strategies. Through the gradual release of responsibility, the goal is to guide students to become more thoughtful and independent readers.
While conferencing with students, use the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy Reading Conference Forms to incorporate a variety of questions based on the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate and Create.
Please note that I use that conference sheet over the course of several conferences with a student. I usually only ask one or two questions from each section. If the student has a good understanding of that cognitive domain, I continue to the next level. If the student does not understand, I stop for a teachable moment or to check that the student is reading an appropriate text.
Guide students towards proficient and lifelong reading using the Balanced Literacy methodology. The Balanced Literacy approach is characterized by explicit skill instruction and by the use of authentic texts.
Educators can also use the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge in order to support the various components of Balanced Literacy.