BALANCED LITERACY

• Read-Aloud: A read-aloud gives children the opportunity to try on the language and experience of others. It helps them make connections with their lives, and informs their view of themselves and others. Thinking aloud helps children learn how to use comprehension strategies that are important when reading independently.

• Shared Reading: Shared reading is an interactive reading experience that occurs when students join in or share the reading of a book or other text while guided and supported by teacher. The teacher explicitly models the skills of proficient readers, including reading with fluency and expression.

• Interactive Read-Aloud: During an interactive read-aloud the teacher reads aloud to their students. During an interactive read-aloud both the teacher and students think, talk, and respond to the text. Children are given the opportunity to turn and talk to their peers at teacher selected points in the book.

• Guided Reading: During guided reading, small group instruction is used in building reading strategies, comprehension skills and fluency. Children read at their instructional level with teacher support. Encouragement and feedback is given to each individual child. The teacher helps children understand why a strategy is useful, and describes explicitly how the strategy should be used.

• Independent Reading: During independent reading, children read on their own, with minimal to no assistance using books at their independent reading level.