This document provides an overview of balanced literacy and its components as outlined in the Common Core State Standards. It discusses the key tenets of balanced literacy including practice, learning, assessment, and transfer. The major components are described, including interactive read aloud, shared reading, reading workshop, grammar, shared writing, writing workshop, and word study. Guidance is provided on reading instruction elements such as read aloud, shared reading, workshops, and conferring. Writing instruction components like shared writing, workshops, and notebooks are also outlined.

1. BalancedBalanced
LiteracyLiteracy
and the CCSS
and the CCSS
July 2014
Patty McGee

2. Outcomes for TodayOutcomes for Today
0 Research-
supported
Literacy Practices
0 Writing
Instructional
Components
0 Reading
Instructional
Components

3. • Engage
fully
• Inquire
and dig
deeply
into
challen
ges
• Respect
the
knowled
ge and

4. Tenets
0 Practice: Pencil to paper, eyes on print
0 Learning is messy, teaching must be flexible
0 Formative Assessment
0 Feedback
0 Approximation
0 Transfer is the Key

5. Components of aComponents of a
Comprehensive LiteracyComprehensive Literacy
ApproachApproach
Interactive Read
Aloud
Shared Reading
Reading Workshop
Grammar
Shared Writing
Writing Workshop
Word Study

6. Purpose of ComponentsPurpose of Components
Wor
d
Stud
y
Wor
d
Stud
y
Reading and Writing
Workshop
Shar
ed
Writi
ng
Shar
ed
Writi
ng
Gram
mar
Gram
mar
Shar
ed
Read
ing
Shar
ed
Read
ing
Read
Alou
d
Read
Alou
d

7. Gradual Release of
Responsibility
Explicitly
Taught
Demonstrated
Shared and
Guided
Collaborative
Independent

8. Cambourne’s Seven
Conditions of Learning

9. Writing

10. Five Qualities of Good
Writing
0 Focus/Content
0 Elaboration
0 Voice
0 Structure
0 Mechanics

11. Shared WritingShared Writing
0 Separate from Writing
Workshop, rarely used in
a minilesson
0 Share– create it
together, teacher does
the writing
0 Preparation and skill
introduction and practice

12. Sample of Direct Grammar Instruction Across Units

13. Grammar andGrammar and
MechanicsMechanics
 Practice like a word study
but set up for (and expect)
transfer

14. Grammar andGrammar and
MechanicsMechanics0 The difference between
conventions and grammar:
Grammar refers to the structure
of a language: the parts of speech
and their functions, their
relationship to each other, word
order in sentences, the parts of a
sentence and how they are put
together, e.g., subject, predicate,
objects, etc. Mechanics refers to
the conventions of written
language: punctuation,
capitalization, spelling, etc.
0 Language of literacy
0 Students along the way are
going to understand, and
then mess it up again. This

15. students’ writing, or
tell them to be
correct, then they
may revert to
simpler vocabulary
and sentence
structure that they
are sure how to
punctuate.

16. Mentor Sentences
One Technique for Teaching Grammar for Usage

17. Stages of Development
in Grammar
1. Unfamiliarity
2. Familiarity
3. Experimentation
4. Using and confusing
5. Mastery and control

18. The Writing Workshop
A place for feedback, transfer, and lots and lots of
writing!

19. Writers Need
0 Time
0 Choice
0 A variety of strategies to access
learning

20. Minilesson

21. Writing Workshop
Structures and Routines
0 Minilesson
0 Independent
Writing and Small
Group Teaching
0 Conferring
0 Small Group
Strategy Work
0 Mid Workshop
Teaching Point

22. Writers Need
0 Time
0 Choice
0 A variety of strategies to access
learning
0 Models
0 Modeling

23. Nothing a teacher can
do can have a greater
effect than this
combination—
giving students crystal
clear goals,
opportunities for
engaged work, and the
feedback that includes
compliments and steps
for more progress.

24. Teachers must also ensure that children have
access to reading materials that are relevant to the
kind of writer they are interested in becoming at
that particular moment. Teachers must also
recruit the authors who will become the children’s
unwitting collaborators.
Frank Smith on Mentor Texts

25. Writers Need
0 Time
0 Choice
0 A variety of strategies to access
learning
0 Models
0 Modeling
0 A Writer’s Notebook

26. A Writer’s Notebook:
Building a Writing Life

27. A Writer’s Notebook
0 Not a journal
0 A place for practice
0 A place for feedback
0 A place for planning
0 A place to collect minilessons or teaching
strategies
0 Filled with all different genre
0 A place to collect ideas, pieces of stories,
inspiration for writing
0 A place to live like a writer
0 Teacher comments in post its
0 Graded differently than other writing

28. #PWI12

29. #PWI12

30. #PWI12

31. #PWI12

33. Whether it is with a group of
characters or an idea for the plot,
begin to write. Everything develops
under the pencil as you begin to
write.
Roald Dahl

34. Assessment of Notebooks
0 Volume
0 Variety
0 Thoughtfulness
0 Maintenance

35. The Writing Process

36. Assessment
0 Assessment for
Learning: This
is what you did
well, here are
my questions,
here are my
suggestions to
improve your
writing
0 Assessment of
Learning:
Process, content,
conventions
grades

37. Reading

38. Reading Requires…
0 Decoding
0 Comprehension
0 Fluency

39. EssentialsEssentials
0 Read-ability

40. First, a little reading…
Pa XXXX Joanie with his dirty XXXX.
Spoon rose to follow Pa, but one of
the XXXX XXXX in the window caught
the light of the real XXXX and sent
off pure white XXXX directly at
Spoon. He sat down again, XXXX by the
XXXX orb, feeling as if he was on the
brink of a meaningful XXXX, on the
verge of XXXX his XXXX.
His eyes darted from one XXXX to
the next. Something of Gram’s.
Thinking, thinking.
5th
grade reading level, GRL R
85% accuracy

41. Let’s try that again at
90%...
Pa followed Joanie with his
dirty XXXX. Spoon rose to
follow Pa, but one of the XXXX
suns in the window caught the
light of the real XXXX and sent
off pure white XXXX directly at
Spoon. He sat down again, XXXX
by the XXXX orb, feeling as if he
was on the brink of a meaningful
thought, on the verge of XXXX
his XXXX.
His eyes darted from one XXXX
to the next. Something of
Gram’s.
Thinking, thinking.

42. This is what it should
sound (and feel) like…
Pa followed Joanie with his
dirty dishes. Spoon rose to
follow Pa, but one of the
stained-glass suns in the
window caught the light of
the real sun and sent off
pure white flashes directly
at Spoon. He sat down again,
mesmerized by the gleaming
orb, feeling as if he was on
the brink of a meaningful
thought, on the verge of
solving his problem.
His eyes darted from one sun

43. This shows…
0 Reading a book that is too hard is equivalent to
not reading at all.
0 Reading at 98% or higher accuracy is essential
for reading acceleration.
0 Anything less, slows the rate of improvement
and anything below 90% accuracy doesn’t
improve reading ability at all.(Allington, 2012; Ehri,
Flugman & Gross, 2007)
0 In order for students to make the necessary
progress to become better readers they need 57
minutes a day to read books they can read with
accuracy, fluency and comprehension.

44. EssentialsEssentials
0 Read-ability
0 Volume
0 Choice
0 Timely, Explicit, Strategy
Instruction
0 Literate Talk

45. Reading
Workshop
0 Minilesson
0 Independent Reading with
Small Group Teaching
0 Conferring
0 Small Group Strategy
Work
0 Mid Workshop Teaching
Point
0 Share

46. Guided ReadingGuided Reading
0 Powerful vehicle to
differentiate instruction
0 Features vs. Comprehension
Skills– balance changes as
levels become more
difficult
0 Text considerations
(Independent,
Frustrational,
Instructional)
0 Guided reading can
strengthen strengths as
well as help move levels
0 Should be viewed as a
support to transfer

47. “A child's reading level
doesn't catch up to his
listening level until eighth
grade. You can and should be
reading seventh-grade books
to fifth-grade kids.”
“You have to hear it
before you can speak it,
and you have to speak it
before you can read it.
Reading at this level
happens through the ear.”
“The single most important
activity for building the
knowledge required for
eventual success in reading is
reading aloud to children.”
~ Becoming a Nation of Readers, 1985
Read Aloud

49. Instructional Read Aloud
with Accountable Talk
0 Practice strategies
learned in other reading
modalities
0 Practice talking about
reading
0 Removes the decoding to
allow for comprehension
work

50. SharedShared
ReadingReading0 Chance to
practice
skills and
strategies
together
in a
shared
text
0 All
students
can see
the words
0 Link to

51. Word Study
0 Word patterns (Letter-
sound, Affixes, Common
Greek and Latin roots)
0 Vocabulary (inside and
outside)
0 Sight Words (High
frequency words)

52. Tiers of Vocabulary
0 Tier 1: Oral Language
0 Tier 2: Literary Language (AKA
Academic Vocabulary)
0 Tier 3: Content Specific Language
(AKA Domain Specific Vocabulary)

53. Spelling
High Frequency
Words
0 Trends become
Whole Class teaching
0 Individualized or
small group
instruction
Word Patterns
0 Trends become
Whole Class teaching
0 Individualized or
small group
instruction
Student Writing

54. Instructional Moves
0Assessments
0Word Walls
0Personal Word Walls
0Sorts/games
0Chart Chanting and Writing
Application