This professional development article details a pragmatic framework for reading instruction that focuses on struggling and proficient readers in early adolescence (11-14 years old). Grounded in extensive and key reading research, the framework presented here suggests a structure for balanced literacy instruction in the classroom.
Six instructional practices--oral reading practice; guided reading; word study; reading self-selected books independently; writing about reading; and learning and using strategies for comprehension--serve as models for tutoring and classroom instruction, and each practice is explained for purposes of being modified to support any level of reading proficiency (from struggling to proficient) to promote continued literacy growth.
Critical and content area literacy are discussed in depth, and the four essential roles of readers--code breaker, text participant, text user, and text analyst--provide support for advocating and implementing balanced reading instruction.
Intended to guide classroom teachers in planning and organizing literacy instruction for young adolescent students at all levels of literacy development, this article explains the theory behind and methodology of important reading and writing literacy practices, some of which include choral reading, reader's theatre, read-alouds, repeated readings, shared reading, guided reading in flexible groups, book club, literacy study circles, word study in guided reading groups,
word sorts, constructing and deconstructing words, self-selected extended reading and writing,
sustained silent reading (SSR), reading and writing workshops, discussion partners, dialogue journals, and reciprocal teaching. (author/bcbrown)