This Is Balanced Literacy, Grades K-6

by Doug B. Fisher, Nancy Frey, Nancy Akhavan

All the tips and tools you need to realize the goal of balanced literacy learning. 



Students learn to read and write best when their teachers balance literacy instruction. Best-selling authors Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey, and Nancy Akhavan help you strike the right balance of skills and knowledge, reading and writing, small and whole group instruction, and direct and dialogic instruction, so that all students can learn to their maximum potential. Using this essential guide, tap your intuition, collaborate with your peers, and put the research-based strategies embedded within to work in your classroom for a strong and successful balanced literacy program.

 

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 26, 2019

Reviews

[Nicole Bannasch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly liked this book. As a teacher, there were many moments to challenge, extend, and confirm thinking and practices.
This book does a great job of showing the true balance needed with reading and writing in the classroom for students to show success. The book also does a great job of pulling in examples from multiple grades to show what other teachers may be using and how it might be adjusted for other grades. The book gives many resources that can be used throughout daily practice and assessment.

I am excited to try some new strategies with my class and adjust the way I integrate writing and reading throughout all times of the day. This is a book I will be referring to for ideas and to keep evolving my practice.

[Natalie Cardon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first thing I want to say is- definitely watch the videos. The videos made the book for me. The teachers and students in them are so inspiring. It’s like I never knew students that age could be so sharp and the teaching quality blew me away. They help make all the authors’ points. Even though I’m an experienced teacher and these concepts are not new to me, I still learned a lot and have a ton I want to improve upon. Sometimes the day to day of what you see in a school and the many distractions of the moment can make you kind of forget what actual best practice and research-based techniques are. This was a great reminder and affirmation.

[Lena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for school

Good intro text when thinking about balanced literacy. Good strategies presented in a well-organized fashion. The assessment chapter was kind of useless though (imo). There were several errors in the text that referenced an incorrect chapter order, which was interesting and an odd mistake for an editor to not catch.

[Ms. Ritko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to read this book while participating in a book chat with the authors. The book is written for K-6 teachers, but I found multiple opportunities to learn from and apply many of the ideas and strategies to my own middle school classroom.

[lucy Ü · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic resource for teachers on how to create a balanced literacy program in your own classroom! I have learned SO much from this book on how to incorporate a love for reading within my own classroom from the book and plan to use it frequently when I have my very own classroom.

[Melissa at The Reading Roundup · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very comprehensive and thorough book covering all of the components of Balanced Literacy. Ideal for new teachers or veteran teachers who want a quick refresher to ensure they're effectively implementing all of the components.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Didn't provide any new ideas, but housed them in one nice, compact, easy to read book. One of the video links did not work, however. Otherwise, good for a new teacher trying to find a balance in their classroom.

[Kimberly Isham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource to go back to again and again!

[Garrett Prevo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of balanced literacy with some very usable stratiegies as well.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

"This is Balanced Literacy" provided an overview of elements in the ELA classroom while addressing current research of practices and routines that most impact student learning. While the organization of this text was initially confusing, I appreciate that the authors were attempting to expand the instructional elements in the classroom. For the first time, I feel that I can actually see the different parts of the balanced classroom working in tandem to meet students at their current level of understanding and provide learning experiences and coaching to help them become better readers and writers.

I also felt that this text provided useful insights in routines that can be set up while still adhering to required curriculum, and how to structure and plan for small group instruction when pacing guides and curriculum do not immediately seem to allow it. This book felt like a necessary addition to the conversation of balanced literacy, building on the foundational blocks set by Fountas and Pinnell while integrating current research on what works with student readers and writers.