Balanced Literacy

At Hagan Elementary School, we incorporate the various components of a Balanced Literacy program into our reading and writing instruction. Balanced Literacy is a framework designed to help all students learn to read and write effectively. The children are given the opportunity to read and write on a daily basis at their individual instructional levels.

A Balanced Literacy program consists of the following components:

• Reading Aloud to children
• Shared Reading - whole class
• Guided Reading - small groups
• Independent Reading
• Shared Writing - whole class
• Interactive Writing - whole class
• Writer's Workshop - small groups or individual
• Independent Writing

In addition to the components listed above, children are provided with daily instruction and practice in the manipulation of letters, sounds, and words.

For more information on a Balanced Literacy program, please click on the following link.

Early Literacy - http://www.earlyliterature.ecsd.net/

This is an excellent site full of information that provides an overview of balanced literacy for parents, educators, and all who want to familiarize themselves with this concept. Created by Carol and Terry of the Telus Learning Connection, Early Literacy provides succinct summaries of research findings, practical explanantions, as well as links and ready to use resources for the classroom.

Reading is Fun!

The single most important thing for building knowledge required for eventual success in reading is Reading Aloud To Your Child! Read with and to your child every day. Some effective ways to help your child improve their reading skills include:

• Read yourself! Your actions really do speak louder than your words. When your child sees you reading, they will want nothing more than to follow your example and read themselves.
• Make sure your child reads every day. Reading, like shooting baskets and playing the piano, is a skill. Just as with any other skill, in order to improve you must practice. Children who read more, become better readers.
• Make sure everyone in the family has a library card. It is not necessary to purchase a lot of new books when there are so many "free" choices available to everyone at the local library.
• Read aloud to your child. Research has shown that reading aloud to children on a daily basis is the most important thing parents can do to help their children become better readers. Even a small amount of time, such as 15 minutes per day, can make an enormous impact on a child's reading success.

The following web sites provide some fun and entertaining ways to reinforce necessary reading skills for beginnning readers:

Starfall.com

PBSkids.org

Storyplace.org

Click here to take you to a link on parenting tips for beginning readers.