Balanced Literacy is not a program, but rather an approach to teaching reading.  The purpose of Balanced Literacy is to meet the needs of ALL of the students in the classroom.  Traditional reading instruction lends itself to a "one size fits all" approach where all students attempt to read the on-grade level basal.  Balanced Literacy includes time for Reading Aloud, Shared Reading, Guided Reading and Independent Reading.  Balanced Literacy also focuses on Shared Writing, Guided Writing and Independent Writing.  The main purpose of a balanced literacy approach is to foster independent readers and writers. 
     During the read aloud time the teacher models fluent reading with material that is usually on or above grade level.  Students hear rich language and are involved in making meaning with the teacher's guidance as they think aloud about what is happening in the text together.   Reading aloud's main focus is on the joy and pleasure of reading, but also becomes a time of learning about language through the use of language in texts.
     Shared reading is generally on grade level and focuses on skills and standards.  The teacher uses a big book or all students have access to the same text.  The teacher uses the text to teach a specific skill or strategy.  That skill or strategy is practiced during center time or learning stations.
     The teacher works with small groups of students during the Guided Reading portion of the lesson.  This is often called the "heart" of the Balanced Literacy approach.   It is during this time that the teacher GUIDES the readers through the text and they work on similar texts until they are ready to move to a more difficult level.  Teachers listen to students read, take runnning records of their reading and determine what the student needs next to be more successful.  The other students are working in centers or at learning stations, reading independently, etc.  while the teacher works with five or six students who are on or about the same reading level.  Reading level is determined through a formal test called the Develomental Reading Assessment (DRA).  Students are taught at their instructional level using texts that challenge them to the extent that they need the teacher's help to manipulate the text.  On the primary level this may happen every day, but on the elementary level guided reading groups meet for longer periods of time and less frequently.  Students who are reading on or above grade level do not need to meet with the teacher as often as those below grade level.  Students at the primary level are usually reading texts with less words and are focusing on concepts about print, letter and sound recognition and reproduction, and making meaning.  Elementary students' texts are much longer.  These students are beginning to infer and go much deeper that just the word level.  Teachers meet with groups to help them use the strategies and skills to be able to handle longer and more difficult texts.
    The final part of Balanced Literacy is also very important and one in which parents can be involved.  Independent reading gives students a chance to practice what they've been working on in guided reading, but also should include pleasure reading that is on the child's independent level. ( A description of levels is below)  All BLES students should have a daily reading log.  Parents should make sure that their students are reading independently every day.  Research shows that students who score in the 90% on state and national tests are those who read at least thirty minutes a day...beyond school reading.
    

    I have added a link about the text levels, including definitions, and several other links to my website that should help parents understand this better.  Please feel free to call the school and ask for me if I can answer any questions or alleviate any concerns.

This system shows how our books in our literacy room are coded and labeled with colors.

An explanation of the different reading levels and terms used at our school.

This gradient shows a comparison of our leveling system to grade level, including DRA.