"Noella Mackenzie and Martina Tassone explore structured literacy, whole language and balanced literacy. This is the fifth post on reading to celebrate Book Week."
In this article, penultimate in this series, the authors examine the differences between structured literacy, whole language and balanced literacy. Further to this they state that there is no research to support the use in mainstream classrooms of commercial programs which follow the concepts of structured literacy. Rather they argue that a knowledgeable and skilful teacher can best meet the needs of individual students through a balanced literacy program. They suggest that a balanced literacy program is best developed through the flexibility a knowledgeable teacher brings to a classroom. They provide insightful detail of such a program which includes not only phonics and comprehension but other aspects of classroom practice including the pedagogical approaches, selection of texts and inclusion and balancing of the four macro skills reading, writing, listening and speaking. Their final post will look at the impact that the media has made on the teaching of reading.
Reference: Mackenzie,N. & Tassone,M. (2024, August,21). READING part five: Why teachers must have more than this year’s model of literacy. Edu Research Matters.