Finding Harmony in Times of Discord: Helping Literacy Professionals Unpack the Current Reading Instruction Movement
Keywords:
science of teaching reading, literacy professionals, balanced literacy definitionsAbstract
In the past few years, certain labels for how we frame literacy teaching have become triggers for heated debates in various venues, such as media, social media, journal articles, blogs, and professional organization conference sessions. In this article, we aim to find common ground between proponents of balanced literacy and proponents of a phonics-based/phonics-forward and first approach. We first present and unpack reading instruction vocabulary that has been frequently used in the discourse of educators and media who ascribe to one of the two mentioned approaches. Then, we provide resources and advice to literacy professionals and administrators who work directly with teachers so that they might find balance and harmony amidst the information that is prevalent in both literacy journals and the media.
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