Exploring literacy balance: Iterations in a second-grade and a sixth-gradeclassroom

Recent research indicates that balanced literacy instruction is prevalent i n today's elementary schools. Still, there is much debate over both the val ue of balanced programs and, specifically, what constitutes a balanced prog ram. In this article we, present one theoretical perspective on balanced li teracy instruction and two iterations of it in practice: one in a second-gr ade classroom and another in a sixth-grade classroom. Like others, we concl ude that balanced reading instruction is much more complex than merely embe dding the teaching of skills and strategies within the context of literatur e. Furthermore, we suggest that successful balanced programs involve two ad ditional critical factors: (a) how teachers effectively organize and manage their classrooms, and (b) how teachers engage in continuous decision-makin g.