Balanced Instruction
One
aspect of the curricular content that has been central to debates about
literacy instruction is how do children respond to literature. This dimension of content balance has
created a debate stemming from complex issues related to readers' individual
interpretations of text and the contrast concerning social and cultural values
that arise in literature discussions.
This has been a two-part debate - reader-driven versus text-driven
understandings, and conventional versus personal interpretations. As the basis for our reading programs move
toward authentic literature, teachers must meet the challenge of students'
response to the content literature. For
example, themes of the human experience such as: love, hate, prejudice,
friendship, religion, and human rights.
Balancing response to literature
actually involves balancing two goals of schooling - connecting to the past and
preparing to meet an uncertain future.
On one hand, schools are under the obligation to teach students the
traditions of our society, our history, our cultural and linguistic tools, and
our norms for interaction. On the
other, schools must help students become adults capable of functioning in the
world we live today. This tension between
reader driven and text driven curriculum must be addressed through a curriculum
that balances the individual with the culture.
The Open Court Reading
Program Minibooks lessons present a challenge to any instructor who desires to
engage his/her students in critical thinking, and debate because the program
success is based on timely scripted material which leaves hardly any room for
classroom creativity, and interaction.
The debate over balanced instruction has been going on
for decades. The debate has been over
which is more important to teach in beginning reading, breaking the code or
understanding what we read (Pearson & Raphael, 1999). Those that believe that students should be
taught the code argue that it is the code that the students don’t know. The sooner they learn it the quicker they
can read regularly. The other side
argues that since reading is a meaning making process it is better to teach
students how to do this from the beginning of their reading instruction. According to Pearson and Raphael there are
four contextual aspects that literacy teachers balance in their daily teaching
activities. They are authenticity,
classroom discourse, teachers’ roles, and curricular control. Within the content of curriculum there has
been debate regarding skill contextualization, text genres, and response to
literature. For the purpose of this
paper the importance regarding text genres will be discussed.
Genre
refers to the types of texts in the literary curriculum. Stories, personal narratives, poems, essays,
and descriptions are examples of different forms of genre. Test results have found that students have
difficulty reading and understanding expository texts (Pearson & Raphael,
1999). When balancing the curriculum it
is important to note that students must make meaning from different
genres.
The
genre debate also involves authentic versus instructional texts. Some educators argue that children learn
best when reading and responding to authentic literature, real-world literacy
activities (Pearson & Raphael, 1999).
When it comes to acquiring the skills necessary to read these authentic
texts relying on literature alone may not be the answer. It is important for students to be able to
read across many different types of books but these may not be the best source
from which to teach the skills that students need. On the other hand the easy decodable texts may reinforce certain
reading skills but may not expose students to the different levels of thinking
required from expository texts.
The Open Court reading program states that children are
more successful when they learn to read through a balance of literature and
explicit phonics skills instruction (Open Court, 2000). Open Court claims that they balance phonics
and literature through their systematic program. One of the features they claim their program includes is engaging
students in constructing meaning from text.
Mastering phonics skills enables students to focus on the goal of reading:
comprehension. Within the program are
the student anthologies. These book
selections include realistic fiction, historical fiction, poetry, nonfiction
selections, drama, and full-length trade books (Open Court, 2000).
Open
Court does value instruction through different genres however, the skill and
drill of the lesson is predetermined and scripted in the teacher’s
edition. The phonics skill instruction
is taken from a source other than the literature. During the daily independent work time when students demonstrate
their knowledge, the activities are a review of the skills covered in
class. Authentic experiences with
literature that include phonics instruction are not the focus of the program. Learning phonics skills first to enable the
students to read the literature later are.
As I discuss
the teacher's role and classroom discourse my goals are to describe it as an
element of a balanced approach to literacy, explain the importance, and then
discuss the degree to which it is evident in the Open Court Reading Program.
According to
authors P. David Pearson and Taffy E. Raphael (1999) in "Toward an
Ecologically Balance Literacy Curriculum" in Best Practices in Literacy
Instruction, classroom discourse is
the amount of control that is established by the teacher and allotted for the
students in a learning environment. They define the teacher's role as the specific part a teacher plays in providing
instruction (Chapter 2). The teacher's role and classroom discourse can be
described in turns of a continuum or balance scale. At certain times during a
lesson, the teachers may possess more control and occupy a more essential role
specifically when a new concept is being taught. Once the students have grasped
the concept, the teacher is able to redistribute control which maybe shared
equally by both the teacher and the students or the students may process more
control than the teacher depending on the nature of the lesson.
Also in
redistributing the control, the teacher's role is redefined. Instead of being
the primary source of instruction, the teacher now plays the role of
facilitator. The teacher's new role gives students more control by allowing
them to take an active role in their learning. Examples of students taking an
active role include allowing students to choose topics they are interested in
writing about and discussing, peer tutoring, and delegating responsibilities in
a cooperative learning activity.
The primary
goal as facilitator is to play a minimal role to give students opportunities to
exert a sense of ownership (Harp, 1995, Chapter 8). Some of the
responsibilities include monitoring learning, deciphering when to intervene,
and keeping students focused on the desired objective. In contrast, when
students have not completely mastered a particular concept such as vowel
sounds, or they need additional modeling of how to conduct a specific activity,
for instance literature group discussions, the teacher may be forced to regain
a certain degree of control to provide further instruction or remediation. In
addition to regaining more control the teacher's role is also altered and he/
she is no longer taking on the role as facilitator, but has direct control.
Once the students illustrate that they are able to successfully function with
minimal teacher intervention, the teacher's role and degree of classroom
discourse needs to be redefined and redistributed. If a balanced approach to
literacy instruction is the primary goal, the teacher's role and classroom
discourse will vary greatly depending on various factors such as the nature of
the lesson and the amount of control that is deemed most beneficial for the
student’s success.
The teacher's
role and classroom discourse is a very essential element in a balanced approach
to literacy instruction. The amount of control that is exercised or the role
that is occupied by the teacher determines the amount of ownership given to the
students. When a teacher shares control with students, they are given
instructional responsibilities. According to Bill Harp (1995) in order for
students to take true ownership "they must be empowered to evaluate their
own learning" (p. 132, Chapter 8). When students are granted various roles
in the learning process they establish a partnership with the teacher in
becoming self-directed learners. Teachers, who maintain sole control of the
learning environment, force students to become reliant on the teacher rather
than independent learners. Shared roles and control aid the teacher in building
a community of learners where everyone is an active participant in the learning
process.
In striving to
achieve a balanced approach to literacy instruction as it relates to teacher
roles and classroom discourse, teacher and student interaction is imperative. When the teacher has established a classroom
environment which prevents students from freely participating in their learning
and thinking creatively, the students are striped of their sense of ownership.
For example when a teacher conducts a classroom discussion and does not allow
for a variety of responses then the students becomes limited in their thinking.
Many of the
lessons in the Open Court teacher's manual for 1st grader were
structured very similar. There were
several activities in one lesson that fell into two categories, reading and
writing. They all begin with a Getting
Started activity for the purpose of reviewing previous concepts and
building interest for the activity that followed. The reading section focused
on activities that promoted phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency skills,
while the writing section provided opportunities for students to practice
writing. I specifically focused on
lesson 19 in the Open Court Teacher's manual for 1st graders (1995)
to analyze if a balanced approach to literacy instruction was evident.
Throughout
most of the activities in this lesson, the teacher processes the most control.
The lesson begins with oral blending activities where the teacher introduces
the concept of oral blending using final consonant sounds, one-syllable words
and segmentation of final consonants. The teacher is basically instructed what
to say to introduce and review various skills and how the students should
respond by the teacher's manual. For example, in one of the blending activities
the teacher begins the exercise by saying a variety of words and encouraging
the class to repeat them. After the teacher has discussed the targeted sounds
to blend words, the students are asked questions to assess whether they have grasped
the concept. The questions do not allow the students to apply any critical
thinking skills because the teacher is only looking for one answer. The
students are never presented with an opportunity to conduct their own
discussion with other students or expand their thinking.
The only part
of lesson 19 where I observed possible opportunities for the expansion of
student roles and increased student control involved the Exploring the Writer's Craft section. This section encouraged
students to work in cooperative groups to complete a writing project. The writing topic was geared around animals
but the students were given the choice to write several short books about
different animals or write one book with different parts i.e. my favorite
animals, where it lives, and what it eats. They are also given independent time
to work in their groups to discuss and prepare the project. This cooperative
writing activity presented students with choices and opportunities to take
active roles in their learning.
In
conclusion, "it is just as mistaken to assume literacy learning is limited
to situations in which the teacher is engaged in explicit instruction as it is
to assume that learning is meaningful only when the teacher is our of the
picture" (Pearson & Raphael, 1999, p. 27, Chapter 2). This statement
indicates how imperative it is to distribute the roles and control among
students and teachers in an effort to achieve a balanced approach to literacy
instruction.
Balanced instruction encompasses many
different elements when viewed from a theoretical viewpoint. Many reading
experts agree that authenticity should be included when considering a balanced
reading program. The argument
supporting authenticity is that too many tasks in the school setting are
unauthentic or unrealistic. They are
not useful tasks outside the classroom setting, making it difficult to
transition into literacy activities necessary to function in the real world. Pearson & Raphael (1999) argue that we,
as educators, should be teaching kids how to "do life" instead of how
to "do school." Where else (except in school) will a child encounter
books that have controlled vocabulary or a worksheet with "fill in the
blanks?" Instead of teaching kids
to read to be able to answer comprehension questions, we should be encouraging
their reading to allow them to discuss what they have read with peers and their
teachers in forums such as book clubs or literature circles. These are "real life" activities,
which will serve them well in future years.
Few would argue that children (as well as adults) prefer to do and
learn things that they perceive as relevant to their lives or livelihood. Children are more motivated to learn when
they have ownership and are involved in tasks that are purposeful and
authentic. Beginning readers learn
words more easily when they are presented in a context that is personally
meaningful instead of in a workbook that attempts to "teach" isolated
skills. Such decontextualization appears
to have little relevance to what the child wants to know about or is interested
in learning (Gambrell & Mazzoni, 1999).
That is not to say that skills and strategies such as decoding and
comprehension are not important or should not be taught. Simply, they should arise from a student's
own personal need for meaning making.
Instruction may occur within the context of reading authentic literature
or as a "minilesson" related to the content from which they
arose. Each teacher should be aware of
what his or her students need and deliver instruction according to individual
needs.
In the Open Court Reading Program,
there does not appear to be an emphasis on authenticity. In this phonics-based program, children
learn to read words mainly by blending sounds, not exposure to readable,
meaningful connected texts. Lessons are
followed by worksheets to practice and reinforce what was learned. Among many other exercises, students fill in
blanks and answer literal level comprehension questions to choose correct
spellings of words. More evident in the
early grades, the stories that follow the phonics lessons contain mostly words
that have sounds previously learned.
This systematic approach leads to the reading of books with very
controlled vocabularies which, according to the authors, is to promote
success. In addition, there is a
section titled writing in the
teacher's edition. However, the
assignment is far from an authentic writing activity. Students are given words to spell in an effort to practice what was
previously learned. There are also
sentences that are dictated by the teacher which, again, stress the phonic
elements learned. Although this section
might be more appropriately titled "dictation," it is Open Court's
way of teaching beginning writing.
Teachers are encouraged to remind students how all of these skills will
enable them to be successful in the future.
The teaching of skills in such an isolated contrived way does not
represent authenticity as defined by most in the reading profession, and
children feel little ownership of their work.
However, the program does include strands of authenticity. There are journals that students write
stories - many times in response to a story read aloud or in their readers. Attempts are made to make these writing
assignments more authentic. For
example, after reading about animals, students are given choices as to what
animal they would like to write about in their journals. According to the guide, there does appear to
be much some choice. However, it would
be up to the individual teacher if she or he wanted to make the writing more
meaningful such as writing a letter to the zookeeper in the story read or
writing step by step directions on how to bathe or feed the gorillas! The program also includes student
anthologies that have authentic stories and known authors. In addition, the publishers include lists of
trade books (for reading aloud) that teachers may want to use to supplement a
lesson. There are also Big Books used
periodically for shared reading. In
grades 3-6, there are more trade books that are "authentic" in
nature, but most of these are not written by familiar authors.
When children themselves are not
reading books that they can find in their local libraries, they may not see
themselves as real readers like their teachers who are reading authentic
literature. It is possible that this
personal perception may lead to hesitation in trying to read the books found in
the home or library. Students may
become overly concerned about not knowing every word as they do in their
phonics readers.
In addition, if children are not
encouraged to take ownership and write
for different purposes and audiences, they may not view writing as an activity
that is done outside of school. If
students are to survive in this fast paced world, they must be encouraged to
read and write in an effort to be able to "do life." One of our jobs as professionals is to
create independent strategic readers and writers who have had an abundance of
these "real life" experiences and who can function outside the four
walls of the classroom.