Cardinal Forest Elementary School follows the precepts of Balanced Literacy.  It is not a prescribed program.  Balanced Literacy is an approach to teaching the language arts: reading, writing, speaking and listening.  The benefit of Balanced Literacy is that the approach meets the needs of all students; it is not a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching.  As we well know, children are all very different, and a Balanced Literacy program serves all students at all times. 

If you were to walk in a classroom at Cardinal Forest, you would see:

• Reading and Writing To Children – Teachers model and demonstrate a process and verbalize their thinking.  Modeling by the teacher makes thinking visible and concrete.  We strive to remove the “mystery” of learning thereby allowing our students to emulate and learn from a proficient model.  The daily morning message is one example of a “Read To” and modeling or “thinking aloud” how we use a comprehension strategy to further our understanding while reading is another.  Both examples offer students the greatest amount of support in the learning process.

• Reading and Writing With Children - Teachers and students read and write together; they share the pen and the book.  Reading and writing with students allows for practice with teacher support.  This guided practice allows for learning from doing.  Texts are generally at a student’s instructional level or even slightly above.  Guided practice allows students to make minor mistakes and learn how to self-correct with teacher instruction, if needed.  Examples of reading and writing are shared reading, choral reading, guided reading and shared writing. 

• Reading and Writing By Children - This facet of Balanced Literacy allows for independent practice.  Reading and writing by children allows our students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do.  By evaluating what our students know and are able to do, teachers are able to make informed instructional decisions for future lessons.

The three components of Balanced Literacy scaffold learning.  We begin with the most support and gradually release responsibility to the students.  This process supports learners at all levels as they gain proficiency and confidence along the literacy journey.

A visitor to our classrooms would also see a print-rich environment where students are reading and writing at their own developmental level. 

Above all, visitors will see real readers and writers at all levels.  Our students read authentic texts across genres and share their thinking with each other. They are authors writing for authentic purposes who are eager to share out what they’ve learned and what they think.  A visitor to the classrooms at Cardinal Forest will see teachers and students interacting as a literate community.

Please feel free to contact me with your questions or comments. 

Happy Reading!

Donna Salussolia
Literacy Coach, Cardinal Forest
Donna.Salussolia@fcps.edu