10/13/2024

Balanced Literacy to Structured Literacy: The Instructional Difference

This blog post is the third in a series exploring the research behind the science of reading and what its implementation looks like in the classroom. To learn more about the research behind the science of reading and what it looks like in practice, read the first post, What the Science of Reading Is Not, and the second post, Science of Reading: From Research to Practice for All Teachers.

Learning to speak may be a natural process, but for many students, learning to read is not. While 95% of students can learn to read when using instruction based on the science of reading, only 35% are reading proficiently, according to the most recent NAEP reading scores.

Until recently, the majority of students learned to read by memorizing sight words, engaging in classroom discussions about a text, or using pictures and context clues to identify new words. Yet parents and teachers have struggled to understand why this approach, known as balanced literacy, hasn’t been successful in getting all students to read proficiently. As of April 2024, 38 states have moved away from balanced literacy and have asked districts to implement instructional approaches rooted in the science of reading with the goal of improving student outcomes.

Structured Literacy, the in-class application of the science of reading, focuses on teaching reading using a systematic, cumulative, and explicit methodology. Students learn phonics, decoding, and other skills in sequential order. Structured Literacy instruction is rooted in research collected during the past 50 years that informs how proficient reading and writing develop; why some children have difficulty; and how others can effectively assess and teach reading to improve student outcomes.     

Many teachers made great strides using balanced literacy resources; however, recent research shows Structured Literacy could dramatically increase the number of students who can read proficiently.

What is Balanced Literacy?

Balanced literacy is rooted in a whole-language-based reading approach that emphasizes child-led, discovery-based learning. In this model, the classroom teacher leads the class in group reading and discussion. Students then break into small groups, where they engage in guided reading.

No one definition or curriculum describes balanced reading; the term describes a myriad of literacy programs that balance reading to children, reading with children, and reading by children, according to Don Holdaway, a proponent of the Natural Learning Model, which suggests students learn by engaging with the same text repeatedly.

Balanced literacy programs could also include:

• Writing
• Spelling
• Phonics
• Basal readers
• Quality children’s literature 
• Small-group or independent reading and writing 

In other words, there is no one definition of balanced literacy, which makes it difficult to define, research, or teach.

While balanced reading doesn’t exclude phonics and decoding, teachers following this approach are asked to employ what’s known as the three-cueing system, which asks students to identify words based on whether or not they make sense, sound right, or look right in a sentence. Learners who use this technique can overly rely on pictures and guessing. This practice can lead to miscueing. For example, a student might guess the word “bunny” instead of “rabbit,” or “screamed” instead of “squealed.” With the three-cueing system, these errors might be ignored because the word is close enough to the story's context. This can lead to even more difficulties when students enter later grades, with fewer visual cues and more complex texts. 

Most importantly, there is no evidence that a balanced literacy or whole language approach can help all students, including those with dyslexia or other learning disabilities, read. 

What is the Science of Reading?

The term science of reading is an umbrella term that refers to a large body of gold-standard research collected by cognitive scientists and other reading experts during more than five decades. It reveals how students learn to read and the most effective instructional approaches and provides evidence of what works best in reading instruction. More importantly, science of reading research clarifies how to teach students who have difficulty learning to read and outlines the exact skills students must learn and how and when to deliver instruction.

One of the biggest misconceptions about the science of reading is that it is centered on phonics only. While phonics is a major component of reading and is taught in Structured Literacy, it’s just one of the many elements teachers cover in this approach.

What is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy is the application of knowledge from the science of reading, which teaches children to read in an evidence-based and systematic way. A Structured Literacy approach weaves together an array of skills from the science of reading, including, at a minimum:

• Phonology—the study of sound structure of spoken words
• Sound-Symbol Association—how to map sounds to letters and vice versa
• Syllables—knowing how to divide words into syllables to decode unfamiliar sounds
• Morphology—the study of base meanings to unlock the meaning of complex words
• Syntax—the set of principles that dictate the sequence and functions of words in a sentence
• Semantics—the meaning and comprehension of language

According to the International Dyslexia Association®, Structured Literacy is also defined by its systematic, cumulative, diagnostic, and explicit methodology.

• Systematic & Cumulative: Systematic means the organization of the material follows the logical order of language. The sequence begins with the simplest concepts and gradually increases in difficulty as students’ understanding deepens. Cumulative means each step should build on top of the previous one.
• Diagnostic: Diagnostic refers to how teachers understand and react to their students’ learning process. They must be able to individualize instruction (even in group situations) based on continuous assessment. These assessments can be informal (observation) or formal (standardized testing).
• Explicit: Explicit instruction means teachers are clear and direct when teaching students new concepts. It should not be assumed students already know things that have not been taught, and it shouldn’t be assumed students learn through exposure alone. Explicit teaching involves direct student-teacher interactions, and research has shown that incorporating multisensory teaching can support students’ learning as well.

Key Differences Between Balanced and Structured Literacy

While both balanced literacy and Structured Literacy promote reading, their approaches and outcomes differ greatly.

Structured Literacy asks that teachers continuously assess students to better understand their learning gaps so they can adjust instruction in real time and provide them with targeted support if necessary. Research indicates this particularly helps students at risk for literacy acquisition, including English Language Learners and students with dyslexia. According to Beth Carstens, a first grade teacher at St. Anthony's School in Columbus, Nebraska, balanced literacy and Structured Literacy are worlds apart.

“The biggest difference, I think, is the intentionality. Structured Literacy is explicit and sequential. I tell my students what we will learn, then we practice it together, and then they’ll practice it on their own, a lot. We do cycles of review so we don’t lose old skills at the expense of new skills. There is a defined ‘road map’ of what they need to learn, starting with short vowels and ending with multisyllabic words. We don’t memorize a list of sight words. We don’t guess at a word or use the picture to figure it out. I think this helps my students take ownership of their learning,” she said.

Can You Combine the Best of Balanced Literacy With Structured Literacy?

Dana A. Robertson, Ed.D., an associate professor and program coordinator of Reading and Literacy Education in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, former elementary classroom teacher and literacy specialist, suggests you can design your Structured Literacy curriculum to include some of the positive elements of balanced literacy, to promote reading across content areas. For example:

• Engage in word study that integrates phonics, phonological awareness, spelling, and morphology together instead of separate lessons on these skills. 
• Provide ample opportunity for students to practice their word reading skills across a range of text types and develop fluency instead of a reading diet of only “decodable” texts that are tightly controlled to match phonics lessons. 
• Give students the tools to access text while maintaining the overall focus on topic knowledge matters. 
• Build vocabulary knowledge while students are reading the text, and then continually prompt students to use these new words in their speaking and writing instead of only pre-teaching vocabulary and having students define the words. 
• Teach sentence comprehension and composing to develop students’ abilities to understand the cohesion of ideas while also having students read and write connected texts. This sentence-level work scaffolds text reading.

What Does a Transition from Balanced Literacy to Structured Literacy Look Like?

Changing practice takes time and patience, but with the appropriate teacher buy-in, coaching, administrative support, and professional learning investment, schools can successfully make—and sustain—the transition.

John Arthur, a 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist, teaches at Meadowlark Elementary School. He strongly believes teachers and administrators must work together to bring about sustainable change. Working with the school’s literacy coach, he and his team approached their principal after looking at data that showed students had difficulty “breaking down words and other aspects of literacy that weren’t a part of the school’s existing curriculum.” 

“We asked our literacy coach for help, and she guided us into the world of the science of reading. She told us that if we were serious about helping our students, it would require new programs and extra training. We couldn't continue with what we had been doing; we needed to take on more and embrace new methods.”

Dr. Maggie Cummings, the school principal, interviewed all of the teachers and asked what was needed to improve literacy outcomes. 

“With data in hand, we laid out the need for additional materials to help improve our literacy scores,” says Arthur. “We needed more training in the upper grades on the science of reading, because we were getting more students showing up not knowing the fundamentals of reading. She immediately worked with our literacy coach to investigate the best programs to address those needs.”

However, before adopting a new program, the team specified areas where teachers needed professional learning and coaching. For example, Arthur said they needed training on administering phonological screeners and teaching students to break down words into prefixes, roots, and suffixes. 

“By the end of the year, 100% of my students met their pathway to progress goals.” 
– John Arthur, 2021 Utah Teacher of the Year and National Teacher of the Year Finalist, Meadowlark Elementary School

Best Practices for Transitioning to Structured Literacy

To drive real literacy transformation, school administrators must step into the role of instructional leader. This includes showing a deep curiosity for and understanding of the science of reading—and its ability to level the playing field for all students—and providing teachers with the road map they need to bring the science of reading to life in their classrooms. 

Michael Walling, curriculum director and state and federal programs director for the East China School District in Michigan, recently transitioned K–5 students to Structured Literacy and is now addressing reading gaps in grades 6–8. District leaders adopted Lexia Aspire® Professional Learning to support their transition. Aspire offered evidence-based knowledge and practical strategies for teachers to apply science of reading concepts effectively in their classrooms.

"We are starting to see gains in our benchmark assessments that are given throughout the year, and our students are also making huge gains within our units of instruction. Perhaps the most satisfying are the stories from teachers about students’ love of reading increasing and the complexity of the texts they read going up, quicker than in the past."
– Michael Walling, Curriculum Director and State and Federal Programs Director, East China School District, Michigan

Here are some best practices he recommends.

• Involve Stakeholders: “My advice in this process is to invite stakeholders of all kinds into the conversation and look at your data with an open, growth-based mindset. If all members have a say in the process and you can paint a picture of the urgency of the situation, great change can happen and happen quickly,” Walling said.
• Maintain a Growth-Based Mindset: Embrace the change positively, focusing on continuous improvement and learning.
• Drive Urgent Change: Recognize the urgency of addressing literacy gaps and act decisively to implement evidence-based strategies.
• Build a Support Network: Connect with colleagues to share ideas, strategies, and support. Form study groups or professional learning communities.
• Engage in Peer Observations: Observe peers who implement new instructional approaches effectively and learn from their practices.
• Participate in Team Planning: Collaborate with your grade-level team or department to plan and align instruction, ensuring consistency and support.
• Communicate Needs to Administrators: Clearly articulate the need for ongoing professional development and mental health support to school leaders.
• Share Success Stories: Highlight the positive impact of professional learning on your teaching and student outcomes to garner support for continued investment in these initiatives.
• Invest in Professional Development Courses: Participate in courses and workshops about the science of reading and literacy instruction.

Professional Learning Experiences Can Help Guide Your Transition

Transitioning to Structured Literacy practices offers a valuable opportunity for teacher growth and development. Many educators and education leaders did not receive pre-service training aligned with the science of reading and could greatly benefit from having the tools and road map to meet the literacy needs of all students. By advocating for thoughtfully designed professional learning experiences, you can confidently implement evidence-based reading instruction with lasting impact. To be successful, professional learning must be flexible and consider your personal and professional needs. 

These professional learning experiences should include:

• An ongoing inquiry-focused approach that promotes meaningful engagement among colleagues.
• A focus on expanding your own knowledge rather than transmission of a prescribed curriculum.
• A program that supports your expertise, further informing it with outside expertise.
• An approach that values your experiences and knowledge, while addressing the specific problems you encounter with your students related to the curriculum.

Professional learning experiences of the past often failed to achieve their aims and required teachers to attend sessions detached from classroom realities, leaving little for them to bring back to their students. By advocating for the right professional learning tools and support, your transition to Structured Literacy can enhance your teaching practice while improving student literacy outcomes.

To learn more about the research behind the science of reading and what it looks like in practice, read the other blog posts in this series: What the Science of Reading Is Not and Science of Reading: From Research to Practice for All Teachers.