Lake Stevens School District

What is a Balanced Reading Program?

Remember: Each day, include time for both guided instruction and independent
work. Otherwise, students will never internalize skills and make them their own!
Read Aloud
A read-aloud is an activity in which the teacher reads a book aloud to the whole group. The
purpose of the read-aloud is to model appropriate reading behaviors and reading strategies.
It is also a time to expose children to a variety of genres. The teacher has an opportunity to
show students the joys of reading and teach them how to think and discuss text. Teachers
should have a set purpose for each read-aloud and should read with the proper fluency,
rhythm, and intonation.

Whole Class Teaching/ Mini- Lesson

During a balanced reading program there is always some whole class teaching that typically
lasts from five to ten minutes. The teacher instructs the whole class on a skill, strategy, or
habit that students need to learn and use during independent reading. The mini-lesson
connects to a previous lesson, ongoing unit of study, or student work or experience. The
teaching point is stated clearly and demonstrated or modeled. Mini-lessons may precede a
Read Aloud, take the form of a Shared Reading activity, or be incorporated into a Guided
Reading activity.

Shared Reading
In shared reading students see the text, observe an expert reading with fluency and
expression, and are invited to read along. Shared reading is appropriate and desirable for
students of all grades to reinforce language and add motivation and interest. For primary
grades, the same text may be read repeatedly with different teaching points. For
intermediate grades many passages may be read with the same teaching point.

Guided Reading
During guided reading the teacher works with small groups of students reading at similar
levels, selects and introduces texts to readers, supports individual students as they read
instructional level texts and engages the readers in a discussion after reading. Students are
grouped and regrouped according to ongoing observation and assessment by the teacher.
The amount of support given by the teacher varies with the reading skills of students in a
group. Each student reads the whole text (or portion of it if reading a longer book), but the
students do not read round robin (one student at a time). Each child is responsible for
solving the entire text with support from the teacher as needed.

Independent Reading
Students are engaged in reading authentic connected text independently on a DAILY basis
for extended periods of time appropriate to their grade level. Students should self-select
their reading materials and know how to select appropriate books for themselves. Teachers
should conference with individuals on a regular basis. SSR and DEAR are not the same as
Independent Reading. SSR and DEAR are generally quiet silent reading times for the purpose
of enjoyment, Independent Reading has a specific instructional purpose of focus.
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