A Balanced Framework for Instruction

This chapter begins with the premise that literacy educators must prepare for varying curricula, be aware of quality effectiveness, and base methods on sound research, as well as demonstrate knowledge of instructional techniques. They must seek evidence-based instructional practices to be used with all children, including those who struggle in the area of literacy. Preservice and inservice literacy educators are expected to understand that a balanced framework for literacy instruction is essential for children to experience success as a reader. The foundation for having a balanced framework is rooted in the components needed to be a proficient reader. Several conceptual areas of learning how to read include concepts of print, phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. This chapter defines each conceptual area, as well as writing, and discusses the role it plays in the reading process and why it is important for the struggling reader to strengthen it.

The Reading Process and the Struggling Reader

This chapter defines the reading process, as well as the struggling reader, whose ability to interact with the text to gain meaning is hindered by difficulties in the use of skills and strategies, making it difficult to independently and flexibly adapt to varying reading situations. When reading is done superficially, it lacks the ability to be a tool for thinking and learning. Unfortunately, this can lead to giving up on reading and finding other, possibly limited, resources that convey information without having to be read. Neuroscientific research reveals that readers who are proficient activate prior knowledge, use strategies both independently and flexibly, and adapt to varying reading situations. The reading experience can be effective if the relationship between the printed word and the reader is grounded in the reader's language development, background knowledge, interest in the topic, past experiences with printed words, and what he or she intends to gain from the experience.

Familial Curriculum Making and a Home Reading Program

Home, community, and school experiences shape children’s lives. In this paper I focus on the experiences of Matson, a young boy who was identified as a struggling reader in Grade 1, as well as the experiences of his mother and teachers who live alongside him. I inquire specifically into his family’s curriculum making around home reading. This narrative inquiry is situated in a Deweyan perspective on education and in the curriculum studies literature, particularly within the concepts of lived curriculum and curriculum making. The four commonplaces of curriculum help me explore the making of curriculum in school and at home. While researching, my back and forth travel between school and home allowed me to notice and explore tensions. This multiperspectival approach also presents a shift from the teacher-centered perspective on children’s education and curriculum making in school. This study shows how curriculum making in school and at home involves ongoing processes of assessment making and identity making, and illustrates how curriculum making shapes, and is shaped by, these factors. The relationship I developed with Matson’s mother allowed me to know more about Matson’s experiences. This perspective revealed secret stories and counterstories.