Back to school season is an exciting time for teachers and learners. We begin a new year, fresh with enthusiasm and with the psychological benefits of the experiences behind us.

Preparing to get back into the classroom has had me reflecting on a variety of ways to engage young readers and writers. What strategies can we use to find a balance? In a truly balanced literacy program, how you teach is as important as what you teach.

That's one of the conclusions that numreous local teachers, administrators, and curriculum supervisors have shared with me over the years. Like most educators today, we've been changing our practices to reflect new knowledge about learning and teaching. Our students are reading more, writing more, and learning through themes. Yet we share a mixed bag of excitement and uneasiness — excitement about the learning taking place in our classrooms every day, and uneasiness about the public perception that schools are not as good as they used to be, especially when it comes to teaching reading.

We wonder: How can we maintain the good practices of the past without ignoring current evidence about how children learn? Have we gone too far in one direction? What we're searching for, then, is balance.

"Who dares teach must never cease to learn," is a popular adage quoted by Gretchen Anderson and Shannon Allred, Reading teacher consultants at the Pocatello - Chubbuck School District #25 Alameda Center.

From collaborative work and years of learning alongside faculty from Idaho State University, the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, and other circles -- as well as several team-ups with the editorial staff of Instructor Magazine and my recent appointment to the staff of the International Reading Association journal "The Reading Teacher" -- I've been able to derive several teaching tips that may be helpful in addressing concerns that have surfaced and are common to all teachers.

During my staff development workshops around the country, many teachers have voiced the following frustration: "Teaching phonics with literature seems so hit or miss. What about a correct sequence of skills?"

To address this concern and many others, click below.

Common Concerns and Practical Strategies for:

• Teaching Basic Skills
• Effective Grouping and Planning
• Covering Content
• Dealing with Assessment
• Five Rules of Thumb for Maintaining Balance

Five Rules of Thumb for Maintaining Balance:

Teach skills as a way to gain meaning. Skills are not ends in themselves.

Each day, include time for both guided instruction and independent work.
Otherwise, students will never internalize skills and make them their own.

Avoid teaching children as if they were empty receptacles for knowledge.
Instead, allow them to build knowledge in a process-oriented way.

Integrate print and electronic materials effectively. That way, your
classroom will reflect the multimedia world in which students live.

Always consider standardized test scores in light of informal assessment
data. Encourage parents to do the same.

Best of luck for a school year filld with the joys of reading!

Michael

www.michaelrstrickland.com