The Balanced Literacy Diet – Putting Research into Practice in the Classroom

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Summarized by Cindy Perras, M.Ed., OCT, Educational Consultant, LDAO

The Balanced Literacy Diet is a framework for understanding and teaching literacy; the framework is designed to provide a comprehensive, multifaceted Internet resource (Click here to access the free website) to support the development of research-informed reading and writing instruction in schools. The framework itself presents literacy concepts using familiar terminology – that of a healthy diet. Using this construct, teachers are encouraged to create nourishing and enticing literacy lessons by drawing on their knowledge of the ingredients, their knowledge of the development of reading and writing skills (that is, which processes are most needed at which stage of development), and their creativity and imagination. The Balanced Literacy Diet collaboratively incorporates the experiences of educators in recipes (lesson plans and instructional strategies), differentiated according to ingredients and grade level.

According to the Balanced Literacy Diet, educators, in order to be effective, need to understand the requirements of the stages and provide their students with stage-appropriate "foods for literacy."  Further, educators who understand this complexity are well prepared to teach the vast majority of students in their classrooms and to provide differentiated instruction for those who need ‘special literacy diets’ because of learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.

The Reading Pyramid

The Reading Pyramid, like the food pyramid, provides a means to understand how the various food groups work together to support reading development. The 

Reading Pyramid is made up of 9 "food groups", sorted into two skill categories, as shown in the image below.

Print-related skills - skills that help students recognize words (yellow):

• Concepts of print
• Letter sounds and phonics
• Reading Fluency and Expression
• Text structures and Genre
• Reading Comprehension Strategies

Language-related skills - skills that support a student’s ability to make meaning of text (blue):

• Phonemic awareness
• Knowledge building -  knowledge of the world around you
• Vocabulary
• Oral Language

The Writing Pyramid

As with reading, writing draws on several related skills and abilities; many of the skills that support reading development, such as Concepts of Print and Vocabulary, also support written expression. The Writing Pyramid is made up of 10 "food groups", sorted into two skill categories, as shown in the image below:

Print-related skills - skills that help students recognize words (yellow):

• Concepts of print
• Spelling and word study
• Letter sounds and phonics
• Text structures and genres
• Writing conventions
• Writing process and strategies

Language-related skills - skills that support a student’s ability to make meaning of text (blue):

• Phonemic awareness
• Knowledge building -  knowledge of the world around you
• Vocabulary
• Oral Language

The Food Groups for Literacy

The Food Groups for Literacy section of the website addresses each of the key food groups considered essential to literacy development, providing information on what it is, how to teach it, and how to assess it:

• Stages of Literacy Development
• Motivation for Literacy – Activities that stimulate the enjoyment of and appreciation for the written word.
• Oral Language and ELL - The theory that understanding and speaking in oral language are fundamental to the development of reading and writing.
• Knowledge Building - The theory that new learning builds upon what students already know.
• Concepts of Print -  The features of written language, like how letters and words are used and how text is organized.
• Writing Conventions - The "mechanics" of writing, such as handwriting and when and how to use capitalization and punctuation.
• Phonemic Awareness - The knowledge that words can be broken down into individual speech sounds, known as phonemes.  Phonemic awareness plays an essential role in sounding out and spelling words.
• Letter Sounds and Phonics -  The relationships between spoken sounds and written letters.
• Spelling & Word Study - The knowledge of spelling patterns that make up words.
• Reading Fluency and Expression - The ability to identify words and their meanings effortlessly.
• Vocabulary - An understanding of word meanings.
• Comprehension Strategies – Strategies students can use when they do not understand what they are reading.
• Writing Processes & Strategies - The ability to plan, organize, edit and revise written compositions
• Text Structures & Genres - Exploring genres and structures in fiction and non-fiction texts
• Classroom Organization & Time Management
• Assessment for Instruction

Recipes (100+ instructional strategies and lesson plans) are included for pre-K through to grade 6 – click here to access the recipe finder.

Virtual Tours

The Balanced Literacy Diet website provides virtual tours, differentiated by grade level; each tour includes a “meet the teacher” video, a classroom preview, and the list of the recipes used in each virtual tour.

Virtual Tours for Pre-kindergarten to Kindergarten:

1. Virtual Tour #1 (Pre-K to K: Art and Science Integrated into the Literacy Program)
2. Virtual Tour #2 (Pre-K to K: Highly Experienced Teacher with Literacy-Rich Classroom)
3. Virtual Tour #3 (Pre-K to K: Enriched Literacy Program through Teacher Collaboration)
4. Virtual Tour #4 (Pre-K to K: Child-Centered Language-Rich Program Supporting ELLs)
5. Virtual Tour #5 (Kindergarten: English Literacy Program in Bilingual Hebrew Day School)

Click here to access the virtual tours for pre-kindergarten to kindergarten

Virtual Tours for Grades 1 and 2:

1. Virtual Tour #1 (Grade 1: First-Year Teacher)
2. Virtual Tour #2 (Grade 1 to 2: Literacy Specialist Returns to the Classroom)
3. Virtual Tour #3 (Grade 1 to 2: Collaboration with Teacher Colleague)
4. Virtual Tour #4 (Grade 2: Primary Learning Disabilities Classroom)
5. Virtual Tours #5, #6, #7 (Grade 2)
6. Virtual Tour #8 (Grade 2 to 3: Integrating Art and Literacy)

Click here to access virtual tours for grades 1 and 2

Virtual Tours for Grades 3 and 4:

1. Virtual Tour #1 (Grade 2 to 3: Integrating Art and Literacy)
2. Virtual Tour #2 (Grade 3: Literacy Coach Returns to the Classroom)
3. Virtual Tour #3 (Grade 3: Team Teaching in Action)
4. Virtual Tour #4 (Grade 3 to 4: Partnership with Literacy Coach)
5. Virtual Tour #5 (Grade 4)
6. Virtual Tour #6 (Grade 4 to 5: Gifted Education)

Click here to access the virtual tours for grades 3 and 4

Virtual Tours for Grades 5 and 6:

1. Virtual Tour #1 (Grade 4 to 5: Gifted Education)
2. Virtual Tour #2 (Grades 5 to 6)

Click here to access the virtual tours for grades 5 and 6

How-to Videos

Click here to access “how to” videos.

Relevant Resources on the LD@school Website

Click here to view the video, Building Reading Skills Through Assistive Technology, filmed at Amethyst Demonstration School

Click here to access the practice-informed article, Strategies to Assist Students with Writing Difficulties

Click here to access the evidence-informed article, Improving Reading Fluency: Which Interventions are the Most Effective?

Click here to access the evidence-based article, Teaching the Brain to Read: Strategies for Improved Decoding, Fluency, and Comprehension

Click here to access the evidence-based article, Interventions for Students with Writing Disabilities