A study of the enactment of a balanced approach to reading instruction in three first grade classrooms

Balanced reading instruction, with its emphasis on beginning and elementary reading, has recently gained the interest of many teachers and literacy researchers as well as considerable media attention. Balanced reading instruction does not possess a unilateral definition (Au, Carroll, & Scheu, in press; Freppon & Dahl, 1998; McIntyre & Pressley, 1996; Pearson, 1996; Tompkins, 1997; Weaver, 1998). Given the complexities of implementing a balanced approach, researchers are calling for more studies in this area. Specifically, there is a call for research involving teachers as colleagues in a common quest to discover the qualities, the complexities, and the richness of life in balanced reading classrooms. We need to see and describe the miracles of stunning teaching instead of prescribing how teachers should do their work (Eisner, 1988) and teachers' voices need to be heard (Allington & Cunningham, 1996).; The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the enactment of a balanced approach to reading instruction in three exemplary teachers' first grade classrooms. Use of the enactment approach to curriculum implementation, the connection of teachers' beliefs and practices concerning reading instruction, and the role that literature plays in balanced reading instruction were explored in conjunction with this purpose. In-depth interviews, observation, fieldnotes, and videotaping of the reading/language arts lessons over four successive days provided extensive data for analysis.; The qualitative data analysis revealed that all three teachers enacted a balance approach to reading instruction, each in her own unique way. Their philosophies and instructional decisions were very similar, even though two teachers used children's literature extensively while the third used a literature-based basal and incorporated children's literature on a daily basis. The data analysis also revealed the consistency of the three teachers' philosophies fitting with their practices. The themes discussed include making reading and writing exciting and meaningful, balancing skills with a more holistic approach, using children's literature, integrating the curriculum, teachers' philosophies fitting with their classroom practices, and teaching as a journey—the process of change in a teacher's life.