Putting the “Structure” into Structured Literacy Part 1

This is the first piece in a 4-part blog series. You can read part 2, part 3, and part 4 here.

Two of the most common questions I receive from other teachers are “How do you fit it all in?” and “How should I structure the literacy block?” As many educators and schools shift from balanced literacy to structured literacy, these questions become more frequent. In the first of my four blog series I will share my transition from the balanced literacy block to the structured literacy block and the components you should look for when adopting and aligning curriculum. 

When I began teaching I was heavily influenced by balanced literacy and the literacy block looked something this: 

When teaching this way I was more focused on how to keep the students busy and occupied with activities, worksheets, and other busy work because of the emphasis on small groups and workshops. The work was overwhelming. I also did not have time (or very little) for any science or social studies instruction. The main form of data I used during this time were running records. I would use these running records to place students into small groups. Most students only moved up a group when we completed all of the “B” level texts and so on. This kept the below grade level students below grade level without opportunity to close any gaps. The main issue with Writer’s Workshop was that students often had a hard time coming up with ideas of what to write about and would consistently write the same thing day after day. During Reader’s Workshop or independent reading time, most students struggled to read the actual texts because they were always self-selected or chosen based on an arbitrary instructional level. 

A few years later, I was trained in the Orton Gillingham methodology, and this began my work in developing the foundational skills block. For one hour per day, students developed their foundational reading skills such as handwriting, decoding, spelling, and fluency in a whole class setting. Year after year, I have tweaked and refined this block of time as I figured out the pieces that are most crucial and the pieces I could let go of. 

In order to implement this well I needed to let go of the guided reading block and move towards a whole group skills block. This freed up a lot of time and energy making centers, creating rotations, planning multiple groups, and managing behaviors.

I then began to just use small groups sparingly after reading the book Focus by Mike Schmoker. Letting go of the small reading groups was one of the hardest instructional shifts I made. It was also the shift that I believe led to greater outcomes in student achievement. I was able to emphasize our whole class and individual needs in foundational skill areas using a systematic phonics program and aligned diagnostic assessments. 

A few years later our school also implemented a knowledge building curriculum called EL Language Arts. This curriculum replaced our reading and writing workshop blocks. The literacy block then transformed into this: 

You might notice many of the same components are present as the balanced literacy model except that the time spent in the literacy block is reduced immensely and much more aligned. Instead of having separate reading and writing blocks they were combined. This makes instruction much more efficient. During the skills block all of the pieces are connected. If students are learning about Magic E then they are spelling, decoding, and working on fluency with Magic E connected texts. In this episode of Melissa and Lori Love Literacy, Hugh Catts discusses why teaching the five pillars of literacy instruction should not be taught separately. 

In the next two blogs I will dive deep into a day in the life for both instructional blocks of time.