Reading & Literacy Interactive

Phonics vs. Balanced Literacy: A Classroom Comparison

By Liana Loewus — October 02, 2019 1 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

Want to know if a K-2 classroom is using explicit, systematic phonics or balanced literacy? This visual illustrates some of the main instructional differences between the two approaches to early reading.

Related Tags:

Visualization: Vanessa Solis

Events

Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Boosting Student and Staff Mental Health: What Schools Can Do
Join this free virtual event based on recent reporting on student and staff mental health challenges and how schools have responded.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Curriculum Webinar
Practical Methods for Integrating Computer Science into Core Curriculum
Dive into insights on integrating computer science into core curricula with expert tips and practical strategies to empower students at every grade level.
Content provided by Learning.com

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Reading & Literacy 'Science of Reading' Reforms Show Student Gains in California, Study Finds
The research provides some of the first evidence that efforts to bring reading teaching in line with research have raised achievement.
6 min read
Image of an adult working with students in the library.
E+
Reading & Literacy Morphology Instruction: 5 Resources for Educators
Morphology instruction can help students break down complex words into meaningful parts—and make parsing them less intimidating.
3 min read
Open book on a table in front of a bookshelf filled with books. Rays of light and letters fly out of the open book.
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy What Is Morphology? Should Teachers Include It in Reading Instruction?
Teaching about word parts—such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots—may help students develop their academic vocabularies.
8 min read
A young girl peeks over the books on a library shelf
iStock/Getty
Reading & Literacy U.S. Parents Think Reading Instruction Is Going OK—Until They See National Test Results
Most parents also seem to favor phonics as an approach to word-reading, a new survey finds.
5 min read
Photo of mother working with young son on his reading.
E+ / Getty