Chapter 1: Building an Effective Literacy Program

An effective literacy program offers a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to reading and writing instruction that encompasses speaking and listening as well. It involves the integration of reading and writing into all subject areas. No one reading method of reading instruction is used exclusively. The controversy between phonics and whole language is circumvented because both are used, along with many other strategies, in an effort to teach and support the wide range of learning styles in any classroom.

An effective literacy program has a variety of components. This module focuses on what teachers need to know to create a literacy program that is effective for all children. Key ideas addressed in this module are:

• The complexity of reading—its more than phonics and whole language
• The learner as the center of the reading experience—teachers facilitate learning by attending to different learning styles
• The literacy environment—a print-rich classroom and school is a necessity for successful readers
• The role of phonics, whole language, and related strategies that support reading
• Strategies for reading in all subject areas
• Writing as the flip side of reading
• Quality literature and other literacy materials

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