There has been great debate through the years over which approach in teaching reading is better, whole language or phonics. The whole language approach believes that reading is a natural process and children will learn to read naturally much like the way they learn to speak. Children in whole language classrooms are provided authentic reading and learning opportunities that are meaningful to them, individually. The phonics approach believes children need explicit instruction in the rules of phonics and printed text in order to learn to read. These two approaches to reading instruction have been around for years and are often the focus of the pendulum swing of methods to reading instruction. Despite the swinging back and forth of the pendulum, the statistical results of reading abilities have remained the same, not good enough. Experienced educators believe, as well as research has proven, that neither approach alone will effectively teach children to read. There needs to be a balance between the two approaches. From this belief a new philosophy of teaching reading has emerged. The Balanced Literacy approach.

Balanced Literacy incorporates all reading approaches realizing that students need to use numerous devices in order to become proficient readers. It provides and improves the skills of reading, writing, thinking, speaking and listening for all students. A Balanced Literacy program not only balances the reading philosophies, it also balances reading and writing instruction. In a balanced literacy program, students read in order to write and write in order to read.