I never thought I’d question balanced literacy.

It was what I learned in graduate school.
It was how I taught reading for years.
And I believed with all my heart that it was the best way to help every child learn to read.

Then I read Emily Hanford’s At a Loss for Words.

At first, I brushed it off. Surely a journalist couldn’t understand reading instruction better than experienced teachers—right?

But the more I read, the more I realized she was describing the way that I had taught.

That article sent me down a rabbit hole of research that completely changed what I understand about teaching reading.

In this week’s video, I’m sharing the key differences between balanced and structured literacy—
and why this matters for every student.