Bridging the Gap: How to Transition from Balanced Literacy to Structured Literacy

Teachers have been told that Balanced Literacy was the best way to teach reading for years. It emphasized a love of books, independent reading, and meaning-making. But at its core, Balanced Literacy relied heavily on three-cueing systems, leveled readers, and the belief that students would naturally “pick up” how words work through exposure.

For many students, it looked like enough. Regardless of the method, they picked up reading with little effort. Balanced Literacy often got the credit, but the truth is, these students likely would have learned to read with just about any approach.

Even so, they still would have benefited from explicit instruction in spelling and writing. Reading tends to take centre stage in the early years, assuming that spelling and writing will develop naturally through exposure. But for far too many students, especially those who struggle, Balanced Literacy didn’t provide what they needed.

Now, with the Science of Reading leading the conversation and more districts moving toward Structured Literacy, many teachers are asking:

• How do I transition from Balanced Literacy to Structured Literacy?
• Where do I even start?
• Do I have to throw everything out and start over?

If you’re a teacher making this shift, you’re not alone – and the transition doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

Step 1: Understand Why the Shift is Necessary

Making the shift to Structured Literacy begins with understanding why it’s needed.
Balanced Literacy assumes that reading is a natural process – that if we surround students with books, they’ll become readers. But the research shows otherwise.

Reading is not natural. Unlike spoken language, the human brain is not wired for reading. It must be explicitly taught. All students, not just struggling readers, benefit from structured, explicit instruction.

Balanced Literacy often relies on:

• Three-Cueing (MSV) Strategies → Encouraging students to “guess” words using context, sentence structure, or first letters.
• Leveled Readers Instead of Decodable Texts → Giving students books based on what they could memorize or predict, rather than what they could decode.
• Sight Word Memorization Instead of Word Study → Asking students to memorize lists of words with no etymological, orthographical, or morphological connections.

These approaches masked reading difficulties. Many struggling students read “well” in early grades, but hit a wall in third or fourth grade. By then, they had hundreds of words memorized but lacked the phonics skills to decode unfamiliar words.

Structured Literacy, on the other hand, is explicit, systematic, and research-backed. It teaches students to understand how words work, not just guess at them.

Step 2: Start with These Elements of Structured Literacy

Structured Literacy follows a logical, sequential progression that builds strong readers from the ground up. If you’re transitioning away from Balanced Literacy, these are the key shifts to focus on first:

Replace Three-Cueing with Explicit Decoding Instruction

Balanced Literacy Approach:

• “Look at the picture and guess.”
• “Does that word make sense?”
• “What would sound right here?”

Structured Literacy Approach:

• “Let’s break this word into its phonemes and blend them.”
• “What sound does this grapheme represent?”
• “Let’s identify the base and suffix of this word.”

How to make this shift:

• Model blending and segmenting instead of prompting with context.
• Stop using leveled books that encourage guessing and switch to decodable texts.
• Explicitly teach the WHYs of “irregular” spellings instead of expecting memorization.

Structured Literacy Grounded in the Science of Reading

Swap Leveled Readers for Decodable Books

Balanced Literacy Approach:

• “This book is at your level – keep using pictures to help you.”
  

Structured Literacy Approach:

• “This book follows the phonics patterns we’ve learned so far – let’s decode it together.”
  

Why this shift matters:

• Leveled readers encourage picture-based guessing.
• Decodable books allow students to practice specific phonics patterns they’ve been taught.

How to make this shift:

• Introduce decodable texts that align with phonics instruction.
• Avoid books with high-frequency words that students can’t decode yet.
• Celebrate decoding–praise students for sounding out words, not guessing them.

My favourite decodable books: SyllaSense

Teach “Irregular Words” Through Inquiry, Not Memorization

Balanced Literacy Approach:

• “Let’s memorize these 100 words.”

Structured Literacy with Spelliosity Approach:

• “Let’s explore what makes this word interesting – its structure, origin, and meaning–and use that knowledge to read and spell it with understanding.”

Why this shift matters:

• Many words that seem “irregular” make sense once we examine their etymology, morphology, and orthographic conventions.
• Teaching students to be curious about spelling helps them move beyond memorization and toward understanding.
  

For example:
The <o> in come and some may seem “irregular.” But there’s a fascinating historical reason behind it.

In the days of manuscripts, scribes used a style of writing made up of short, vertical strokes called minims. Letters like <m>, <n>, <u>, and <v> all looked very similar – just a series of straight lines.

Scribes began replacing the /ŭ/ with an <o> in many words. That way, readers wouldn’t confuse all the vertical strokes.

This change gave us what we now call scribal <o> – and it explains why come and some are spelled with an <o>.

When students learn this, it’s no longer just a “weird word to memorize.” It becomes a meaningful spelling tied to the history of our language.

How to make this shift:

• Use Spelliosity’s Interesting Words in the Teacher Toolkit to highlight “unexpected spellings” that follow patterns once studied in context.
• Invite students to ask questions like, “What’s the base?”, “What’s the suffix?”, or “Why might this word be spelled this way?”

Instead of flashcard drills, your students become word investigators – and along the way, they build vocabulary, comprehension, and confidence.

Use Research-Based Writing Instruction to Deepen Syntax and Semantics

Balanced Literacy Approach:

• “Let students express their thoughts freely – don’t worry too much about structure.”

Structured Literacy Approach:

• “Let’s explicitly teach how sentences work and how to organize our thinking – then use writing to deepen comprehension.”
  

Why this shift matters:

• Syntax (how words and phrases are structured into sentences) and semantics (meaning) are essential for reading comprehension and written expression.
• Research-based writing frameworks like ThinkSRSD (Self-Regulated Strategy Development) help students organize ideas, use academic language, and write in clear, complete sentences – all reinforcing reading skills.
• Writing isn’t just for expression – it’s a tool for processing and strengthening understanding.
  

How to make this shift

• Teach sentence-level skills explicitly – like using conjunctions, complex sentences, and varied sentence types.
• Use structured frameworks like ThinkSRSD to guide students through planning, organizing, and revising their writing.
• Connect writing to reading–have students respond to texts using modeled sentence frames and writing strategies.
• Use mentor texts to model strong syntax and rich vocabulary, then scaffold students in trying those same structures.
• Writing becomes a vehicle for expression and for practicing grammar, vocabulary, and comprehension strategies.

Step 3: Be Patient – This Shift Takes Time

The shift to Structured Literacy can feel overwhelming if you’ve been using Balanced Literacy for years. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to change everything all at once. Start with one or two manageable changes, and build from there.

• Replace three-cueing prompts with explicit decoding strategies.
   Introduce decodable texts aligned with phonics instruction.
• Explore “irregular” words through structure and meaning instead of memorization.
• Incorporate research-based writing instruction to build syntax and semantics.

Most importantly, give yourself grace. This shift is about learning, not perfection. The more you understand how reading and writing actually develop, the more empowered you'll feel to teach in ways that support all learners.

Final Thoughts: The Journey from Balanced Literacy to Structured Literacy

There was a time when I thought Balanced Literacy was working. But looking back, I see the gaps it left–students who struggled with decoding, who hit a wall in third grade, who memorized words but couldn’t break them apart.

Now, with Structured Literacy, I have a clear framework. I no longer rely on guessing strategies or leveled readers. My students are decoding, spelling, writing, and growing in confidence every day.

If you’re making this transition, know this: it’s worth it. Your students will benefit. And once you see the difference, there’s no turning back.