For courses in Reading Methods in Elementary School. This Elementary Reading Methods text is the only one on the market that offers a transitional perspective to teach reading in a balanced way. It provides theoretical guidelines and methodology to combine both the use of basals and skills based instruction with a more balanced approach to teaching reading. The authors introduce seven principles that support literacy development and examine them closely throughout the text. These principles undergird the philosophical methodology pre-service teachers use to develop their own model of balanced literacy instruction.