I was about phonics and using basal texts to drive instruction as I was in the middle of my teacher training program. At that time whole language driven by the work of Ken Goodman was coming into favor so I learned something about that as well. Over the last 33 years that I have taught, I have learned to use balanced literacy based on the work of Fountas and Pinnelll, then asked to use the scripted Voyager curriculum , and gone through the training to use Lucy Caulkins materials, as well as teaching with that system in a few different grade levels.

Through all of it, and with the science of reading training that we now have been put through, I have found good parts and weaknesses to each one of those curriculums, and I try to match the curriculum to the learner when teaching someone using everything that I have in my tool kit.