Children also come with a variety of personalities and learning preferences. Some children are strong visual learners and can see a word once or twice and remember it forever. Other children are better auditory learners and can easily hear and blend sounds to figure out many words. Some children need a lot of structure and guidance; other children are very self-directed and learn best when they can choose topics about which they want to read and write. Some children like stories and fanciful tales; others want to read and write about nonfiction—things that really happened. The Four-Blocks literacy framework was developed to meet the diverse needs of all these children.

The philosophy or mission statement of most schools acknowledges the reality of individual differences and the fact that children do not all learn in the same way, but the daily instructional program often denies that same reality. Curriculum guides often stress whatever approach to literacy is currently fashionable. When whole language instruction was in its heyday, children were supposed to be self-directed and spend lots of time in real reading and writing while teachers were supposed to provide a stimulating environment, seizing the “teachable moment.” Now that phonics is hot, teachers are supposed to conduct very structured, teacher-directed lessons, making sure that every child masters every sound before moving on!

The Four-Blocks framework was developed by teachers who believe that to be successful in teaching all children to read and write, we have to do it all! Doing it all means incorporating daily the different approaches to beginning reading.

The Four Blocks—Guided Reading, Self-Selected Reading, Writing, and Working with Words—represent four different approaches to teaching children to read. Daily instruction in all Four Blocks provides numerous and varied opportunities for all children to learn to read and write. Doing all Four Blocks acknowledges that children do not all learn in the same way and provides substantial instruction to support whatever learning personality a child has.