After researching the different definitions of the balanced literacy approach to teaching, I have created a summary of the information I learned. Since I hope to teach fifth grade I focused on what the balanced approach looks like in the intermediate grades to create my thesis. Learning that the focus moves to comprehension and response activities, I created teaching guides for two units. Included are a unit centered around the prejudice during World War II and another unit that is an author study on Avi. I have an introduction to these guides that includes how the groups would work, how I would group the children, rationale for choosing the novels, standards addressed, activities to do to teach each standard, graphic organizers and activity sheets for some of these lessons, and how I would teach vocabulary. All of these parts combine to form the comprehension portion of the balanced reading approach to literature that I will emphasize in my classroom.