Shifting the Balance, Grades 3-5

Dr. Katie Egan Cunningham is committed to supporting teachers in making learning joyful, purposeful, and evidence-based. She is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education at Sacred Heart University where she teaches literacy methods and children’s literature courses. Her other work includes Start with Joy: Designing Literacy Learning for Student Happiness and Story: Still the Heart of Literacy Learning. Dr. Jan Burkins is a full-time writer and literacy consultant dedicated to helping teachers and those who lead them negotiate the competing tensions in our field. Her favorite work is conducting literacy audits with schools and districts. Her other books include Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (K-2), co-authored with Kari Yates, and Who’s Doing the Work: How to Say Less So Readers Can Do More, co-authored with Kim Yaris. Kari Yates is an author, speaker, and consultant with a passion for helping busy literacy educators thrive. Her other works include Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom (K-2) co-authored with Jan Burkins, To Know and Nurture a Reader Conferring with Confidence and Joy, co-authored with Christina Nosek, and Simple Starts: Making the Move to a Reader-Centered Classroom.

Introduction: Head Work and Heart Work 1. Reconsidering How Knowledge Impacts Comprehension 2. Rethinking the Role of Strategy Instruction in Learning to Comprehend 3. Recommitting to Vocabulary Instruction 4. Reclaiming Word-Reading Instruction in the Intermediate Grades 5. Revisiting Fluency Instruction 6. Reimagining Independent Practice in the Literacy Classroom