by Jan and Kari | Feb 4, 2024 | Blog, High-Frequency Words, Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Word Reading Instruction
Elkonin Sound Boxes: What They Are & How to Use Them Phonemic awareness serves as the foundation for a child’s journey into the world of literacy, and Elkonin boxes offer a powerful tool for nurturing this crucial skill. In this post, we will explore Elkonin...
by Jan and Kari | Jan 27, 2024 | Blog, Knowledge Building, Language Comprehension, Vocabulary
In this post, we offer a simple Morphology Lesson Planning Template that provides a systematic approach to integrating morphology instruction into your classroom. When you consider vocabulary instruction, probably the first thing that comes to mind is teaching...
by Jan and Kari | Jan 21, 2024 | Blog, Fluency, High-Frequency Words, Word Reading Instruction
Do We Really Have to Know the Difference Between Sight Words and High-Frequency Words? If you’re like us, you’ve likely used these two terms – high-frequency words and sight words – interchangeably. But to really understand the brain science of word...
by Katie Egan Cunningham, Jan Burkins, Kari Yates | Dec 10, 2023 | Blog, Fluency, Knowledge Building, Literacy Leadership, Meaningful Independent Practices, Strategy Instruction, Vocabulary, Word Reading Instruction
Last week, we shared the first part of our two-part Q&A series about how the newest Shifting the Balance 3-5 book that we wrote with Katie Egan Cunningham came to be. Today, we will continue to explore common questions readers have about the newest Shifting the...
by Katie Egan Cunningham, Jan Burkins, Kari Yates | Dec 3, 2023 | Blog, Fluency, Knowledge Building, Literacy Leadership, Strategy Instruction, Vocabulary, Word Reading Instruction
Q: Want to learn more about the newest Shifting the Balance book, which explores 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom? A: Keep reading because today’s blog is Part 1 of a 2-part Q&A series that answers some common questions...
by Jan and Kari | Nov 19, 2023 | Blog, Literacy Leadership
We have been touched by readers’ responses to our books, including our latest title, Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom, which we wrote with Katie Egan Cunningham. Along with your positive feedback, our...
by Jan and Kari | Oct 21, 2023 | Blog, Literacy Leadership
We’re really excited to share this study guide with you today, especially since so many people have been asking about it! As we were preparing to share this new study guide–written to support you as you dig into Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science...
by Jan and Kari | Oct 14, 2023 | Blog, General, Literacy Leadership
Over the past two years, we’ve been touched and humbled by your overwhelming response to our first Shifting the Balance book, which we wrote to support those of you who work with beginning readers. After it was published, we quickly realized that educators were also...
by Jan and Kari | Sep 16, 2023 | Blog, General, Literacy Leadership
With Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom about to be released, you might be wondering how this second Shifting the Balance book came to be. Well, there’s a story there that Jan, Kari, and I thought was...
by Jan and Kari | Aug 26, 2023 | Blog, Fluency, Knowledge Building, Literacy Leadership, Strategy Instruction, Vocabulary, Word Reading Instruction
While it’s true that most of the conversation about literacy practices these days seems to focus on the earliest grades, there is plenty of confusion and uncertainty about literacy instruction for older students, too. In Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the...
