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"The book has already helped countless educators by taking the guesswork out of how to blend best practices with the latest research while keeping students at the forefront of reading instruction"

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"Finally, a book that has the power to stop the literacy pendulum swings! In Shifting the Balance, Burkins and Yates skillfully explore 'balanced literacy' and 'the science of reading' to find the sweet spots where they overlap, connect, and actually complement one another. The result is a resource that raises our level of instruction while helping children discover and reap the joyful rewards of reading."

"What are the research-based, critical elements for teaching reading? In Shifting the Balance, Jan and Kari give you the information, classroom examples, and tools to help you make the best decisions around six key shifts for instruction. After reviewing the misunderstandings, the science, and the needs of your students, you will be able to audit your current practices (individually, in a PLC, or system-wide) to provide responsive and effective literacy learning for all your students."

"In Shifting the Balance, Jan and Kari invite us to reflect and reexamine our beliefs about teaching reading. They gently nudge us to rethink and possibly adjust our early literacy practices. Jan and Kari have taken on this controversial topic by embracing vulnerability and modeling what it means to be truly reflective practitioners. This book is a must read for new and veteran teachers!"

"In Shifting the Balance, Kari and Jan have masterfully dispelled many of the myths and misunderstandings associated with reading instruction. Additionally, they offer classroom teachers and coaches six simple, practical shifts that have the power to transform the way we teach children how to read. Indeed, balanced literacy and science do exist in harmony, and we practitioners can offer our children both concurrently. Thank you, Kari and Jan, for this important work that is sure to change lives!"

"In Shifting the Balance, Jan Burkins and Kari Yates provide a safe space for teachers to courageously examine some long-held balanced literacy practices and turn a critical eye to where those practices have gotten out of balance. If you're willing to be vulnerable and move towards resolving the gap between research and practice, this book provides actionable steps you can take to shift your thinking and bring instruction into alignment with the scientific evidence."

"Shifting the Balance is a welcoming opportunity to reexamine our familiar teaching practices. Without judgment, Burkins and Yates invigorate these practices by inviting educators to make scientific shifts in the systems that have been in place for years. This book will revolutionize reading instruction and in turn, the lives of countless students."

"This book speaks to teachers. It is overwhelmingly clear that Jan Burkins and Kari Yates have been and are immersed in the world of today's classrooms. Shifting the Balance will help many rethink instruction in ways that will support all students. In the current version of the Reading Wars, it is difficult for any of us to say we were wrong about some of our beliefs or practices. And thus, few do. However, Jan Burkins and Kari Yates have done just that. This is as commendable as it is unusual."

"This book found me at just the right time! Shifting the Balance gives voice to the questions I've had in my mind about Balanced Literacy and the Science of Reading and provides clear insights on how to connect the best parts of both to benefit early readers. Throughout the book, Jan and Kari confirm practices worth holding onto while providing actionable next steps I can't wait to implement with students to strengthen my reading instruction."

Dr. Jan Burkins was an elementary classroom teacher for seven years and a literacy coach for seven years. She has worked as a part-time assistant professor, a district literacy leader, and is currently a fulltime writer and consultant.

Kari Yates is an author, speaker, consultant and staff developer with a passion for helping busy literacy educators thrive. Her experiences include classroom teacher, special education, Reading Recovery teacher, elementary principal and district literacy coordinator.

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Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom

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Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom

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This book has it all! Exercises for teachers to test and reinforce their own content knowledge, teaching activities, sample lessons and lots of information on the critical elements of language!

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Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Second Edition

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Amazon.com: Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers, Second Edition: 9781598570502: Moats Ed.D., Louisa Cook: Books

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So much research on the human brain and how it works can be found at the click of a button. How often are we finding it in our classrooms? Readers will get a chance to see how the newest discoveries in how the brain works can be applied in the classroom.

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For more detailed information about Richard Gentry, visit his website, www.JRichardGentry.com.

J. Richard Gentry, PhD is an internationally acclaimed author, researcher, and educational consultant known for his ground-breaking work in education on topics such as early literacy; best-practices for reading, writing, and spelling; and dyslexia. In addition to authoring 16 books, 2 textbook series, and numerous journal and magazine articles, he blogs for the prestigious Psychology Today magazine offering commentary on a range of topics including education and policy, reading and the brain, baby/toddler reading, and educational standards.

Recent books and textbooks include:

Brain Words: How the Science of Reading Informs Teaching

by J. Richard Gentry (Author), Dr. Gene Ouellette (Author)

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stenhouse Publishers (February 7, 2019)

Kid Writing in the 21st Century with Eileen Feldgus and Isabell Cardonick (Hameray Publishing Group, 2017),

Strategies for Writing Workshop (Shell Education, 2016),

Raising Confident Readers: How to Teach Your Child to Read and Write-From Baby to Age 7 (Da Capo Press, 2010),

Spelling Connections (Zaner-Bloser, 2016), a popular evidence-based spelling series for grades K-8.

Dr. Gentry earned his Elementary Education degree from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and a Ph.D. in Reading Education from the University of Virginia in 1977. For sixteen years he taught Reading Education at Western Carolina University where he directed the Reading Center. He is well known for his research and writing in literacy education and is currently an independent researcher, author, and educational consultant. A frequent keynoter and featured speaker at conferences for teachers both nationally and internationally, Gentry continues to write and speak widely on literacy development and spelling. His depth of knowledge and breakthrough thinking about the importance of teaching spelling for reading and writing development has resulted in a number of books including Spel... Is a Four-Letter Word, The Literacy Map: Guiding Children to Where They Need to Be, and My Kid Can't Spell as well as numerous articles in academic journals and textbooks for school-age children.

J. Richard Gentry's ground breaking book, Breaking the Code: The New Science of Beginning Reading and Writing (Heinemann) was released in February of 2006. Writing with the same clarity and teacher-friendly approach as in his best-selling The Science of Spelling (Heinemann, 2004), Richard Gentry shows you how scientific thinking and student-centered teaching can work together to create powerful literacy instructional practices. His staff development sessions open a window for teachers and parents into the minds of young readers, so that they can open a window for them into a world of literate possibilities.

His books Breakthrough in Beginning Reading and Writing, released by Scholastic in late in 2007 and Step-by-Step Assessment Guide to Code Breaking released in 2009 are popular for teachers of beginning reading and writing and along with his other books have established Richard as one of the foremost national experts on teaching beginning reading and writing. Richard is the author of Zaner-Bloser's new Spelling Connections is one of the nation's top selling spelling programs for grades K-8.

In, Raising Confident Readers, How to teach your child to Read and Write, from Baby to Age 7, released by Da Capo Press in July, 2010, Dr. Gentry has created a template for parents who are looking for guidance with their child's literacy path. We all know the importance of reading aloud to our children, but beyond that, how do kids really learn to read? Why should you jump-start the process before formal instruction in school begins? How do drawing and early writing fit into the literacy picture, and what can you do to encourage them? How can you recognize and intervene if your child's literacy skills are not developing normally?

In this empowering guide, Dr. J. Richard Gentry describes how to teach reading before your child enters kindergarten and how to monitor progress once your child is in school. He offers parents an easy-to-understand program outlining the five phases of kids' literacy development, with age- and stage-appropriate activities that make reading and writing fun. Raising Confident Readers is essential reading for every parent who wants their child to succeed in school and be a lifelong learner.

A life dedicated to literacy education, Richard Gentry also has enjoyed life to the fullest. Time with family and friends, traveling to far away exotic places, cooking, historic preservation, gardening, working out, and just relaxing while reading a good book are just some of the personal attributes that round out and center his life.

He currently resides in the 300 year plus historic city of Mobile, Alabama.

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How many times have you caught yourself trying to spell a word and thinking, "English is so weird!", "English doesn't make sense!"?
Did you know that up to 50% of English can be decoded? In this book you'll find 30 basic phonics rules that help us make sense of English. The more you know the better you can teach to it!

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Denise Eide has her hand on the heartbeat of the literacy crisis and is pointing to a way out. Having grown up in a disadvantaged family and struggled with math, Denise understands the hopelessness experienced by students who struggle with illiteracy. She has a gift for connecting people to answers, providing hope, and empowering and motivating others to action.

After completing her B.A., Denise began study for her M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Minnesota. While pursuing her degree, Denise worked with non-profit organizations to develop ESL curriculum. She also taught English at a University in Russia. During this time she discovered that Eastern Europeans think systematically about language. Her students asked many questions about spelling to which her best answer at the time was, "That is an exception. English has evolved; therefore, it is not logical."

When her sons struggled to learn to read, Denise began to research how to help them. She sought training in an Orton-Gillingham approach to reading, where she discovered answers to her sons' reading difficulties, to her own questions about spelling, and to the questions posed by countless students.

In order to share her excitement, Denise put together a forty-five minute presentation called "The Logic of English." While giving this presentation, she began to touch the heart of the literacy crisis: two-thirds of U.S. students read below grade level. Wherever Denise shares, people rush forward to tell her their personal stories. Scientists, mathematicians, and engineers concur that this information would have transformed reading and spelling education for them. Teachers exclaim that everyone is talking about the problem, but that Denise is the first person bringing hope and answers. Parents and community leaders become passionate about changing their communities.

Denise strongly believes that one should not need to be diagnosed with a disability to be taught how English works. In order to empower others, she founded Pedia Learning, the company that publishes the Logic of English series of books and curriculum. Her first paperback, "Uncovering the Logic of English", has won four publishing awards and has been recognized by Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Reid Lyon, and Dr. Robert Sweet, Jr.

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Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common-Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy

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Amazon.com: Uncovering the Logic of English: A Common-Sense Approach to Reading, Spelling, and Literacy: 9781936706211: Denise Eide: Books