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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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Components of Balanced Literacy with Links EKC

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Purpose of Text Types for Shared Reading

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Equipped for Reading Success [David A. Kilpatrick] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Equipped for Reading Success

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Interactive Read Aloud vs. Shared Reading Chart

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Interactive Read Aloud vs. Shared Reading Chart

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Reggio Children |Loris Malaguzzi International Centre |Reggio Emilia Approach

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Heidi Anne Mesmer - Print Concepts Shared Reading Example

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Heidi Anne Mesmer - Print Concepts Shared Reading Example

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How to Do a Shared Reading With Print Referencing

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PYP Language Scope and Sequence- Reading

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PYP Language Scope and Sequence- Reading

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Exploring Teaching Possibilities for Conferences

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Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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For Students - Flyleaf Publishing - Online Materials Portal

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mollyrance@gmail.com

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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Literacy Consultants & Consulting Services | Erin Kent Consulting

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EKC provides literacy consultants, consulting services, and literacy professional learning for schools.

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Reading and Writing Workshop in International School

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Reading and Writing Workshop in International School

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Great group focused on literacy!

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A Teacher's Guide to Igniting Deep and Joyful Learning Across the Day

"We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. They provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional.

Play is serious business.

Whether it's reenacting a favorite book (comprehension and close reading), negotiating the rules for a game (speaking and listening), or collaborating over building blocks (college and career readiness and STEM), Kristi Mraz, Alison Porcelli, and Cheryl Tyler see every day how play helps students reach standards and goals in ways that in-their-seat instruction alone can't do. And not just during playtimes. "We believe there is play in work and work in play," they write. "It helps to have practical ways to carry that mindset into all aspects of the curriculum." In Purposeful Play , they share ways to:

optimize and balance different types of play to deepen regular classroom learning

teach into play to foster social-emotional skills and a growth mindset

bring the impact of play into all your lessons across the day.

"We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. So they provide a host of lessons, suggestions for classroom setups, helpful tools and charts, curriculum connections, teaching points, and teaching language to help you foster mature play that makes every moment in your classroom instructional.

Play doesn't only happen when work is over. Children show us time and time again that play is the way they work. In Purposeful Play, you'll find research-driven methods for making play an engine for rigorous learning in your classroom.

(click any section below to continue reading)

In Depth

Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky was a proponent of the idea that children learn best when we build on their strengths, but accomplishing this can sometimes feel a bit frustrating. As we struggle mightily to develop kids' stamina to ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes of reading and writing, we watch these same children deeply engaged in play during recess and choice time for long, extended periods. So while we firmly believe in building on children's strengths, it can be frustrating when we find ourselves limiting the time we give kids to do what we know they do best: play.

Perhaps, we need to look at play from a different perspective; if the feeling of active movement toward a goal is what we call work, then play is the work of children. In fact, it is the work and the art of childhood: the essence of learning, discovery, and creating. In play, learners are developing ideas, taking on and assigning roles, collaborating, crafting the environment and deciding when to change it, developing and negotiating rules, and being active listeners. If play is the work of children, then to build on kids' strengths, we need to ask, "How can we infuse an abundance of play and the crafting the environment and deciding when to change it, developing and negotiating rules, and being active listeners. If play is the work of children, then to build on kids' strengths, we need to ask, "How can we infuse an abundance of play and the principles of play across the curriculum?"

Reviews

"Some of the book's most powerful advice about play pertains just as much to adults working with children as it does to the children. Play is a mindset. The role of play in the classroom doesn't only improve kids' learning lives; it makes teachers' lives that much more joyful, purposeful, and sustainable.."
- Elizabeth Moore, at Two Writing Teachers
Read the entire review

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"We believe that play is one type of environment where children can be rigorous in their learning," Kristi, Alison, and Cheryl write. They provide a host

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Professional Development Services On-Site | Online | Off-Site

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Even though children increasingly spend most summer days inside or at a full-day camp program, the idealistic image of summertime is still one of free play: neighbors racing bikes, friends building a fort, siblings producing a show, a family on the beach.

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Memories of joyful and meaningful play experiences help bind families together emotionally, even long after children are grown.

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Something Special for This Year!

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You've heard about Vooks and we're honored that you want to give it a try! Stories come to life as children are immersed in the plot and characters. Hear the narration and sound effects while still being able to read! Download Vooks today and watch the magic happen!

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Something Special for This Year! Buy Vooks for the classroom and every student will receive a free subscription for home use. Join 95% of U.S. Elementary Schools with at least one teacher with a Vooks account in those schools. Over 30+ Million Books Read 20 minutes of reading a day, make Vooks part of your literacy plan.

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The Reading GPS gives teachers information about whether students are moving toward the goal of proficient reading.

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I promise to show them how to express their ideas confidently and how to enjoy learning

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I promise to show them how to express their ideas confidently and how to enjoy learning

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spend time to observe, notice, reflect and respond. 

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spend time to observe, notice, reflect and respond. 

# data[].attributes.headline
champion play as a fundamental way of learning

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champion play as a fundamental way of learning

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different strategies of conferring one on one and the importance of sharing time.

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I got that play is the essence of learning.

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I got that play is the essence of learning.

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Examples of how other EY teachers are going about online learning 

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Examples of how other EY teachers are going about online learning 

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Wants: I would like to make sure I advocate for each child in my class, ensuring they are learning in the best way possible for them

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Wants: I would like to make sure I advocate for each child in my class, ensuring they are learning in the best way possible for them

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I want to find the balance between online learning and developing skills in early literacy learning

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I want to find the balance between online learning and developing skills in early literacy learning

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Gots: Sharing and highlighting students' work to continue offering positive feedback

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Gots: Sharing and highlighting students' work to continue offering positive feedback

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Make more opportunities to make learning a fun environment by play, and co construct and find time for sharing and reflecting.

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Make more opportunities to make learning a fun environment by play, and co construct and find time for sharing and reflecting.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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Supporting Young Readers During Distance Learning

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Supporting Young Readers During Distance Learning

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Supporting Young Readers During Distance Learning

Posted at 14:31h in by Uncategorized kristimraz

Hi Everyone,

I have been playing around with how shared reading could look over Zoom or GoogleMeet using slides. I know there are a ton of issues with kids having access to wifi, kids having access to devices, kids having family members who are essential workers and might be in childcare, so by no means is this a perfect solution. It is, however, trying to make something workable. I talk a little bit about trying to use kids photos from home to make the books, but I know thats not always possible. Just a note, its super easy to upload from Zoom to Youtube so if you make a video of yourself doing this, you can post it onto a private youtube channel for your kiddos.

A few edits after the fact:

1. Please choose topics based on what your kiddos need to hear from you right now. If food security is an issue, than this is not the best topic to write about.

2. You can certainly use existing shared reading texts, if you take a picture of the page to put on google slides, you can still cover words with text boxes.

3. If you use images of kids (I hope you do!) Remember not to share them publicly.

Here is a link to the teacher text.

Here is a link to the text I would share with kiddos.

As always, if you find the content useful and would like to donate a few bucks, it is deeply appreciated by this freelancer and her freelancer partner.

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Supporting Young Readers During Distance Learning

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Posted at 14:31h in by Uncategorized kristimraz Hi Everyone, I have been playing around with how shared reading could look over Zoom or GoogleMeet using slides. I know there are a ton of issues with kids having access to wifi, kids having access to devices, kids having family members who are essential workers and might be in childcare, so by no means is this a perfect solution.

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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

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Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

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What Made This Shadow_Jan Burkins & Kim Yaris_Level C

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Shadows come in all shapes and sizes. Do shadows sometimes bring surprises? Can you tell what made these shadows?

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The Sounds Around Town by Maria Cariuccio

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PYP Language Scope and Sequence- Reading

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PYP Language Scope and Sequence- Reading

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How would you intentionally incorporate play during a live lesson? How do we make it meaningful yet fun for the children?

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Gots:

Wants:

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Got: think mini lessons so that it is less daunting and more appropriate for online learning

Want: I appreciate your examples to use in the classroom, strategies, book list and planning resources. Please continue to share more. I will be using the planning document with my team, Deborah and Dulanjali.

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Got: Better understanding of the difference between shared reading and read aloud, and realized I can adjust our Shared reading time throughout the week to work on different skills according to my age group

Want: The resources are excellent and I find them very useful for daily tasks. I will be looking at all the types of books I can use for shared reading and use the planner for our literacy activities with Tharushi. Please continue sharing these!

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I got that Shared Reading explores lots of different literacy skills from phonics whilst engaging the students in the text. You get to go on a learning journey with the students almost like you are learning together.

I want to find out if differentiated instruction is possible when Shared reading. How would that look like? How can I monitor progress and assess for learning during shared reading?

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Got: I like how we can stretch our shared reading books from (Day 1 - 5), going through the same book throughout the week and looking at it in different aspects; especially looking through the lens of our young readers who are just beginning to read. Role modeling and learning with them side by side is what I'm looking forward to during my shared reading sessions. Today I also got a clear picture of how read-aloud and shared reading look like in a classroom and how it's different from each other.

Want: Thank you for sharing these wonderful resources, please continue to share more with us. Digital resources from different platforms. I like to try the planning document for literacy activities. Great resources!

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PYP Language Scope and Sequence- Reading

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How might we meet the varied needs of learners through Shared Reading?

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How might we meet the varied needs of learners through Shared Reading?

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Got:
I understood how important shared reading and reading aloud are for young readers. Thank you for explaining both strategies in detail.  And as Deborah has mentioned, I was amazed by how far one book can be stretched to touch on different aspects of reading.

Want:
I usually read aloud more than shared reading with my group of children, I want to look for more resources that can be used for shared reading.

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Gots:
Morning message as a shared reading opportunity
Parent supported conferences as a way to introduce them to the conversation around what they are reading
Remembering to set time for daily reading time

Wants:
Awesome tips today, any new ideas to try while on distance learning to make reading meaningful and doable for my 3/4 year old group.

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Got: I understand the importance of conferencing with my students about their reading progress.
Want: I would like to access the support available to develop a successful Reader's Workshop programme in KG. With the number of students I have in the class, I will need more hands on board to ensure students are receiving personal attentions.

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Got:Better understanding about different reading strategies

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Got: I understand that conferencing can be a conversation with a 3 year old about a book of their choice.
Establishing a reading time in the morning routine once we're back on campus.

Want: I am looking forward to trying conferencing on a virtual setting with the preschoolers.

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Gots: The big message today was to slow down and focus on a small area to develop a targeted skill.  I will continue to use music and physical movements to encourage word play in my students’ learning.  I will revisit favourite songs with my students to continue their ability to memorise texts.

Want:  I would like to shift from e-books and read ‘real’ books with my students.  I would like to identify a set of books to focus on reading and phonemic skills with my students.  I would like to develop a differentiated focus for different ability readers.

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Gots: Implementing shared reading in the form of a morning message everyday is working great with my little emergent readers. My Good Morning song has been great for everyone to memorize and learn friends names at the same time. while involving movement. I will continue to incorporate action songs to transition and find others that involve phonological awareness as well

Wants: Although I would love to read real books to my class, some times I can't find titles that I can find online. I would like access to a PDF library with a wide variety of books.