Shifting the balance: 6 ways to bring the science of reading into the balanced literacy classroom (1st ed.)/Shifting the balance: 6 ways to bring the science of reading into the upper elementary classroom.

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Title:	Shifting the balance: 6 ways to bring the science of reading into the balanced literacy classroom (1st ed.)/Shifting the balance: 6 ways to bring the science of reading into the upper elementary classroom.
Authors:	Elassi, Amal¹
Source:	Education Review (10945296). 2025, Vol. 32, p1-8. 8p.
Subject Terms:	Literacy, Literacy education, Culturally relevant education, Reading comprehension, Readability (Literary style), Educators, Language acquisition, Elementary education
Abstract:	This article reviews two volumes by Jan Burkins, Kari Yates, and Katie Egan Cunningham that propose integrating cognitive science from the science of reading into balanced literacy instruction for elementary grades. The first volume addresses Grades K–2, emphasizing foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, explicit phonics instruction, orthographic mapping, and decoding, while the second volume extends these ideas to Grades 3–5, focusing on vocabulary development, fluency, comprehension strategies, and independent reading. Although the books offer clear, research-based instructional routines and promote teacher reflection, the review highlights concerns that their framing of instructional changes as “simple shifts” oversimplifies the complex nature of reading comprehension and literacy development. Additionally, the texts are critiqued for insufficiently addressing sociocultural, linguistic diversity, and identity-related aspects of literacy, which may limit their applicability for multilingual and culturally diverse learners. [Extracted from the article]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

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Abstract:	This article reviews two volumes by Jan Burkins, Kari Yates, and Katie Egan Cunningham that propose integrating cognitive science from the science of reading into balanced literacy instruction for elementary grades. The first volume addresses Grades K–2, emphasizing foundational skills such as phonemic awareness, explicit phonics instruction, orthographic mapping, and decoding, while the second volume extends these ideas to Grades 3–5, focusing on vocabulary development, fluency, comprehension strategies, and independent reading. Although the books offer clear, research-based instructional routines and promote teacher reflection, the review highlights concerns that their framing of instructional changes as “simple shifts” oversimplifies the complex nature of reading comprehension and literacy development. Additionally, the texts are critiqued for insufficiently addressing sociocultural, linguistic diversity, and identity-related aspects of literacy, which may limit their applicability for multilingual and culturally diverse learners. [Extracted from the article]
ISSN:	10945296
DOI:	10.14507/er.v32.4199