The current emphasis on the body of research known as the "Science of Reading" has renewed the reading wars and raised challenging questions for balanced literacy teachers about the best way to teach reading. Instead of fueling the debate, Dr. Jan Burkins and Kari Yates immersed themselves in the research and produced Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom.
 
This best-selling guide is concise and practical, integrating effective reading strategies from each perspective. Every chapter of Shifting the Balance focuses on one of the six simple and scientifically sound shifts reading teachers can make to strengthen their approach to early reading instruction in these areas:
 

• Reading Comprehension
• Phonemic Awareness
• Phonics
• High-Frequency Words
• Cueing Systems
• Text Selection

Practical Instruction for Primary Grades: Whether your students are just learning to read or building more advanced reading comprehensive skills, Shifting the Balance is designed to help teachers meet the instructional needs of K-2 students.

Six Manageable Shifts: Each chapter focuses on a key shift that helps educators understand common misconceptions and adjust their thinking around some common instructional practices that teachers have been using for decades.

Evidence-Based Instruction: Burkins and Yates offer busy educators a blueprint for integrating finding from brain research, cognitive science, and child development into their daily instruction, while keeping meaningful experiences with books a priority.

Classroom Applications: Shifting the Balance is full of sample activities and classroom vignettes that paint a picture of what these shifts look like in action with roomful of learners.

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. "We've written this book to support you in making sound decisions anchored in the best of science, the truth of responsiveness, and a relentless focus on providing all children learning experiences saturated with meaning," the authors write.

Author Jeff Anderson and literacy coach Whitney La Rocca lead a vibrant approach to grammar instruction in Patterns of Power: Inviting Young Writers into the Conventions of Language, Grades 1-5. Here, young, emergent writers are invited to notice the conventions of the English language and build off them in this inquiry-based approach to instructional grammar.

The book comes with standards-aligned lessons that can be incorporated in 10 minutes a day. Patterns of Power’s responsive, invitational approach puts students in an involved role and has them explore and discuss the purpose and meaning of what they read. Students study short, authentic texts and are asked to share their findings out loud, engaging in rich conversations to make meaning. Inside you’ll find:

• Ready-to-use lesson plan sets that include excerpts from authentic and diverse mentor texts curated for grades 1-5 and can be adapted over 5 grade levels
• Real-life classroom examples, tips, and Power Notes gleaned from the authors’ experiences that can be applied to any level of writer
• Resources, including a Patterns of Power Planning Guide and musical soundtracks, to use in classroom instruction or as handouts for student literacy notebooks

 
Patterns of Power provides a simple classroom routine that is structured in length and approach, but provides teachers flexibility in choosing the texts, allowing for numerous, diverse voices in the classroom. The practice helps students build cognitive recognition and provides a formative assessment for teachers on student progress. With these short lessons, students will grow their confidence and move beyond limitation to produce effortless writing in your class and beyond.

The Patterns of Power series also includes Patterns of Power: Inviting Adolescent Writers into the Conventions of Language, Grades 6-8, Patterns of Power en Español: Inviting Bilingual Writers into the Conventions of Spanish, Grades 1-5, Patterns of Power: Teaching Grammar Through Reading and Writing, Grades 9-12, and Patterns of Wonder: Inviting Emergent Writers to Play with the Conventions of Language, PreK-1.

"This book is an amazing resource for teachers who are struggling to help students develop both procedural fluency and conceptual understanding..."
                                                                                                                       --Dr. Margaret (Peg) Smith, co-author of 5 Practices for Orchestrating Productive Mathematical Discussions

Robert Kaplinsky, the co-creator of Open Middle math problems, brings his new class of tasks designed to stimulate deeper thinking and lively discussion among middle and high school students in Open Middle Math: Problems That Unlock Student Thinking, Grades 6-12. The problems are characterized by a “closed beginning,” meaning all students start with the same initial problem, and a “closed end,” meaning there is only one correct or optimal answer. The key is that the middle is “open” in the sense that there are multiple ways to approach and ultimately solve the problem. These tasks have proven enormously popular with teachers looking to assess and deepen student understanding, build student stamina, and energize their classrooms.
 

• Professional Learning Resource for Teachers: Open Middle Math is an indispensable resource for educators interested in teaching student-centered mathematics in middle and high schools consistent with the national and state standards
• Sample Problems at Each Grade: The book demonstrates the Open Middle concept with sample problems ranging from dividing fractions at 6th grade to algebra, trigonometry, and calculus
• Teaching Tips for Student-Centered Math Classrooms: Kaplinsky shares guidance on choosing problems, designing your own math problems, and teaching for multiple purposes, including formative assessment, identifying misconceptions, procedural fluency, and conceptual understanding
• Adaptable and Accessible Math: The tasks can be solved using various strategies at different levels of sophistication, which means all students can access the problems and participate in the conversation

Open Middle Math will help math teachers transform the 6th -12th grade classroom into an environment focused on problem solving, student dialogue, and critical thinking.
 

• How to Teach Student-Centered Mathematics: Zager outlines a problem-solving approach to mathematics for elementary and middle school educators looking for new ways to inspire student learning
• Big Ideas, Practical Application: This math book contains dozens of practical and accessible teaching techniques that focus on fundamental math concepts, including strategies that simulate connection of big ideas; rich tasks that encourage students to wonder, generalize, hypothesize, and persevere; and routines to teach students how to collaborate
• Key Topics for Elementary and Middle School Teachers: Becoming the Math Teacher You Wish You'd Had offers fresh perspectives on common challenges, from formative assessment to classroom management for elementary and middle school teachers

No matter what level of math class you teach, Zager will coach you along chapter by chapter. All teachers can move towards increasingly authentic and delightful mathematics teaching and learning. This important book helps develop instructional techniques that will make the math classes we teach so much better than the math classes we took.