Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading

After an arduous year of training in the science of reading this book was a breath of fresh air. Too many times we look at ways to teach reading and think we should throw everything else out. Dr. Rasinski and his colleagues have laid out a way to look at reading as a balance, not a rigid formula for teaching. It allows for the creativity of the teacher and the student and gives great ways to successfully teach all the different components on the road to becoming a fluent and comprehensive reader, or as they noted in the book an “engaged reader”. We need to stop looking at reading as a one-way only activity, and begin looking at the student and all the different aspects that they bring to us. This doesn’t mean we throw the science out, it means that we take the science and combine it with the art as noted in the title. I have so many great ideas percolating in my brain that I’m going to take to my classroom in the fall. The science and the art are the way to go when teaching reading. There isn’t just one way and it can’t just be a science experiment. We are working with human beings, little ones on my part, and we have to be flexible, creative, engaging, and scientific. Two thumbs up!

A cohesive approach to research, instructional practice, and implementation guidance are provided in Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading. Significant literacy concepts are present and accounted for aboard this powerful and enjoyable ride destined for literacy success. All the stops include authentic real-life scenarios and feasible steps for immediate application in the classroom. The snapshots of learning experiences provide the connections to research based literacy concepts and practices. Procedural steps included, motivate and enable educators to immediately employ these effective, engaging practices. Information is presented in an in-depth yet easy to understand manner. The organization and arrangement of concepts allows for feasible access to revisit concepts long after the first read. Renowned literacy experts, Dr. Chase Young, Dr. David Paige, and Dr. Timothy V. Raskinski provide the clarity and synthesis of literacy research and praxis while providing captivating views of engaging learning experiences inside the classroom. Once this reading journey begins, you will not want it to come to a stop, and it really never ends as you share it with colleagues and friends. Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading is a definite read and resource for understanding and clarification of literacy concepts and instructional practices.(L. Polk, Ed.D., Literacy; RLA Curriculum Specialist)

This book is very well organized, direct, short sections and to the point. As a NuroDiverse parent teaching an ND child to read; this book is absolutely the best purchase I have made. Reading curriculum no matter how well it’s packaged doesn’t hold a candle to this book. I literally read this book and was able to sort out a reading curriculum customized to my child; determine areas of improvement; educate myself on how to teach; and so much more. I’ve read many reading curriculum books and was left feeling exhausted and unsure if I understood what I needed to accomplish and how. This book is fantastic and MUCH less to slog through than anything else I’ve read. I’m now confident in my knowledge and how to reach my child at their level. Must have book for anyone teaching reading adult or child.

This was an easy read and the examples were helpful. I did recommend him this book to many teachers interested in SoR

In the midst of a humongous shift in the way that schools teach reading, this is just the resource that teachers need. While we have to follow the science, teachers are as important as ever. It upholds the research in what must be part of the instruction in teaching reading. It helps build a teacher's knowledge in what research tells us about phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension, and assessment but goes further to include ways that a teacher can add their art to the evidenced based practice. Admin, you listening? This is the book study you need to support in your schools.