Professor Publishes Reading Education Textbook

Katie Cunningham’s latest work earns top spot on Amazon’s list of ‘hot new releases’

Katie Egan Cunningham, associate professor of education at Sacred Heart University, recently published her fourth textbook for teachers, Shifting the Balance, 3-5: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Upper Elementary Classroom. The book earned Amazon’s number one spot for “hot new releases” in reading and phonics teaching material as well as elementary education.  

The textbook is a much-anticipated follow-up to Shifting the Balance: 6 Ways to Bring the Science of Reading into the Balanced Literacy Classroom by Jan Burkins and Kari Yates. Cunningham collaborated with Burkins and Yates to extend the conversation with a second book dedicated to upper elementary classrooms. Cunningham explained, “I fell in love with Jan and Kari’s book so much that I reached out to them and said the world needs a book for upper elementary teachers to support their understanding of best practices for literacy instruction based on reading science. And they said, ‘Yes, let's do it!’”

Cunningham, Burkins, and Yates crafted this new book specifically for teachers of students in grades three through five focusing on best practices for the intermediate classroom. “I think what we do especially well is make the scientific research known as the “science of reading” accessible for busy classroom teachers in particular,” she said.

As with the first Shifting the Balance book, this book keeps students at the forefront of reading instruction. “Our main goal is to make it easier for more children to crack the code of written English and to become lifelong readers,” she said. “We offer a collection of high-leverage, easy-to-implement instructional routines that teachers can use right away.”

Cunningham has more than 20 years of educational experience. A former elementary classroom teacher and instructional coach, she now educates future teachers in SHU’s Isabelle Farrington College of Education & Human Development. “What strikes me in particular about the Sacred Heart community is that people are all-in on life. The students are extremely eager and enthusiastic,” she said. “There’s a wholeheartedness to people at SHU that you don’t find everywhere else.”

A mini podcast series on Cunningham’s book is now available. The first and second episodes can be downloaded at Apple Podcasts. The episodes are short previews that discuss each chapter of the book.

The textbook will be available to purchase Sept. 14.