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Unlocking Words: A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Children to Read and Spell: A complete guide to implementing structured literacy for all educators: The Why, What and How
291 pages, Paperback
Published January 10, 2024
2 people want to read
About the author
Toni Jensen
10 books143 followersToni Jensen is the author of Carry, a memoir-in-essays about gun violence, forthcoming from Ballantine. Her essays and stories have been published in journals such as Orion, Catapult and Ecotone, and have been anthologized widely. Her story collection, From the Hilltop, was published through the Native Storiers Series at the University of Nebraska Press. She teaches in the Programs in Creative Writing and Translation at the University of Arkansas and in the Low Residency MFA at the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is Métis.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 3, 2026
Unlocking Words: A Comprehensive Guide to Teaching Children to Read and Spell is precisely the resource that educators, parents, and homeschoolers working in the structured literacy space have been waiting for: a thorough, evidence based, and genuinely practical guide that bridges the gap between the science of reading and the realities of everyday classroom and home instruction.
Toni Jensen draws from key concepts underscored by leading experts and the National Reading Panel, presenting a holistic approach to literacy education built on the five essential pillars of phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension as the foundation of her teaching methodology. Amazon That framework is both rigorously grounded in current research and rendered with a clarity that makes it immediately accessible to practitioners at every level of experience.
What distinguishes this guide from others in the field is its genuinely comprehensive scope. Jensen understands that teaching a child to read is not a single skill but a complex, interlocking set of competencies, and she addresses each of them with the specificity and depth that real classroom application demands. The reader will discover through practical applications and evidence based strategies how to navigate the early stages of learning to read while fostering a rich understanding of vocabulary and comprehension.
The book's 160 pages of structured lesson content, organised around a clear and replicable lesson format, give it a utility that purely theoretical texts rarely achieve. This is a resource designed to be used, returned to, and built upon, making it as valuable for the seasoned literacy specialist as it is for the first-year teacher or the parent supporting a struggling reader at home.
Thorough, practical, and genuinely empowering. An essential addition to any educator's professional library.
Toni Jensen draws from key concepts underscored by leading experts and the National Reading Panel, presenting a holistic approach to literacy education built on the five essential pillars of phonological awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension as the foundation of her teaching methodology. Amazon That framework is both rigorously grounded in current research and rendered with a clarity that makes it immediately accessible to practitioners at every level of experience.
What distinguishes this guide from others in the field is its genuinely comprehensive scope. Jensen understands that teaching a child to read is not a single skill but a complex, interlocking set of competencies, and she addresses each of them with the specificity and depth that real classroom application demands. The reader will discover through practical applications and evidence based strategies how to navigate the early stages of learning to read while fostering a rich understanding of vocabulary and comprehension.
The book's 160 pages of structured lesson content, organised around a clear and replicable lesson format, give it a utility that purely theoretical texts rarely achieve. This is a resource designed to be used, returned to, and built upon, making it as valuable for the seasoned literacy specialist as it is for the first-year teacher or the parent supporting a struggling reader at home.
Thorough, practical, and genuinely empowering. An essential addition to any educator's professional library.
Displaying 1 of 1 review