DP
David D. Paige
Lead author of the 2021 article Teaching Reading Is More Than a Science: It's Also an Art.
Explore the article ↗
Across literacy research and classroom practice, an important question keeps surfacing: How do we use what we know about reading development to create instruction that is both effective and meaningful?
The work collected here approaches that question in different ways. Some contributors study how reading develops. Some focus on explicit instruction, fluency, language, knowledge, or comprehension. Others show how creativity, interaction, performance, music, and teacher decision-making can enrich the experience.
Evidence informs the work. Teachers bring it to life.
Readers are the reason.
01
Science
What do we know about how reading develops, what supports learning, and which instructional practices are supported by evidence?
02
Art
How do excellent teachers use professional judgment, creativity, experience, and responsiveness to turn that knowledge into instruction?
03
Readers
How do we keep actual children at the center by attending to engagement, meaning, language, interaction, and individual need?
2021
WHERE THIS STARTED
Teaching Reading Is More Than a Science: It's Also an Art
The article argued that reading science and teacher craft are each insufficient without the other. It is one contribution to a much longer and broader conversation about what excellent reading instruction requires.
Explore the article ↗
THE ORIGINAL AUTHORS
The direct Art + Science connection.
These six scholars authored the 2021 article that provides the direct scholarly foundation for this collection.
CY
Chase Young
Coauthor of the 2021 Reading Research Quarterly article and Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading.
Explore Chase's work ↗TR
Timothy Rasinski
Fluency scholar whose work connects evidence-based reading instruction with performance, expression, authenticity, and engagement.
Explore Tim's work ↗WR
William H. Rupley
Coauthor of the 2021 article exploring the relationship between reading science and teacher craft.
Explore the article ↗WN
William D. Nichols
Coauthor of the 2021 article examining reading instruction as both scientific and artful.
Explore the article ↗MV
Meghan Valerio
Coauthor of the 2021 article connecting effective reading instruction with the craft of teaching.
Explore the article ↗
THE CONVERSATION IS MUCH BIGGER
Many voices. Different emphases. A shared question.
The researchers and educators below approach literacy from different perspectives. Their inclusion here does not suggest agreement with one another—or participation in this collection. Their work simply helps illuminate different parts of the conversation about evidence, teaching, and readers.
DIRECT ART + SCIENCE WORK
Extending the framing.
Scholars and educators who have explicitly examined or used the relationship between the science of reading and the art or craft of teaching.
KY
Kasım Yıldırım
Scholar whose work extends the art-and-science framing into reading fluency and fluency instruction.
Explore the work ↗TS
Timothy Shanahan
Literacy researcher who has written explicitly about the relationship between reading science and the art of teaching.
Explore the work ↗CS
Christopher Such
Author of The Art and Science of Teaching Primary Reading.
Explore the book ↗RB
Robin Bright
Researcher examining teachers' beliefs about the art and science of reading instruction.
Explore the work ↗CM
Chris Mattatall
Coauthor of research examining influences on teachers' art-and-science mindsets.
Explore the work ↗AB
Adam Browning
Coauthor of research exploring skills-based and contextual knowledge in teachers' reading mindsets.
Explore the work ↗
RELATED SCHOLARSHIP
Evidence into instruction.
Researchers and educators whose work helps connect what we know about literacy development with thoughtful, responsive classroom practice.
ND
Nell K. Duke
Researcher whose work connects evidence-based literacy instruction, comprehension, knowledge building, and meaningful classroom practice.
Explore the work ↗AA
Anita Archer
Known for explicit, highly interactive instruction that combines strong instructional design with active student participation.
Explore the work ↗WB
Wiley Blevins
Phonics and literacy author focused on evidence-based foundational skills and practical classroom implementation.
Explore the work ↗SN
Susan B. Neuman
Researcher in early literacy, vocabulary, knowledge, access, and the conditions that support children's reading development.
Explore the work ↗TW
Tanya S. Wright
Researcher focused on vocabulary, knowledge building, informational text, and ambitious early literacy instruction.
Explore the work ↗SC
Sonia Q. Cabell
Researcher studying early literacy, language, knowledge, and classroom practices that support later reading comprehension.
Explore the work ↗JL
Julia B. Lindsey
Early literacy researcher and author focused on translating reading research into practical foundational-skills instruction.
Explore the work ↗EH
Elfrieda H. Hiebert
Longtime reading researcher whose work on text, vocabulary, fluency, and reading development bridges research and classroom practice.
Explore the work ↗MW
Maryanne Wolf
Reading and neuroscience scholar emphasizing the complexity of the reading brain and the development of deep reading.
Explore the work ↗DF
Douglas Fisher
Literacy scholar connecting research with responsive teaching, comprehension, discussion, and instructional design.
Explore the work ↗NF
Nancy Frey
Literacy scholar whose work emphasizes evidence-informed teaching, student agency, discussion, and gradual release.
Explore the work ↗DL
Diane Lapp
Literacy scholar known for research and practice centered on effective instruction, engagement, and teacher learning.
Explore the work ↗
EVIDENCE + ENGAGEMENT
Making the learning live.
Work that highlights active participation, creativity, interaction, performance, music, language, and practical ways to make evidence-based literacy instruction engaging.
MG
Marnie Ginsberg
Founder of Reading Simplified, connecting structured foundational-skills instruction with efficient, active literacy teaching.
Explore the work ↗JD
Jake Downs
Reading researcher whose work on synchronous paired oral reading supports developing readers through connected-text practice.
Explore the work ↗AK
Ann C. Kay
Rock 'n' Read Project cofounder and education coordinator using singing and music-based learning to support early literacy development.
Explore the work ↗JM
Jon Madian
Creates literacy experiences that bring together systematic instruction, poetry, inquiry, language, and joy.
Explore the work ↗M&L
Melissa & Lori Love Literacy
Literacy educators and podcast hosts who make reading research accessible through conversations with researchers, authors, and classroom educators, with a strong focus on evidence-based instruction and practical application.
Explore the podcast ↗
FROM THE IDEA TO THE CLASSROOM
Artfully Teaching the Science of Reading
The 2022 book by Chase Young, David Paige, and Timothy V. Rasinski takes the same basic premise into classroom practice: use the evidence, preserve teacher agency, and make instruction engaging and authentic.
Explore the book ↗
THE BEST CLASS CONNECTION
Research matters most when educators can use it.
That means knowing the evidence—and knowing the students. Effective instruction is informed, intentional, responsive, creative, and human.
Excellent reading instruction is neither
science without artistrynor artistry without science. Teach the science. Make it art.
A note about inclusion
This is an independent educational collection, not a membership list.
Inclusion identifies work relevant to the themes of this collection.
It does not indicate participation in or endorsement of this page.
No affiliate links. No paid placement.