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Structured Literacy Books Holiday Wish List

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If you’re a structured literacy teacher, the right structured literacy books can sharpen your practice tomorrow morning. Luckily, I’ve rounded up eight super practical books that offer:

1. Research you can explain to families and colleagues.
2. Routines you can plug into your OG lessons.
3. Joyful ideas that help our most reluctant readers feel successful.

The best part…you can share this list with anyone wondering what you would like for the holidays.

Structured Literacy Boosk for Teachers

Affiliate disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases—at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Literacy Nest and the free content I share with teachers!

#1 Ignite Student Learning — Judy Willis, M.D.

Get it: https://amzn.to/4nFa92U

Why you’ll love it: If you geek out over brain-based teaching like I do, this book connects the dots between attention, emotion, and retrieval. This means your routines actually stick with real kids in real classrooms.

Try this tomorrow: End your phonics lesson with a 60-second retrieval burst (3 quick oral prompts on today’s sound-spelling) and schedule a 2-minute spaced revisit at the start of the next session.

#2 The Structured Literacy Playbook — Melissa Orkin & Sarah Gannon

Get it: https://amzn.to/49AtI9e

Why you’ll love it: It feels like having a calm coach in your pocket! Think clear routines, tight lesson flows, and examples you can use in small groups or tutoring tomorrow. The perfect structured literacy starter book!

Try this tomorrow: Use a decodable + vocab mini-cycle: brief phoneme–grapheme review → controlled word reading → immediate vocabulary link using two student-friendly examples from the text.

#3 Teaching Beyond the Diagnosis — Casey Harrison

Get it: https://amzn.to/49KDKVc

Why you’ll love it: This one honors the whole child. You’ll get evidence-based literacy moves and simple ways to build self-advocacy and confidence during busy seasons.

Try this tomorrow: Add a two-minute self-advocacy script at the end of tutoring: “Today I used ___ strategy when I got stuck on ___.” Students share one success and one request for support.

💡 Fun fact: Casey Harrison is also my co-host of The Together in Literacy Podcast! Be sure to subscribe and listen in as we explore practical, heart-centered conversations about teaching and learning.

#4 The High Frequency Word Project — Fiona Hamilton & Rebecca Loveless

Get it: https://amzn.to/4qMxLW4

Why you’ll love it: A clear, orthography-first pathway to teaching high-frequency words without gimmicks. Hamilton and Loveless emphasize phoneme–grapheme mapping, morphology, and etymology. Students will understand why words are spelled the way they are. If you’ve been cautious about “heart word” shortcuts, you’ll appreciate their precision and clarity.

5) Stick The Learning — Bryan Goodwin & Tonia Gibson

Get it: https://amzn.to/4oWt5vd

Why you’ll love it: This structured literacy book has short, smart nudges that help you make learning last. Stick the Learning is perfect for weaving retrieval and spacing into phonics, morphology, and comprehension without adding fluff.

Try this tomorrow: Add a 1–2 minute “connect & retrieve”: students explain how today’s morpheme links to a word from science or social studies, then retrieve two examples from memory.

6) Growing Executive Function — Sarah Kesty

Get it: https://amzn.to/49blfcB

Why you’ll love it: Secondary students need structure without babyish tasks. This gives you respectful tools for planning, time management, and getting started. Plus, you can do all this inside your literacy block.

Try this tomorrow: Use a micro-planner. Students set a 10-minute goal for a morphology task, choose a strategy (e.g., “sort then write”), and do a 30-second post-check (“Did my plan work?”).

7) Smart Teaching, Stronger Learning — Pooja K. Agarwal, Ph.D.

Get it: https://amzn.to/4hPmpww

Why you’ll love it: Quick chapters from a trusted expert turn the science into simple routines. For example, retrieval, spacing, and interleaving. They all fit neatly into OG lessons.

Try this tomorrow: Run a two-round retrieval relay: partners quiz each other with 6 morphology prompts, switch roles, then each writes one new example not used in the relay.

8) The Essentials of Adolescent Literacy — Joan Sedita

Get it: https://amzn.to/3XdztCf

Why you’ll love it: It’s your go-to map for grades 5–12 in structured literacy—vocabulary, comprehension, writing, and assessment that actually work together during real class time.

Try this tomorrow: Do a text-structure quick write: after a short article, students write one sentence using a targeted structure (e.g., cause–effect) and underline the signal words.

How to Use This List

  • Pick one focus area (morphology, fluency, executive function) and start with that title.
  • Try one routine per chapter, not everything at once. Consistency beats complexity.
  • Make it social: Start a mini book club with a colleague and try the “try-it-tomorrow” move before you meet again.

Give the Gift of Professional Development in 2025

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It’s the ultimate space for continued professional growth—filled with workshops, live sessions, and ready-to-use literacy tools. Click here to register for BRFL Academy

Before You Go…

Which title are you adding to your cart first?
If you need OG-aligned resources to pair with these books, explore my Morphology Games and Decodable Resources in The Literacy Nest shop.

And if you’re gifting a book to a colleague, print this post and tuck it inside with a sticky note of the routine you want to try together.

Structured Literacy Books for Teachers

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