Unison Reading: Socially Inclusive Group Instruction for Equity and Achievement

Cynthia McCallister is the creator of Unison Reading, a method for group reading instruction that conceives of reading first and foremost as a form of social activity through which particular skills and competencies develop. Cynthia developed Unison Reading over two decades in her roles as a teacher-practitioner and a scholar. During her early professional life as a teacher of young children, Cynthia became intrigued by how readily children mastered reading and writing in the context of activities that made literacy engaging and playful. And throughout her experiences as a mother of three children in New York City public schools, a K-5 teacher (in rural Maine and New York City), a teacher educator, staff developer, and school reformer with extensive involvement in a wide range of culturally- and linguistically-diverse Pre-K-8 schools, Cynthia has come to understand that learning for every child depends on engagement, curiosity, a personal commitment to the objects of learning, and an opportunity to acquire new ideas in the company of others. Cynthia is Associate Professor at New York University where she is founding Director of the program in Literacy Education. She received her doctoral degree from the University of Maine in 1995.