Shanahan on Literacy

School districts want higher test scores. Each year they promote programs of test preparation. Teachers are required to reduce the amount of reading instruction that they provide in the hopes that these efforts will make everybody look good whether the kids can read well or not. This podcast explores what it would take to end up with higher scores which reflect improved reading ability.

Each year, I identify regional, national, and international charities that support children's literacy. Only the highest rated charities are noted. This podcast identifies those charities, explains their good work, and points out how these organizations might help your schools and your children.

This podcast explains the three-cueing approach and why it is not a good idea for instruction. But several states have passed laws or formulated regulations prohibiting the practice. Is that a good idea? Tune in to find out the answer to that question.

Research continues to accumulate indicating that digital text is not comprehended as well as paper text, and some studies suggest that the use of digital texts with kids may stunt their comprehension ability. This podcast explores those studies and draws a surprising conclusion.

This podcast responds to a teacher's question concerning the need to teach older students to read fluently. It explains why fluency matters at those levels and why fewer and fewer students require fluency instruction each year.

These days teachers are being encouraged to teach with complex or challenging text. This often means teaching students to read (or to learn science or social studies) from grade level texts far above students' reading levels. In the past teachers were taught to change books so students could work at their reading level. This podcast explains how that can be made to work.

The ability to identify the letters is one of the best predictors of later reading ability. That makes it a valuable tool for helping to identify which children are likely to struggle with reading. But why is that? This podcast explores what is known about the role of letter names in the learning to read. (This podcast includes a misinterpretation of a study by Byrne and Fielding-Barnsley. I assumed that when they introduced letters into their PA intervention that they named the letters. I was incorrect in that assumption as Christopher Such pointed out on my website and in social media. That means that there is no evidence that teaching letter names improves reading achievement (though including plastic letters in PA instruction was positive). There is also no evidence that students are benefited by not teaching letter names or that it is better to only introduce sounds for letters than for names. That means I still side with theories that argue for spending a small amount of time teaching letters, but unlike what is incorrectly claimed in this podcast there is still NO direct evidence supporting that belief. This note was added on September 30, 2024).

It makes sense that giving students lots of time at school to read independently, right? This podcast explores that idea and reveals why it isn't the way to go.

This podcast explores a parent's homework complaint. Her first grader is to do a 1-minute read each evening, and parents are to time it and calculate words correct per minute. Is this a good idea or something more nefarious? Tune in and find out.

Usually reading seatwork is work aimed at keeping kids busy rather than teaching them. This podcast suggests some ways to make seatwork a plus rather than a minus when it comes to reading achievement.

With all of the emphasis these days on a "science of reading," is there any place for the idea of an "art of teaching?" This presentation explains the role that these two sources of success play and how they may work together.

There are arguments in reading circles about the best way to teach phonics -- should the focus be on decoding from print to speech (like someone sounding out a word) or from speech to print (like someone trying to spell). This podcast will explore the evidence on both sides.

This podcast explores the value of teaching students to read the graphics in content area texts. Although pictures can distract from the word reading of young children, as they confront more complex texts they will need to learn how to interpret the graphics and this podcast suggests how that might be accomplished.

This podcast provides answers to frequently asked questions about fluency instruction. It considers why we teach fluency, how we can teach it effectively, the kinds of books to use, how to match kids for paired reading, how fluent kids need to be, how much fluency instruction to provide. If you want some quick advice on how to teach fluency this is the podcast for you.

Research shows that students are best taught with challenging texts -- texts that in the past would have been deemed "frustration level" and eschewed for instruction. Teaching with grade level texts ensures that students will reach the levels of literacy needed for full participation in society. Teaching with grade levels texts makes sense, but what do we do with students who already can read grade level or higher texts? This podcasts provides some suggestions.

Many school districts are considering going to a 4-day school week. This would help solve their problem in getting substitutes, reduce lunch program costs, and make many of their employees happy. But what will it do to reading achievement? This podcast explores the research on instructional time and 4-day school weeks.

Many phonics proponents claim that the best way to teach phonics is multi-sensorilly with tracing and similar activities. This podcast reveals what research studies have to say about those claims.

This episode considers the value -- and limitations of using choral reading in the teaching of oral reading fluency.

This "blast from the past" revisits -- revises -- a blog posting from 2018. This podcast explains what the research has to say about teaching with decodable text. The idea of teaching students with decodables is a hot topic in reading education these days. Find out what research has to say about these materials and what they contribute to learning to read -- if anything. You might be surprised at what the "science of reading" has to say about this practice.

Most reading interventions for older students fail. One reason for this is that they tend to focus on raising general reading achievement, instead of putting the major emphasis on helping those students to develop the reading abilities that would allow them to succeed. Think pre-remediation rather than remediation.