Shanahan on Literacy

Timothy Shanahan

Timothy Shanahan is a renowned expert on the teaching of literacy. This podcast addresses practical issues in teaching students to read and to read better. read less

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Should We Teach Phonics to English Learners?

Should We Teach Phonics to English Learners?

This podcast explores the research on phonics teaching to English Learners and concludes that such instruction is important. However, ELs are more likely to struggle with language than decoding, so both decoding and language interventions need to be available to all children.READ MORE: Shanahan On Literacy Blog

Should We Teach Phonics to English Learners?

Should We Teach Phonics to English Learners?

This podcast explores the research on phonics teaching to English Learners and concludes that such instruction is important. However, ELs are more likely to struggle with language than decoding, so both decoding and language interventions need to be available to all children.READ MORE: Shanahan On Literacy Blog

Should We Be Teaching Sight Vocabulary?

Should We Be Teaching Sight Vocabulary?

This podcast considers whether teachers should attempt to teach sight vocabulary, and if so, how is that best accomplished. READ MORE: Shanahan On Literacy Blog

My state is banning instructional practices... or, how to look like you are teaching effectively even if you are not

My state is banning instructional practices... or, how to look like you are teaching effectively even if you are not

This teacher is concerned that her state is discouraging the use of guided reading, leveled readers and informal reading inventories. Tim Shanahan weighs in on the value of those practices in a classroom aimed at implementing the science of reading. READ MORE: Shanahan On Literacy Blog

Are Qualitative Assessment and Student Self-Assessment Useful in Reading Instruction?

Are Qualitative Assessment and Student Self-Assessment Useful in Reading Instruction?

This podcast explorews the ins and outs of qualitative assessment in reading and examines the role of student sa=elf assessment and why it may be both lousy evaluation and terrific instruction.

How to Teach Summarizing, Part I

How to Teach Summarizing, Part I

This Blast from the Past provides specific explanations of how to teach students to summarize text.

How Should We Combine Reading and Writing?

How Should We Combine Reading and Writing?

This podcast explores how teachers should organize their classrooms to best teach reading and writing and criticizes some of the more popular approaches to this problem.

A Big Mistake in Reading Improvement Initiatives – Don’t Make This One

A Big Mistake in Reading Improvement Initiatives – Don’t Make This One

This episode explores the role of principals in the improvement of school reading achievement. These days all of the attention seems to be on literacy coaches, but their success depends heavily on the school principal. This episode explores what the research has to say about principals and reading.

Which Should We Use, Nonsense Word Tests or Word ID Tests?

Which Should We Use, Nonsense Word Tests or Word ID Tests?

Educators wonder what is the best way to monitor students' decoding progress. What are the pluses and minuses of using tests that have students reading nonsense words?

Guided Reading and the Appropriate Level of Text Challenge

Guided Reading and the Appropriate Level of Text Challenge

The idea of placing students in texts at their instructional level has always tried to provide students with some degree of challenge. The idea has been that kids won't learn from texts the can already read well. But is that level of challenge really beneficial?

Is Digital Text a Good Idea for Reading Instruction?

Is Digital Text a Good Idea for Reading Instruction?

A teacher asks about the value of digital text for reading instruction. The research says that neither children nor adults read digital text very well, so what role -- if any -- should digital text play in reading instruction? The answer might surprise you.

Knowledge or Comprehension Strategies -- What Should We Teach?

Knowledge or Comprehension Strategies -- What Should We Teach?

This episode answers a teacher's question about whether he should teach comprehension strategies or focus on student knowledge.

Reading Stamina -- How Best to Divide Text for Classroom Discussion

Reading Stamina -- How Best to Divide Text for Classroom Discussion

This episode explains ways that teachers can enable students to read text successfully for longer.

Can We Really Teach Prosody and Why Should We Want To?

Can We Really Teach Prosody and Why Should We Want To?

The idea of teaching text reading fluency is widely accepted, but most of this work tends to focus on accuracy and automaticity. What about prosody or expression? This episode explores the research that explains the importance of prosody in reading development and examines the most effective ways to teach it.

What is Linguistic Comprehension in the Simple View of Reading?

What is Linguistic Comprehension in the Simple View of Reading?

The simple view of reading claims that reading comprehension is the product of decoding and linguistic comprehension. But what is linguistic comprehension and what does it matter in the classroom? This episode explores the meaning of linguistic comprehension.

On Climbing a Mountain: Four Ways NOT to Deal with Complex Text

On Climbing a Mountain: Four Ways NOT to Deal with Complex Text

These days teachers are told to teach reading with complex text. However, while they might have complex text in their classrooms or in their lessons, their approaches may undermine the benefits of complex texts. This episode cautions teachers to avoid four of these common errors.