Literacy Blogs

Teacher question: There is a big argument in my new district over whether or not it is a good idea to teach children to use the three cueing systems. What do you think?  Why don’t you ever write about the cueing systems? Shanahan’s response: I don’t write about them because I’m not a fiction writer. Don’t get me wrong, cueing systems exist, but their value in reading instruction is a magnificent work of the imagination. How do we read words? Perhaps we just guess dumbly when we see a word. For example, guess what this word is: Þßàm¤. Obviously, that can’t be what readers do. There are far too many words for that ...

Blast from the Past: This entry was first posted on March 17, 2019 and was reposted on May 22, 2021.  I'm surprised this entry hasn't drawn more attention. These days I'm often asked, "How do you teach reading comprehension?" or "Shouldn't we stop teaching reading comprehension and focus on building knowledge?" This topic, teaching text structure, should be a valuable response to those questions. I have added references and some links to additional practical supports for such teaching and have tacked on a new conclusion that provides 10 reasons that reading teachers should focus on text structure.  Teacher question: I was wondering what ...

Teacher question: My district is looking to improve our current intervention model. Currently, our reading interventionists operate on a pull-out model. However, we have heard that a push-in model can be be more effective so are interested in moving in that direction. What does the research say about the effectiveness of pull-out versus push-in for reading intervention? If one is more effective than the other, what would that entail?   Shanahan response: When people tell you that you should adopt a model or approach that ...

Teacher question: My district instituted a weekly "checkpoint" (a short passage and multiple-choice assessment aligned to our standardized test). Teachers are required to give this, and then break it down by standard in a meeting with a coach. I've argued that these tests are likely not measuring what they think they are. They believe that these can tell teachers whether students are mastering certain standards and questions. We have a large proportion of students below grade level. I'm concerned that valuable teaching time, focusing on working with complex texts, is going to be spent on testing, and that the nature of the ...

Blast from the Past: First posted on February 15, 2019 and reposted on February 10, 2023. This entry seems timely given recent legislative efforts to impose early literacy assessments aimed at identifying dyslexia. Legislatures across the country have been passing laws requiring screening and monitoring assessments. However, when you look at the states that have such legislation we're not seeing improvements in reading achievement. That reminds me that there is a very small research literature on the positive impact of early assessment on learning. Despite potential benefits of early screening, it only really helps if it leads to instructional efforts ...

Blast from the Past: Four years ago, I posted this blog. These days -- post COVID -- this question is coming up even more often, and more insistently than then. A lot of instruction was lost by many children and schools are scrambling to do better. Unfortunately, too many are seizing on simplistic solutions, that might be helpful for some kids, but which will not be likely to improve achievement very much. The solutions provided in this blog are still the best way to go for those who are serious about raising reading achievement -- in their classroom, in their ...

Teacher question:  How much does reading speed matter?  And if it is important, what is the best way to develop it in our learners? I’ve heard that 100 wpm is the minimal speed for comprehension. Is that a real thing? I believe the average speed is 200 wpm.  Shanahan responds: I can find no minimal reading or listening speed for comprehension in any of the studies I can lay my hands on. I’m sure there must be a minimal reading speed, but it is certainly considerably slower than 100 wpm. Part of the problem, of course, is that everyone interested in reading rate wants to speed readers up rather than slowing them ...