Literacy Blogs

Teacher question: Aren’t “teaching with complex text” and “teaching close reading” really the same idea, just in different words? Some of my teachers are confused by these terms. Some of them, like me, think they are the same idea, while others think they are really two different standards. How can I clarify this for them?  Shanahan response: I must admit that the first time this confusion presented itself to me, I was pretty darned surprised. I was supposed to make two presentations to some California teachers—an AM and a PM talk, and the reading supervisor wanted to know the two titles. I suggested one ...

Teacher question: I was wondering if you are able to provide me with a clearer understanding of what a “silent Reading and Listening Capacity Test” is all about.  Shanahan responds: The whole idea of administering silent reading and listening capacity tests is two-fold. A silent reading test would be used to determine how well a student can comprehend text when reading silently. Typically, such a test would be administered using graded or leveled passages. Thus, if the student could read the fourth-grade passages with 75% or higher comprehension, but could only read the fifth-grade passages with 50% comprehension, we might say something like, ...

Blast from the Past: This blog posted on November 19, 2017, and was re-posted May 21, 2022. I would love to say that its original posting ended the practice of round robin reading. Alas, too many teachers continue to cling to the practice – main, I suspect, because they know not what else to do. And, at least some of the teachers who do manage to eschew the practice try to rely solely on silent reading, which is just not sufficient (monitoring students’ oral reading progress is informative, particularly in the primary grades). This blog may be worth a second ...

Teacher question: I’ve looked at your framework and am surprised that it doesn’t include oral language. I’m a kindergarten teacher and can’t imagine leaving that out. Am I misunderstanding something? Shanahan answer: I feel your pain.   Yes, you’re correct that my framework focuses on the teaching of phonological awareness, decoding/spelling, vocabulary, oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and writing. But not oral language.   And, like you, I agonize over that omission (if it is one).   I emphasize PA, phonics, and the rest of those literacy components as the focus of teaching because research shows that teaching those things leads to improvements in literacy. You teach kids to ...

Teacher question:  A colleague asked me about using e-books in high school science classes instead of textbooks. I like the idea that e-books might be more current and kids would likely read outside of class if they didn’t have to lug a huge book home. However, I remember reading something about the brain processing the reading of e-books differently than traditional texts. Do you know of any sound research on that? Shanahan response: I knew this question was coming.   Back about 25 years ago or so, I just knew someone would ask me about such reading. So I conducted a small study.   No, I didn’t ...

  I often use this space to challenge myths about the teaching of reading.       And there are a bunch of those. (Sisyphus ‘R Us.)     Which one caught my eye this week?       A blog follower raised a question about educational policies aimed at getting all kids up to a third-grade reading level by Grade 3. He was surprised about my response, and maybe you will be, too.       There is a slew of studies that reveal the persistence of reading problems... for instance: http://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/persistence-of-reading-problems-research-based-fact-or-urban-myth#sthash.rtzSGGAi.dpbs Those studies show that kids who are struggling with reading in the primary grades continue to ...