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The Science of Reading Versus the Art of Teaching Reading
Teacher question: With all the emphasis on “science of reading,” what about the art of teaching? Do you think there is a place for that?RELATED: Print-to-Speech or Speech-to-Print? That is the Question Shanahan response: Indeed. Teaching is an act of practical reasoning, persuasiveness, problem solving, and communication. It need be shaped by science but much of it is improvisation rooted in experience. Science may contribute to that, but it will never be sufficient. Art must have a place. It might help to examine the experience of other fields. Medicine, for instance, has had a much longer and more obsessive relationship with science than has education. Where are ...
Print-to-Speech or Speech-to-Print? That is the Question
Blast from the Past: This entry first posted on June 4, 2022, and reposted on August 17, 2024. Recently, I received a couple of similar inquiries, so thought it might be worth reposting. A quick review of recent research revealed studies focused on the importance of cognitive flexibility in phonics development (Boldrini, et al., 2023; Vadasy, et al., 2023) which suggest to me that adding spelling to the phonics regime may contribute to a stronger understanding of the conditional nature of decoding patterns. Since speech-to-print and print-to-speech are not just reverse processes, grappling with both may contribute to the necessary ...
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Should We Teach Graphicacy?
Okay, okay… “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Reading teachers know the relationship between words and pictures is a lot more complicated than that. Research, for instance, has shown repeatedly that when you’re trying to teach kids to read a word, it is best to ditch the pictures. Word learning requires that attention be focused on the sequence of letters, not the accompanying photo or drawing. Those are just distractions. Another problem with pictures and words is that when kids have trouble with some words in a text, they may try to depend on the picture context. The pictures may give ...
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Teaching Fluency FAQs
Blast from the Past: This blog entry first appeared on September 29, 2009 and was reposted on July 27, 2024. Usually, I repost a blog when I get a bunch of questions on a topic that I’ve previously written about or when there is some public event that renews its relevance. This is something completely different. It has been quite a while since anyone has asked any questions about fluency instruction. One might assume that means fluency is now being widely and well taught in schools. I have reason to believe that not to be the case. I suspect that ...
What Do We Do With Above Grade Readers?
Teacher question: I know that you encourage teachers to teach reading with grade level texts even if this means they would be working at their frustration level. But what about the boys and girls who can already read at grade level? What should we do with them?RELATED: Should We Teach Graphicacy? Shanahan response: There is a great deal of diversity in American classrooms. Teachers can expect to be responsible for students at a wide range of reading levels. I suspect this skews low – meaning most teachers will be scrambling to meet the needs of more kids below grade than above it. But that’s ...
Does a 4-day Week Mean Lower Reading Scores?
Teacher question: There is much interest in many states to reduce the number of student contact days. The typical 180 student contact days are being questioned and often replaced with fewer instructional days that are often only a few minutes longer. Is there any research on four-day weeks versus the typical 180 school day calendar? Shanahan responds: Amount of instruction is an important variable in academic achievement. Usually, if we increase the amount of teaching by a reasonable amount, we tend to see increases in learning. From eyeballing the research studies, I’d estimate that 20-30 hours more reading instruction per year, tends to lead to ...
What about tracing and other multi-sensory teaching approaches?
Blast from the Past: This blog first appeared on May 16, 2020, and an updated version was released on June 22, 2024. The research references have been updated. If you would like to read the 26 comments that the original release attracted click here: https://www.shanahanonliteracy.com/blog/what-about-tracing-and-other-multi-sensory-teaching-approaches Teacher question: I have read the work of researchers like Louisa Moats, Stanislas Dehaene, and Linnea Ehri and understand of how reading works in the brain. I understand the critical role of connecting graphemes to phonemes. My question is what is the true role of the kinesthetic activities promoted in many intervention programs? In a webinar that I watched ...
Choral Reading: Good Idea or Not?
Teacher question: I know you advocate fluency instruction. But what do you think of choral reading? I love to do that with my second graders, and they have a lot of fun with it. We usually follow Tim Rasinski’s advice and do choral reading with poetry. Do you think that satisfies the fluency teaching requirements? Shanahan responds: I must admit that I am not a big fan of choral reading, though to be fair this is not a research-based opinion. There simply are too few studies of choral reading on which to base a sound judgment. First my objections and then a consideration of ...
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Should We Teach with Decodable Text?
Blast from the Past: First published August 25, 2018; updated June 1, 2024 This blog considered the value of decodable text. Since then, there has been more research on the issue, so I thought it a good time to update. There have been several thoughtful reviews of the empirical research over the years, and these reflect a great deal of consistency among the scientists who think deeply about this issue. None of them rules out the use of decodables, but none claims that their use improves reading achievement. Those who recommend a heavy and/or long-term dose of decodable text in beginning ...
What about the textbook reviews?
Parent Question: Our school district is using a program that has received many bad reviews, including by EdReports. We raised that with our School Superintendent, and she indicated that EdReports is revamping its review process so their evidence doesn’t mean anything. What do you think? Teacher Question: EdReports and Knowledge Matters Campaign and others are requiring that high quality texts build background knowledge—a good thing. However, they are expecting it to be through a topical approach not a broader thematic approach. One curriculum that is touted as strong in this area addresses one topic for 18 weeks! So the question I am asking is ...