Literacy Blogs

Blast from the Past: This blog entry first posted on June 22, 2019, and was re-issued on September 21, 2024. The reason I’ve resurrected this one is because recently many of my podcasts have been greeted by jeers on social media claiming that pretty much any research-proven approach to reading instruction would be better replaced by opportunities for independent reading in the classroom. I agree that the more students read the better readers they are likely to become, but that is not best accomplished by sacrificing instructional time since instruction does more for reading achievement growth than does independent reading. ...

Teacher question: Why don’t you like independent reading? It only makes sense for students to practice reading if they’re going to get good at it. My students live in poverty. They won’t read at home, so I provide 20 minutes a day for them to just read. Practice makes perfect, you know. Shanahan responds: You’re right about the importance of practice. Practice has value in the development of any skilled activity. I have no doubt that reading practice plays a role in making kids better readers. I don’t oppose encouraging students to practice their reading. However, as a but I do believe in making instructional ...