Literacy Blogs

Teacher Question: I know you say students learn more when taught with grade level texts than texts at their reading levels. That may be true but won’t frustrating kids like that make them hate reading? Shanahan responds: I don’t want to undermine anybody’s motivation or love of reading. Though reading experts have long labeled some texts as “frustration level,” I hope you won’t take that moniker too literally. To be fair, your concern does seem justified according to some studies. For instance, middle school students say that when texts are difficult, their interest declines (Wade, 2001). Correlations among reading comprehension and affective variables like ...

Blast from the Past:  Usually, “Blasts from the Past” are re-postings of earlier blogs, with minimal revision. This one is a bit different. This time I’ve combined and revised two earlier postings (December 8, 2018; January 19, 2019). Each year, I receive numerous requests from teachers seeking ways to prepare their students to excel on the accountability tests or to resist their school district’s pressure to do a lot of test prep. Although it is only December, those letters have already started to come in. I think this is the earliest ever! Teacher question:   We’ve been given a directive to provide plans/resources ...

Teacher question:  I know you criticize the instructional reading level. But what about the independent reading level? Should we make sure that when children are reading on their own that they select books at their independent level or doesn’t that matter? Shanahan response: Back in the 1940s, Emmet Betts was trying to figure out how to improve reading instruction. The idea of matching books to students’ learning needs had floated around for decades in the research community. The 1910-1920s had ushered in reading tests and readability formulas, which provided clear scientific evidence that both books and children varied in difficulty (books) and ...