Shanahan on Literacy

Latest Episodes:

Small Group Phonics in the Classroom -- Good Idea or Not? Feb 17, 2024

Show notes

Teachers are often told that differentiation in instruction is important and in reading that tends to mean multiple groups of kids being taught different things. Is that a good idea for phonics? Why or Why not? This episode will answer those questions.

Grading Students on Individual Standards Feb 10, 2024

Show notes

School administrators often believe that students can be evaluated on the individual reading comprehension standards and they push teachers to teach and assess these individually. The research suggests that such efforts won't work.

I Want My Students to Comprehend, Am I Teaching the Wrong Kind of Strategies? Feb 03, 2024

Show notes

Teachers are often told to teach comprehension strategies, but what if many of the strategies that are recommended only incidentally address comprehension? Learn to distinguish comprehension strategies form study skills.

Blast from the Past: How Can We Take Advantage of the Reading-Writing Relationship? Jan 20, 2024

Show notes

This blog entry explores the three ways that teachers can teach their students about the relationships that exist between reading and writing.

What does brain science have to say about teaching reading? Does It matter? Jan 13, 2024

Show notes

These days people are claiming that brain science has proven that phonics instruction is the way to go. However, brain science doesn't work that way. This podcast will explore what it is and isn't that brain science can tell us about reading instruction -- and what a safer bet would be to getting things right.

Does the Science of Reading Include Middle School? Phonics in the Upper Grades Jan 06, 2024

Show notes

A teacher asks about the benefits of phonics in the upper grades and this podcasts provides an exploration of the research on this issue along with practical advice on how best to meet students learning needs in reading.

Putting Your Underwear on First: Why Instructional Sequence Doesn't Always Matter Dec 16, 2023

Show notes

This podcast replies to a teacher's question that asks about the proper sequence to teach the alphabet and phonics skills. It explores what research has to say about sequence and whether it matters and provides some specific criteria to consider in selecting or constructing curricula. You can read a transcription of this podcast and reader comments here: Shanahan on Literacy Blog.

Literacy Charities 2024 Dec 09, 2023

Show notes

Each year, Shanahanonliteracy.com presents a list of the highest rated literacy charities in the U.S. and Canada. These charities distribute books, make electronic resources available, and support literacy instruction in a variety of ways and to a variety of needy children. The list is useful in that it encourages giving to the best of the national/international literacy charities, shows the range of resources avalable, and reveals some possibilities for your schools.

Why Main Idea is Not the Main Idea – Or, How Best to Teach Reading Comprehension Dec 02, 2023

Show notes

State standards and state tests emphasize the importance of "main idea" in reading instruction. Many schools (and commercial programs) in response to this try to teach main idea by having students read texts and answer main idea questions. However, that neither improves students' ability to answer such questions or reading comprehension. This podcast explains why and provides practical advice about what kinds of teaching students should receive concerning the main idea. Listen to this podcast and you'll find out why the main idea is not the main idea when it comes to teaching reading comprehension.

Should We Teach Phonics to English Learners? Nov 18, 2023

Show notes

This podcast explores the research on phonics teaching to English Learners and concludes that such instruction is important. However, ELs are more likely to struggle with language than decoding, so both decoding and language interventions need to be available to all children.

READ MORE: Shanahan On Literacy Blog