Leveled Reading, Leveled Minds with Dr. Tim Shanahan

From Reading Inspires by Reading Is Fundamental by Reading Is Fundamental

April 28, 2026 · 51 min · Episode 29

About this episode

Dr. Tim Shanahan discusses his book and challenges the assumption that students should be matched to texts at their individual reading level.

In this episode, host Erin Bailey sits down with Dr. Timothy Shanahan — professor emeritus, former president of the International Literacy Association, and Reading Hall of Fame inductee — to discuss his groundbreaking new book, Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives . Dr. Shanahan challenges one of education's most deeply held assumptions: that students should be matched to texts at their individual reading level. Drawing on decades of research, he explains why this practice may actually be holding kids back — and what teachers should be doing instead. About Dr. Tim Shanahan: Timothy Shanahan is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago where he was Founding Director of the UIC Center for Literacy. Previously, he was director of reading for the Chicago Public Schools. He is author/editor of more than 300 publications on literacy education. His research emphasizes the improvement of reading achievement, teaching reading with challenging text, reading-writing relationships, the and disciplinary literacy. Tim is past president of the International Literacy Association. He served as a member of the Advisory Board of the National Institute for Literacy under…

People in this episode

Host: Erin Bailey

Guest: Dr. Timothy Shanahan

Topics covered

literacy education
reading levels
educational practices
children's reading
text matching

Keywords

literacy
reading education
text levels
children's literacy
Dr. Tim Shanahan

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: International Literacy Association, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago Public Schools

Books & works: Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives