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 200 publications on literacy education. His research emphasizes the connections between reading and writing, literacy in the disciplines, and improvement of reading achievement.
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 Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, and he helped lead the National Reading Panel, convened at the request of Congress to evaluate research on the teaching reading, a major influence on reading education. He chaired two other federal research review panels: the National Literacy Panel for Language Minority Children and Youth, and the National Early Literacy Panel, and helped write the Common Core State Standards.
He was inducted to the Reading Hall of Fame in 2007, and is a former first-grade teacher.
Recent articles
Afterschool and Community Programs
Creating Programs for Language Minority Families
Common Core Standards
Does Disciplinary Literacy Have a Place in Elementary School?
Recent blog posts
Shanahan on Literacy
To Lexile or Not to Lexile, That Is the Question
Shanahan on Literacy
Response to the Joyful Illiterate Kindergartners of Finland
Shanahan on Literacy
Does Preschool Improve Later Literacy Achievement?
Shanahan on Literacy
Of Carts and Horses: Where Fluency Teaching Fits in Learning to Read Process
Shanahan on Literacy
Does Formative Assessment Improve Reading Achievement?
Shanahan on Literacy
What Texts to Use to Teach Fluency?
Shanahan on Literacy
11 Ways Parents Can Help Their Children Read
Shanahan on Literacy
More on the Instructional Level and Challenging Text
Shanahan on Literacy
Sorting Out the Arguments Over “Independent” Reading
Shanahan on Literacy
Teaching Vocabulary
Shanahan on Literacy
Why We Need to Teach Reading and Writing
Shanahan on Literacy