Melinda Karshner is an active voice in the national conversation about how reading is taught, working alongside literacy researchers, practitioners, and advocates who are asking the same question she is: what actually works for real kids in real classrooms?
She also tutors students with dyslexia and students struggling with literacy, free of charge. There is no set program, because there is no one program that fits every reader. Depending on what a student actually needs, that might mean Speech to Print, Orton-Gillingham, real novels, or, for older students, something like Sean Morrisey's Word Mapping Project. The point is to analyze first and prescribe second.
She also tutors students with dyslexia and students struggling with literacy, free of charge. There is no set program, because there is no one program that fits every reader. Depending on what a student actually needs, that might mean Speech to Print, Orton-Gillingham, real novels, or, for older students, something like Sean Morrisey's Word Mapping Project. The point is to analyze first and prescribe second.
Written Contributions
Melinda Karshner is the author of the closing chapter, "A Note From 'Mrs. K,'" in 7 Big Challenges in Early Literacy Instruction
The book takes on the decisions K–3 teachers actually face, rather than handing them one more list of best practices:
Melinda Karshner is the author of the closing chapter, "A Note From 'Mrs. K,'" in 7 Big Challenges in Early Literacy Instruction
The book takes on the decisions K–3 teachers actually face, rather than handing them one more list of best practices:
- Text selection — decodable versus leveled, easy versus challenging
- Instructional grouping — whole group, small group, or independent practice
- Effective scaffolding — guiding students without misguiding them
- Skill integration — isolated skill work alongside integrated literacy
- Student agency — moving from compliance to real engagement
- Purposeful assessment — assessment for instruction, not as instruction
- Balancing tensions — competing mandates, diverse needs, rigid curricula
Karshner wrote the conclusion as both a mom and a fourth-grade teacher, and her argument is the one that runs through all of her work: there is no one-size-fits-all, there are no silver bullets, and the only reliable path to success is a highly trained teacher who knows how to analyze and prescribe what a student needs next.
[Find the book →] https://amzn.to/3SLtS7M (affiliate link)
[Find the book →] https://amzn.to/3SLtS7M (affiliate link)
Melinda Karshner on Leveled Reading with Dr. Timothy Shanahan
In late 2025, Melinda Karshner joined Drew Perkins as guest co-host on the ThoughtStretchers Education Podcast to interview Dr. Timothy Shanahan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and former Director of Reading for Chicago Public Schools, about his book Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives (Harvard Education Press, 2025).
Perkins asked Karshner to lead the questioning because of her dual background as a veteran classroom teacher and a dyslexia specialist. They discussed why keeping struggling readers on easier text limits their access to grade-level vocabulary and ideas, how lower-level books can act as a quiet form of grade retention, and why the Science of Reading needs nuanced implementation rather than black-and-white curriculum scripts.
[Listen to the episode →]
In late 2025, Melinda Karshner joined Drew Perkins as guest co-host on the ThoughtStretchers Education Podcast to interview Dr. Timothy Shanahan, Distinguished Professor Emeritus and former Director of Reading for Chicago Public Schools, about his book Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives (Harvard Education Press, 2025).
Perkins asked Karshner to lead the questioning because of her dual background as a veteran classroom teacher and a dyslexia specialist. They discussed why keeping struggling readers on easier text limits their access to grade-level vocabulary and ideas, how lower-level books can act as a quiet form of grade retention, and why the Science of Reading needs nuanced implementation rather than black-and-white curriculum scripts.
[Listen to the episode →]
Melinda Karshner on the Thought Stretchers Education Podcast
Karshner has appeared three times on Drew Perkins's ThoughtStretchers Education Podcast, and she also writes for their blog.
A Veteran Teacher Who Rejects Black and White Thinking — Karshner talks about her teaching and how she navigates the false binaries being pushed around the Science of Reading.
Beyond Phonics: The Challenge of Teaching Dyslexic Students (March 2025) — Karshner joins parent and special education PTA president Jackie Castillo-Blaber to talk about teaching reading to dyslexic students, the shortage of trained instructors and specialized tutoring in too many districts, and what it's like to be both a reading teacher and the mom of a dyslexic child.
Are Leveled Readers Hurting Student Growth? (late 2025) — Karshner guest co-hosts an interview with Dr. Timothy Shanahan about Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.
She also wrote Phonics Will Fix It: A Myth I Still Wish Were True for the ThoughtStretchers blog, on why phonics alone didn't solve it for her daughter and what upper-grade teachers are left with when the popular programs feel babyish to older students.
Karshner has appeared three times on Drew Perkins's ThoughtStretchers Education Podcast, and she also writes for their blog.
A Veteran Teacher Who Rejects Black and White Thinking — Karshner talks about her teaching and how she navigates the false binaries being pushed around the Science of Reading.
Beyond Phonics: The Challenge of Teaching Dyslexic Students (March 2025) — Karshner joins parent and special education PTA president Jackie Castillo-Blaber to talk about teaching reading to dyslexic students, the shortage of trained instructors and specialized tutoring in too many districts, and what it's like to be both a reading teacher and the mom of a dyslexic child.
Are Leveled Readers Hurting Student Growth? (late 2025) — Karshner guest co-hosts an interview with Dr. Timothy Shanahan about Leveled Reading, Leveled Lives.
She also wrote Phonics Will Fix It: A Myth I Still Wish Were True for the ThoughtStretchers blog, on why phonics alone didn't solve it for her daughter and what upper-grade teachers are left with when the popular programs feel babyish to older students.
Navigating Paradoxes: Trust, Dignity, and the Gray Spaces ...Leah and Angela are joined by literacy educator Melinda Karshner to explore the paradoxes that live at the heart of teaching
