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Dyslexia defined by the International Dyslexia Association. 

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Dyslexia defined by the International Dyslexia Association. 

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"Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person’s life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services."

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Dyslexia Explained by The Dr Binocs Show 

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Dyslexia Explained by The Dr Binocs Show 

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DYSLEXIA | What Is Dyslexia? | Learning Disability | The Dr Binocs Show | Peekaboo Kidz

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We are all unique, others just see things in a different way.

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Myth an Educator Should Know-Dyslexia Can Be Outgrown

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Myth an Educator Should Know-Dyslexia Can Be Outgrown

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Dyslexia cannot be outgrown, but rather is a life-long issue. However, a person who has dyslexia, can still get accommodations and proper support in order to help them learn to speak, write, read, and spell. It also depends on the individual of how severe the case of dyslexia. Even though dyslexia may not be outgrown, an educator should be aware of the interventions that can be taken when a student has dyslexia.

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Dyslexia Facts and Myths Explained by the The Regents of the University of Michigan

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Dyslexia Facts and Myths Explained by the The Regents of the University of Michigan

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There are many signs or clues to dyslexia which are discussed in depth on this website; however it is also important to be aware of the misconceptions and myths surrounding the disorder. There are a number of myths regarding dyslexia. We have highlighted some of the more common ones.

Myth: Dyslexia can be accurately diagnosed by an educational psychologist or a 'specialist dyslexia teacher' by using special tests. Technically, yes. Although, depending which professional is doing the assessment, the diagnosis may differ. Often, specialists will use phrases in a written report such as "child has a specific weakness in phonological development" instead of saying "child has dyslexia." Additionally, many times the school personnel will say that they don't diagnose dyslexia. It's a matter of semantics -- in most states, dyslexia falls under the special education code. It is a specific learning disability (SLD) in reading, spelling, and/or writing and may be coupled with challenges in oral expression. Don't give up hope, though! Dyslexia can be diagnosed and early, systematic and explicit intervention can help minimize its negative effects.

Myth: fMRI brain scan studies show that dyslexics' brains work differently from those of non-dyslexics.
Fact: When a brain scan is done on someone who struggles to read while he is trying to read, the scan will look different than that of someone who has no trouble with reading.

Myth: If a dyslexic child reads out loud for 20 minutes per day, it will improve his or her reading.
Fact: Reading out loud will not help a child sound out unknown words. Instead, he will continue to try to memorize the shape of a word and use pictures and context clues to try and guess it which will not help his reading development. That said, being exposed to the same texts that his or her peers are reading and learning from is very important, so a dyslexic child should be read to (or read along to audiobooks) every day.

Myth: Children with dyslexia are just lazy. They should try harder.
Fact: If there is ONE myth that we'd like to see disappear, it is this one. Lack of awareness about the disorder among educators and parents has ofter resulted in the child being branded as "lazy." What frequently happens is that these children learn that they are going to fail at tasks of reading, spelling, and writing; it becomes an attempt at self-preservation (i.e., rather than try and fail, it is safer to just not try or work laboriously to no avail). Research has shown, with the technology of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), that those with dyslexia use a different part of their brain when reading and working with language. Dyslexic people show an abnormal pattern of brain function when reading: underactivity in some regions, overactivity in another which, according to research, accounts for the difficulty they have in extracting meaning from the printed word. The findings provide evidence that people with dyslexia are not poorly taught, lazy, or stupid, but have an inborn brain difference that has nothing to do with intelligence. If students with dyslexia do not receive the right type of intervention and/or classroom accommodations, they often struggle in school -- despite being bright, motivated, and spending hours on homework assignments.

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There are many signs or clues to dyslexia which are discussed in depth on this website; however it is also important to be aware of the misconceptions and myths surrounding the disorder. There are a number of myths regarding dyslexia. We have highlighted some of the more common ones.

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10 Facts You Need To Know About Dyslexia

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Because the 504 is not updated annually, different accommodations such as more time to take a test, a student can give the answers orally to the teacher, or the teacher will simply take into consideration the effort and growth of the student when grading their work. Other accommodations would include not focusing on the spelling, but rather the content and the quality of the work. When it comes to note taking, a student would be able to have access to the teachers notes so that they would not have to take notes. They could also have the ability to record lectures if necessary. When it comes to assessing a student, they can be given in a small group setting, or given away from distractions. The main idea is to prepare accommodations according to the student.

Even with visual representations, the teacher could enlarge the print or use a highlighter color to code assignments, so that it is easier for them to read.

As a teacher, it is important to remember that a student is not lazy and that one needs to be fair when grading work. A teacher should limit embarrassment for a student and never give a student an "F" for their work because they did the best they could on their assignment.

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For those students who are identified or diagnosed with dyslexia, both Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans can offer formal help from schools.

The IEP comes under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, a federal special education law for students with disabilities. An IEP can provide the specially designed instruction needed for students who are behind in academic areas, including reading and spelling. This instruction is 'specially designed,' or individualized, based upon a combination of a student's unique needs, test results, and learning profile. Students with dyslexia who are behind in reading and spelling need high quality, evidence-based structured language instruction of sufficient intensity (meaning more than average instructional time) to catch up to grade level and close the gap. They also need accommodations, modifications and supports to bridge the gap between their literacy abilities and grade level requirements. An IEP also provides these needed accommodations such as Assistive Technology, read aloud, dictation to scribe or speech to text, and extended time for those whose testing shows a need for these services and accommodations.

The 504 Plan comes under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act which provides needed accommodations to guarantee equal access for all persons with handicapping conditions, in schools and in all other settings. The 504 Plan provides only accommodations, so it is often best used for students with dyslexia who only need accommodations or have successfully completed remediation plans and are able to decode and encode reasonably well. While they are decoding and spelling approximately at grade level, they often struggle with fluency in both reading and writing, needing extended time or other accommodations. The 504 Plan provides accommodations such as Assistive Technology options for read aloud, spelling checks, speech to text, dictation to scribe, extended time, and others.

Submitted by: Parents & Families

Topic: Dyslexia, Legislation

References

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs, 39th Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 2017, Washington, D.C.

U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Guidance, October, 2015. Washington, D.C.

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Which is more appropriate for students with dyslexia: an IEP or 504 Plan?

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For those students who are identified or diagnosed with dyslexia, both Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and 504 Plans can offer formal help from schools. The IEP comes under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, IDEA, a federal special education law for students with disabilities.

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How I overcame my learning disabilities to become a physician | John Rhodes | TEDxCharleston

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Image by Ira Rosenberg (public domain), via Wikimedia Commons

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I would have to say one success story that I am very familiar with is my niece. She was not diagnosed with dyslexia until last year when she was in 5th grade.

Dyslexia really started to show its symptoms when she was in 3rd grade. She would have difficulty reading, spelling, and talking. It was not that she did not want to read, she really did try to read, but would explain that nothing made sense. As her aunt, I told her to mention it to her teacher and that they would be able to help. She was too shy to say anything. When it came to spelling, we brushed it off because we as well, even as adults, have trouble spelling, so I did not think much of it. And lastly, the teacher wanted to put my niece in speech therapy because they thought she had a lisp instead of dyslexia. It even went as far, as a teacher wanting to medicate her just to make sure she would focus more on her reading and spelling. My niece kept getting frustrated more and more and finally my sister asked for more help. Luckily they suggested that she be tested for dyslexia and when she was diagnosed the school was great about making accommodations for her. All this to be said, at first my niece was really frustrated and was struggling in school, until someone just suggested to test for dyslexia. And when she was diagnosed with dyslexia, it became easier to understand where she was coming from and how to help her with her schooling.

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Dyslexia is a specific learning disability. This means it affects the abilities a person uses for learning, such as reading and writing. Particularly, dyslexia makes it difficult to match letters with the sounds of individual letters and combinations of letters. It's not a vision disorder.

According to Shawna Newman, MD, a psychiatrist at Lenox Hill Hospital, approximately 10% to 15% of children have dyslexia. She adds that the condition is common and often undiagnosed, so the rates are likely even higher.

Usually, dyslexia is diagnosed when formal reading education begins. This typically occurs in the first grade, at about 6 years old.

Since dyslexia is not a disease, there's no cure. But it's possible to manage the condition with strategies that can be used throughout life.

If you have a child with dyslexia, you can play a major role in managing their condition. Here's how you can help a child with dyslexia when they're outside of school.

There are many things you can do to support your kid with dyslexia at home.

Read together

Read with your child every day. The activity will promote closeness and bonding, which will support your child's ability to learn over time.

"This shared experience in learning encourages development and growth in tandem with improved reading skills," Newman explains. It will also help children create a sense of security in learning while encouraging their own independent reading, she adds.

Focus on sight words

Sight words are words that are frequently used in writing and books. They're called sight words because recognizing them on sight is essential for developing reading skills.

Examples include:

For children with dyslexia, sight words can be difficult to recognize. But since the words appear so often, it's important for them to learn these words.

As Newman explains, children can use sight words as building blocks to improve their fluency in reading. That's why it's essential to add sight words into your children's learning program.

Repeat, repeat, repeat

Repeating and reviewing skills can help a child with dyslexia. This is often done in the form of repeated reading.

According to LD Online, repeated reading is a technique for children who have difficulty reading. It involves reading the same passage multiple times to improve reading fluency.

In a , repeated reading increased reading fluency in children with reading disabilities. Similarly, a found that repeated reading with music has a positive effect.

Create a nurturing space to study

"Providing a comfortable, supportive, and nonjudgmental atmosphere is most helpful for learning, especially for children with learning disorders," Newman explains. This includes those who have dyslexia.

For parents and caregivers, this also involves practicing patience, as all children learn at their own pace, Newman says. In doing so, you'll create an environment that allows your child to learn in a way that works best for them.

Create a calendar to help them track progress or tasks

Visual tools, such as a calendar, are an excellent option for tracking a child's progress and tasks. According to Newman, this can help put both improvements and challenges into context. It can ultimately help them engage with their own learning.

"Utilizing a calendar provides visual clues, which can inform the child how to think about the process of their own learning," Newman explains. This can be done by displaying tasks and activities related to learning on the calendar.

As Newman notes, when small learning achievements are visually expressed on a calendar, it can provide encouragement and celebration. Similarly, when difficulties are presented visually, it can help a child better understand what they need to work on.

Make sure they get enough sleep

"Sleep is a vital [factor] for healthy development and learning," Newman says. However, "children with dyslexia are at a higher risk for sleep disorders." Examples include sleep latency or sleep apnea.

But according to Newman, poor sleep can negatively affect learning processes. So it's important to ensure they get enough rest.

This may be done by:

establishing a sleep schedule

creating an ideal environment for sleep

limiting social media and electronics before bed

developing a sleep routine

The ideal amount of sleep depends on the child's age. According to Newman, children between 5 and 13 years old should get 9 to 12 hours of sleep every 24 hours. Teenagers between 13 and 18 years old need at least 8 to 10 hours of sleep.

Praise their success and effort

As Newman explains, reading difficulties caused by dyslexia can negatively affect a child's confidence. For example, "a child's sense of not measuring up to their peers [and being able] to perform as expected can be discouraging," she says.

On the other hand, encouragement and praise can have a positive effect on your child's learning. So instead of focusing on their struggles, call out their successes and effort whenever possible. Celebrate their achievements, no matter how small.

By highlighting positive aspects, you can encourage your child to keep moving forward. This will also boost your child's confidence in their own learning.

Use mnemonic devices

A mnemonic device is a technique that helps you remember a piece of information. It's also called a memory aid.

Examples include:

spelling words in the form of songs

letter or word imagery (like a letter "d" that looks like a dog)

acronyms

rhymes

According to a 2017 research review, mnemonic devices can enhance memory in children with dyslexia. It can also improve problem-solving skills and reasoning. Using mnemonic devices at home can help enhance their learning progress.

Find a tutor

During your child's summer break, consider getting them a tutor. According to the International Dyslexia Association, this can help them catch up on certain skills and get ready for the next school year.

If possible, select a tutor who will communicate with your child's teachers. This will ensure they are focusing on your child's specific needs.

There are several reading programs for children with dyslexia. Some of the most successful ones include:

Orton-Gillingham Approach: The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a widely used approach created specifically for people with dyslexia.

Wilson Reading System: The Wilson Reading System includes one program for children from kindergarten to third grade and one for fourth grade and up.

Lexia-Herman Method: The Lexia-Herman Method has programs for early reading, primary reading, and older students.

The symptoms of dyslexia are different for everyone. It also depends on age.

Yet there are some common characteristics. These include:

difficulty learning common nursery rhymes or songs

trouble recognizing rhyming patterns, like "cat" and "bat"

mispronouncing common words

difficulty recognizing their own name

reading slowly

avoiding reading out loud in any situation

pausing often while speaking

using vague language

confusing similar-sounding words or names

If you notice your child has difficulty learning, visit their pediatrician. They can do a preliminary checkup.

Depending on your child's symptoms, their pediatrician might have you visit the following experts:

child psychiatrist

school psychologist or counselor

speech-language pathologist

These professionals can perform an evaluation and diagnose learning disorders.

Diagnosing dyslexia involves several steps.

Typically, your child will likely be screened for hearing and vision problems first. If they have no hearing or vision concerns, you'll need to visit a mental health expert.

A mental health expert can use various tests to diagnose dyslexia. These are designed to evaluate certain skills, such as:

Your specialist will choose the most appropriate tests for your child's symptoms.

First, it's important for a child with dyslexia to know about their condition. This will help them understand why they have reading difficulties, which can be empowering and relieving. Explain that their mind simply works in a different way.

During these discussions, be positive. Focus on their achievements so far, rather than their learning delays. Let them know that there are people who care and are ready to help.

It's also important to avoid treating reading difficulties as "abnormal" or "bad." Instead, Newman says to "focus on the pleasure, information, and independence that reading and learning brings."

Additionally, if you're the parent or caregiver and have also experienced reading difficulties, let your child know. As Newman explains, gently communicating your own challenges with reading can help kids see that they're not alone.

Dyslexia is often diagnosed in early childhood when reading education begins. With proper support and condition management, it's possible for a child with dyslexia to thrive.

Caregivers can provide support by creating a nurturing space for learning and tracking progress on a calendar.

Other techniques include reading together, repetition, mnemonic devices, praise, and focusing on sight words. It's also helpful for children with dyslexia to get enough sleep and work with a tutor.

If you think your child has dyslexia, visit a mental health professional. They can evaluate your child and help guide your child's learning journey.

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how to help a child with dyslexia at home

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How to Help a Child with Dyslexia at Home: Ideas, Resources

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Dyslexia is often diagnosed in early childhood when reading education begins. With proper support and condition management, a child with dyslexia can thrive.

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Websites

The Academy of Orton‐Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (Official OG site) ‐
Information about OG Approach, Directory of training programs, certified tutors and schools.
www.ortonacademy.org

Books
A Guide to Helping Your Child at Home
Diana Hanbury King, WVC Ed., 2015.
Basic Facts About Dyslexia & Other Reading Problems
Louisa Cook Moats, Karen Daken, The International Dyslexia Association, 2008.

Straight Talk About Reading: How parents can make a difference during the early years
Susan Hall & Louisa C. Moats, McGraw Hill, 2006.

Recipe for Reading Intervention Strategies for Struggling ReadersFrances Bloom & Nina Traub, EPS, 2005.

Overcoming Dyslexia
Sally Shaywitz, M.D., Vintage, 2003.
For Educators & Administrators:
Wrightsaw: From Emotions to Advocacy
Pam Wright & Pete Wright, 2006

Dyslexia in the Classroom - What Every Teacher Needs to Know International Dyslexia Association Handbook

Knowledge & Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading
International Dyslexia Association Professional Standards & Practices Committee

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Recommended Websites & Books - Dyslexia Resource Center

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The Academy of Orton‐Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (Official OG site) ‐Information about OG Approach, Directory of training programs, certified tutors and schools. www.ortonacademy.org A Guide to Helping Your Child at Home Diana Hanbury King, WVC Ed., 2015. Basic Facts About Dyslexia & Other Reading Problems Louisa Cook Moats, Karen Daken, The International Dyslexia Association, 2008.

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Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability that affects reading. Children with dyslexia often have poor phonological skills, resulting in difficulties with decoding, reading fluency, and spelling. Dyslexia can also impact reading comprehension and writing. Learn about the early warning signs for dyslexia, common myths, and how to help children with dyslexia become successful readers.

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Works on phonemic awareness and focuses on foundations for reading and writing.

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At Heggerty, we are lucky to support the efforts of teachers, literacy coaches, parents, and anyone working to improve children’s ability to read. You will find our products and services in classrooms worldwide, and within more than 7,500 school districts throughout the United States.

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Educational Games, Worksheets, and More for Kids

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Download, print, or work on activities interactively today!

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This is the **** Edition Revised and Updated March 26th 2021**** .

In this workbook you will find more than 100 activities for kids specially designed for children who have dyslexia or dysgraphia.

The activities in this book are primarily intended for children between the ages of 5 and 7

In this first volume you will find activities so that children can practice writing all the letters.

After practicing the tracing of each font, you will find two additional exercises to practice the spelling or sound of each letter.

This is a book that has been re viewed by educators and child psychologists .

Thriving with dyslexia is a challenge that requires patience and perseverance. Carrying out day-to-day activities with the child is key to improving their writing and reading skills.

Each child is a totally different world and each child needs a particular help.

All children with dyslexia have something in common and that is that they require different ways of learning than the traditional ones . This is why you have to give them more time so that they can learn and also give them emotional support and a multisensory teaching method that provides them with different stimuli so that they can integrate their basic skills.

This is a wookbook that will help the dyslexic children in the company of an educator or an adult to guide them to practice writing and to develop certain skills with the exercises it contains.

It is important to follow the following recommendations when practicing dyslexia exercises with children:

Always be positive and always constructive. Keep in mind that the dyslexic child may have a difficult time doing things perfectly. Be patient.

Never judge the capabilities of the child. Always accept what she is doing and congratulate her. A small step that you consider insignificant for the dyslexic child can be quite a challenge.

Congratulate her strengths, their efforts, and her progress in furthering her learning.

Issues instructions clearly and simply.

In this book and the other volumes you have a multitude of different exercises and activities to help dyslexic children .

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Writing Workbook for Kids with Dyslexia. 100 activities to improve writing and reading skills of dyslexic children. Volume 1

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Writing Workbook for Kids with Dyslexia. 100 activities to improve writing and reading skills of dyslexic children. Volume 1 [BrainChild] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Writing Workbook for Kids with Dyslexia. 100 activities to improve writing and reading skills of dyslexic children. Volume 1

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Is Structured Literacy enough for a child with dyslexia? #dyslexia #structuredliteracy

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By Louise Spear-Swerling, PhD

Recently the topic of Structured Literacy™ teaching has sparked considerable interest. Educators and parents often have questions about this approach:

What does it involve?

How is it different from the ways that children are usually taught to read?

Why is it effective for children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties?

Here is an explanation of what structured literacy means and why schools should use it.
What Is Structured Literacy?
Structured literacy (SL) approaches emphasize highly explicit and systematic teaching of all important components of literacy. These components include both foundational skills (e.g., decoding, spelling) and higher-level literacy skills (e.g., reading comprehension, written expression). SL also emphasizes oral language abilities essential to literacy development, including phonemic awareness, sensitivity to speech sounds in oral language, and the ability to manipulate those sounds.

Explicit teaching means that teachers clearly explain and model key skills; they do not expect children to infer these skills only from exposure. Systematic means that there is a well-organized sequence of instruction, with important prerequisite skills taught before more advanced skills. For instance, children master decoding and spelling simpler consonant-vowel-consonant words (e.g., tap) with short vowel sounds before learning more complex short-vowel words (e.g., stamp or tapped) with consonant blends or affixes.

Explicit, systematic teaching requires teacher-led instruction. Teacher-led instruction also enables educators to provide prompt, targeted feedback in response to children's mistakes, another characteristic of SL. For example, suppose that children are practicing reading words with short vowel sounds and consonant blends (e.g., stamp) aloud, and a child misreads stamp as stump. Rather than just telling the child the word, the teacher might point to the vowel to draw the child's attention to it. If that cue did not help, the teacher would provide additional feedback focused on the child's specific error (e.g., "short sound for a is pronounced /ă/ ").

...the emphasis is on patterns rather than specific words. This is because the teacher is trying to foster a decoding (and encoding) process or strategy-instead of teaching children to memorize individual words by overall visual appearance.

Structured literacy approaches use books and other instructional materials that lend themselves to this kind of teaching. Educators teach from a sequence of phonics materials proceeding from use of simpler to more complex patterns. Children read books containing the phonics word patterns they have been taught. Reading of texts and phonics instruction are coordinated so that as children's decoding skills develop, they are able to read increasingly complex texts. Similarly, spelling is coordinated with decoding, so that each reinforces the other.

Here is an example of coordination of decoding and spelling. Suppose that beginning decoders are learning to decode simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words such as tap, win, or fit. Their spelling instruction would employ similar CVC word patterns, such as nag, sip, and hat. Notice that the emphasis is on patterns rather than specific words. This is because the teacher is trying to foster a decoding (and encoding) process or strategy-instead of teaching children to memorize individual words by overall visual appearance.

Figure 1 provides one example of a structured literacy activity for decoding and spelling, a phoneme-grapheme mapping task. The teacher dictates a chain of patterned words for children to spell in a grid, one word at a time, with one phoneme (speech sound) per box. (For decoding, the teacher can write the words and have children decode them.) The chain involves a variety of single-phoneme changes in words, not just changes in the first phoneme (spelling) or grapheme (decoding).

Words in the chain are carefully chosen. All are phonetically regular and involve only letter-sound (grapheme-phoneme) relationships children have been taught. For example, in the second row of the grid, tar would not be an appropriate choice to follow tap, because tar contains a vowel- r pattern ( ar) with a different vowel sound that children have not been taught at this early stage.

This SL activity and other similar activities promote careful attention to all the letters in a word-and all the phonemes they represent. They help children to grasp the alphabetic principle-the idea that reading involves a code in which sounds in spoken words map onto letters (graphemes) in printed words-as well as to develop strong phonemic awareness, decoding, and spelling skills.

They help children to grasp the alphabetic principle-the idea that reading involves a code in which sounds in spoken words map onto letters (graphemes) in printed words-as well as to develop strong phonemic awareness, decoding, and spelling skills.

A number of instructional programs and approaches have the features of SL. There is not one "best" SL approach for all children with dyslexia or other learning problems. Still, some instructional approaches and materials are simply incompatible with SL. Unfortunately, many of these are widely used in schools.
How Is Literacy Usually Taught?
Literacy instruction in many schools is not highly explicit or systematic. Important foundational skills (e.g., phonemic awareness and decoding) often receive limited emphasis, even for beginners or struggling decoders (Moats, 2017).

Literacy instruction in many schools is not highly explicit or systematic. Important foundational skills (e.g., phonemic awareness and decoding) often receive limited emphasis, even for beginners or struggling decoders (Moats, 2017).

Typical literacy instruction frequently uses loosely structured types of approaches, such as "reader's workshop" or "writer's workshop." Considerable classroom time is spent having children work independently on reading and writing tasks of their own choosing. Teachers do supervise this work and spend time "conferencing" with individual children. However, the way that instruction is organized means that time for teacher-led, explicit instruction is minimal.

Another key problem is that commonly used instructional materials do not lend themselves to explicit, systematic teaching of important foundational components of literacy. These problems may undermine the effectiveness even of a highly capable teacher.

For example, many schools do not provide teachers with a systematic phonics program and accompanying sets of words, texts, and materials. It is very difficult to teach phonics well, especially to large groups of children or those who struggle, without appropriate instructional materials.

Many schools do not provide teachers with a systematic phonics program and accompanying sets of words, texts, and materials. It is very difficult to teach phonics well, especially to large groups of children or those who struggle, without appropriate instructional materials.

Instead, teachers may be told to post "word walls" in the classroom; these "word walls" often contain common words that vary greatly in spelling patterns and pronunciation. (See Figure 2.) Some words (e.g., are, again) are irregular (i.e., exceptions to phonics generalizations). Other words are regular, but involve a wide range of patterns, including some difficult ones for beginners (e.g., two-syllable words like better). These kinds of materials do not help children understand the predictability of phonics patterns in words. Instead, they encourage memorization of whole words, a strategy that will not help children learn to read well in the long run.
More About Phonics in Typical Literacy Instruction
A frequent response from schools using typical literacy practices is, "But we do teach phonics!" This is generally true. However, in addition to limited emphasis and lack of explicitness, there are other problems with phonics instruction in many schools.

Research over the past couple of decades has suggested that, although any phonics is better than no phonics at all, certain types of phonics approaches are more effective than others. Specifically, an initial phoneme-grapheme level approach-that is characteristic of structured literacy-is more effective than a larger-unit phonics approach such as onset-rime, analytic phonics, or word families. (See Brady, 2011, for a review.) Typical literacy instruction often favors a larger unit approach to phonics.

Following are examples of how different phonics approaches might teach children to decode an unfamiliar word such as stack:

In a word families approach, children would learn to decode stack by comparing it to a known word such as back.

In an onset-rime approach, children would learn the sound for two parts of the word, the onset (st→/st/) and the rime (-ack→/ăk/). They would then blend the two parts to form the word (/st/) →/ăk/)→/stack/).

In a phoneme-grapheme level approach, children would learn sounds for the graphemes that represent each phoneme (s→/s/ t→/t/ a→/ă/and ck→/k/), then how to blend all four parts into a whole word (/s/ /t//ă/ /k/ →/stack/.

Research over the past couple of decades has suggested that, although any phonics is better than no phonics at all, certain types of phonics approaches are more effective than others. Specifically, an initial phoneme-grapheme level approach-that is characteristic of structured literacy-is more effective than a larger-unit phonics approach such as onset-rime, analytic phonics, or word families. (See Brady, 2011, for a review.) Typical literacy instruction often favors a larger unit approach to phonics.

Why is an initial phoneme-grapheme level phonics approach generally preferable to other phonics approaches? One reason may be that the phoneme-grapheme approach promotes closer attention to spelling (grapheme) and speech sound (phoneme) sequences in words than do other phonics approaches. Careful attention to letter sequences in words is fundamental for developing good decoding skills. Also, this approach generally includes explicit teaching of phoneme segmentation and blending, important phonemic awareness skills-foundational skills for both spelling and decoding.

In a phoneme-grapheme level approach, children would eventually learn to attend to larger patterns in words, including common orthographic patterns, such as graphemes (e.g., ar, ee, au, igh) and morphemes (e.g., common roots/base elements, prefixes, and suffixes). Some very common morphemes (e.g., ​-ing, ​-ed​ [​​indicating tense​]​) often would be taught relatively early. However, an emphasis on larger units mostly comes later, as children advance to more complex words, rather than at the very beginning of phonics teaching. Furthermore, all of these elements-phonemes, graphemes, and morphemes-would be taught in an explicit, systematic way.

In addition to basic phonics instruction, children need to practice applying their phonics skills while reading texts (Foorman et al., 2016). While their decoding is still developing-and particularly for children who struggle with decoding-oral reading of texts with teacher guidance and feedback is essential. Texts should include many words that children can decode. Otherwise, children may just guess at words.

In addition to basic phonics instruction, children need to practice applying their phonics skills while reading texts (Foorman et al., 2016). While their decoding is still developing-and particularly for children who struggle with decoding-oral reading of texts with teacher guidance and feedback is essential.

Unfortunately, in typical literacy instruction, children often read leveled or predictable texts. These texts use many words that poor decoders cannot read, with pictures that usually encourage guessing.

For instance, a predictable text about a child getting ready to go to school in the morning might have sentences such as William found his lunch, William found his crayons, and William found his backpack, with accompanying pictures of William getting his lunch, crayons, and backpack. With words spelled with varied and relatively complex phonics patterns, and pictures that enable guessing, this type of text does not encourage children to look carefully at the letters in words to decode them-and the letters and their sequence are what make one word different from another.

Teacher feedback to children's decoding errors also matters. This feedback should emphasize attention to the print and application of decoding skills, as would occur as part of a structured literacy approach. However, many teachers are trained to believe that small errors such as reading a for the or this for that can be ignored, because they do not greatly alter meaning (Spear-Swerling, 2018). Nevertheless, beyond the earliest grades, good readers decode with a very high degree of accuracy and do not make frequent errors of this type (e.g., Daane, Campbell, Grigg, Goodman & Oranje, 2005).

Are there children who learn to read well with typical literacy practices? Certainly. However, the typical literacy practices outlined in this section are not nearly as effective for children with dyslexia and other literacy difficulties as are structured literacy practices (Fletcher, Lyon, Fuchs, & Barnes, 2018; Foorman et al., 2016; International Dyslexia Association, 2017).
Why Is Structured Literacy Effective?
First, SL explicitly and effectively addresses foundational literacy skills, a core need of children with dyslexia as well as many other struggling students. Also, in all components of literacy, SL emphasizes teaching that is clear, systematic, and unambiguous to the learner-all important qualities for students experiencing difficulty.

Finally, SL instruction can be very engaging to struggling students. Explicit teaching has been criticized as "drill and kill" that dulls interest and creativity, with typical literacy practices presented as inherently more engaging to children. Little research supports this view (Archer & Hughes, 2011).

Reading children's literature with beautiful pictures or extended opportunities to write for pleasure can indeed be motivating-but not for students who cannot decode or write well enough to enjoy them. Helping children to succeed at literacy is a key way to motivate and engage them, as well as to prepare them for ongoing, higher-level literacy learning.

Reading children's literature with beautiful pictures or extended opportunities to write for pleasure can indeed be motivating-but not for students who cannot decode or write well enough to enjoy them. Helping children to succeed at literacy is a key way to motivate and engage them, as well as to prepare them for ongoing, higher-level literacy learning.
Moving Forward
Structured literacy approaches are much more successful than many typical literacy practices for meeting the needs of children with dyslexia and other literacy problems. SL prioritizes teacher-led, explicit instruction in all important components of literacy. Initial phonics instruction uses a phoneme-grapheme (encoding) and grapheme-phoneme (decoding) level approach. Texts and other materials are well coordinated with the phonics program.

If educators are prepared to implement this kind of instruction, and are given appropriate instructional materials, they can reach a much wider range of children than with typical literacy practices. Virtually all teachers want to be effective with their students. Let's give them the knowledge and tools to do so.
References
Archer, A., & Hughes, C. (2011). Explicit instruction: Effective and efficient teaching. New York, NY: Guilford.

Brady, S. (2011). Efficacy of phonics teaching for reading outcomes: Indications from post-NRP research. In S. Brady, D. Braze, & C. Fowler (Eds.), Explaining individual differences in reading: Theory and evidence (pp. 69-96). New York, NY: Psychology Press.

Daane, M. C., Campbell, J. R., Grigg, W. S., Goodman, M. J., & Oranje, A. (2005). F ourth-grade students reading aloud: NAEP 2002 Special Study of Oral Reading (NCES 2006-469). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

Fletcher, J. M., Lyon, G. R., Fuchs, L. S., & Barnes, M. A. (2018). Learning disabilities: From identification to intervention (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.

Foorman, B., Beyler, N., Borradaile, K., Coyne, M., Denton, C. A., Dimino, J.,...Wagner, R. (2016). Foundational skills to support reading for understanding in kindergarten through 3rd grade (NCEE 2016-4008). U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

International Dyslexia Association. (2017). Effective reading instruction for students with dyslexia (fact sheet). Retrieved fromhttps://dyslexiaida.org/effective-reading-instruction/

Moats, L. C. (2017). Can prevailing approaches to reading instruction accomplish the goals of RTI? Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 43, 15-22.

Spear-Swerling, L. (2018). Structured literacy and typical literacy practices: Understanding differences to create instructional opportunities. Teaching Exceptional Children, 51, 201-211.

Louise Spear-Swerling, Ph.D., is Professor Emerita in the Department of Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University. She has prepared both general and special educators to teach literacy for many years. Dr. Spear-Swerling helped to write IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading. Her most recent book, published by Brookes, is The Power of RTI and Reading Profiles: A Blueprint for Solving Reading Problems.
Copyright © 2019 International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Opinions expressed in The Examiner and/or via links do not necessarily reflect those of IDA. We encourage sharing of Examiner articles. If portions are cited, please make appropriate reference. Articles may not be reprinted for the purpose of resale. Permission to republish this article is available from info@dyslexia.org.

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Here's Why Schools Should Use Structured Literacy - International Dyslexia Association

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Share This: By Louise Spear-Swerling, PhD Recently the topic of Structured Literacy™ teaching has sparked considerable interest. Educators and parents often have questions about this approach: What does it involve? How is it different from the ways that children are usually taught to read? Why is it effective for children with dyslexia and other learning difficulties?

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9 Educational Resources for Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia

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9 Educational Resources for Students with Dyslexia and Dysgraphia

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9 Educational Resources for Students with Dyslexia | OrCam

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The best educational websites about dyslexia listed. For parents and teachers, this educational website will help you to understand people with dyslexia.