Structured Literacy is a teaching approach that uses evidence-based reading and writing methods. This approach directly teaches the structure of words in the English language so that students master the coding system for reading and spelling. It is specifically designed for individuals who have difficulty with written language in the areas of decoding and spelling, often due to dyslexia and dysgraphia.
DIRECT: Students learn using direct, interactive, and multi-sensory learning, addressing the concepts that govern the structure of written English.
STRUCTURED: The scope and sequence guides the student through the steps of decoding and encoding, teaching them to learn, practice and apply in a systematic manner, beginning with easier concepts and then moving to more diffiuclt concepts.
CUMULATIVE: Each concept builds on the one before it. Students work from sounds to syllables, words to sentences, and paragraphs to stories, learning the structure of English through consistent repetition, practice and review.
MULTISENSORY: Lessons are interactive and are designed to fully engage students. Students learn by hearing and processing sounds; manipulating color-coded sounds, syllables and words; tapping and segmenting sounds as they read and spell; writing down spoken words/spelling; reading aloud and repeating what they have read in their own words. Skills are reinforced through visual, auditory, kinesthetic and tactile senses.
INTEGRATED: These methods are organized around the six syllable types found in English. Lessons cover the specific concepts being taught, with prior lessons being reinforced. Materials and texts are phonetically controlled, containing word lists, sentences, and paragraphs that incorporate the elements of word structure taught in or up to the corresponding lesson. Children are not presented with sounds or words that they have never practiced, until they are ready to do so. As the child increases their ability to decode fluently, additional types of text and passages are used to learn new vocabulary and practice with non-controlled text.
If your child has a language processing and/or language expression difficulties, I will use evidence based strategies and methods to improve their processing of auditory information, improve grammar and syntax concerns, improve reading comprehension and inferencing skills, increase higher level vocabulary, improve organization and fluency of written expression skills, and improve social pragmatic skills.