What is Structured Literacy?
Reading
Our literacy therapy uses the research-backed Structured Literacy/Orton-Gillingham approach in order to provide lessons that are...
- Systematic - Lessons are taught in a specific order, building from easier to more difficult.
- Explicit - Students are directly taught what they need to know for each lesson. There is no guessing about what their therapist is wanting them to do!
- Cumulative - Lessons build on each other and frequently review previously taught concepts.
- Diagnostic - Student needs and challenges are informally assessed throughout each lesson and formally assessed periodically.
- Prescriptive - Lessons are adjusted in real time, as well as future lessons, based on the diagnostic assessments.
- Multisensory - Students incorporate visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic teaching tools throughout the sessions.
- Phonics-based - Lessons are founded on the basics of phonemic awareness and phonics to provide students a solid foundation in letters and sounds.
Spelling
Spelling can be a challenge even for students who read well. As always, we use a Structured Literacy approach to spelling in order to help students understand WHY English words are spelled the way they are. We teach them the rules and patterns in English and continously practice applying those patterns and rules. High frequency words (sight words) are taught by noticing which part of the word is "regular" and which part is "irregular" and focusing on how to spell these words. We do not simply "memorize" them!
Handwriting
Students learn proper letter formation, as needed, to build automaticity in writing. This helps them be able to focus on other aspects of literacy (spelling, punctuation, content) because their handwriting will become automatic with practice and within the spelling and writing process.
