"The ants invited the kitchen" and other myths.

Or, does "the ants invaded the kitchen" make more sense?

Reading is a skill that does not come naturally or easily for the one-in-five that have dyslexia. The ability to break words into separate sounds is impaired. If you are someone who experiences this challenge, you do your best to appear to be reading just fine.

Enter....guessing.

In the Barton program I utilize with my students, Books 1 - 4 are a foundational block for learning phonemic awareness, blending of simple words as well as the introduction to the first of many Spelling and Reading Rules that are so important. Important for understanding and retention.

We began utilizing Controlled Text. Controlled text are stories written with a majority of the word-types and catagories that we are learning at the moment. Students get the opportunity to read words that they have the tools to decode comfortably and with confidence.

By the end of each lesson, a new reading skill is acheived and reading the Controlled Text stories at the end of each Lesson is invaluable. Here they find familar words they have seen and have been working with, making it fairly easy to read, gaining the beginnings of fluency.

Some cirriculums use context to assist with reading. Instead of articulating each sound as we do in our structured reading program, students are encouraged to guess the word based on illustrations or perhaps from the context of the rest of the story. For dyslexic students, this becomes an easy-out for getting the reading done, appearing to know what they are reading.

I you are noticing that your child is struggling with reading and falling into the "guessing habit," it could be indicating that there is a disconnect from being able to see words as separate phonemes. Please educate yourself on dyslexia, asking questions. Is there anyone in the family that has been diagnosed as dyslexic or suspected of having dyslexia?

If I can be of any assistance, please visit my website www.skywordtutoring.com and go to my Connect page. Leave me a note and I will get back to you!

Sedum 'Purple Emporer'