Reading Wars are Pointless After thirty-five years of teaching reading, I can absolutely say we need to quit fighting over which method is “the science of reading” or “research-based.” Information on reading outcomes for every imaginable method is available if you care to read it. I have. I actually enjoy reading dissertations and meta-studies. Weird, […]
Because it’s teaching to the weakness, not to the strength Rote memory comes hard for those with dyslexia. However, I’ve known many students who put in phenomenal effort to memorize all the letter sounds, blends, syllables, and rules of the English language. Unfortunately, the payoff was NOT carefree easy reading! Automatic word recognition just didn’t […]
Expanded Edition Dyslexia Tool Kit Expanded Edition: What to do when phonics isn’t enough, published April 2021, replaces the first edition and costs less! The book is available on Amazon as an ebook or paperback. Dyslexia Tool Kit Expanded Edition includes three new chapters. The new version also answers questions posed by readers of the […]
What is Phonics? Phonics is linking speech sounds (phonemes) to letters and groups of letters, providing a way to decode written text. More than Phonics May be Needed Education wars erupt between those who favor phonics and those who favor whole language approaches. For the sake of students with dyslexia, it’s essential to use both! […]
The Third Grade Wall I’m a dyslexia tutor. I get most of my new students around third grade. Why? Because they hit the “third-grade wall.” The wall refers to what happens to bright curious kids with dyslexia when the learn-to-read stage of school ends and the read-to-learn expectations start. The wall shuts them out of […]
Talk About Dyslexia A huge mastodon stomps around in the dyslexia education living room. Schools in the United States have done a surprisingly poor job of addressing it. Even though about 15% of students are dyslexic, dyslexia accommodation isn’t part of the regular classroom. Instead, students with the lowest reading scores are pulled out into […]
Kindle Fire + Dyslexia The new version of the Kindle Fire tablet comes with Immersion Reading. “Fire tablets can synchronize Kindle text with companion Audible audiobooks with real-time highlighting to create a more immersive reading experience, as well as deepen learning and comprehension. More than 60,000 Kindle books and companion Audible audiobooks are available across […]
My Dyslexic Student is Stuck; Now What? This post responds to a question from Jennifer Plosz, the Canadian educator doing brilliant groundbreaking work in visual math for dyslexics. She used tools like tracking, scanning, and silent reading first, from my book, Dyslexia Tool Kit Expanded Edition: What to do when phonics isn’t enough, to help […]