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Teachers, are you looking for tips for lesson planning, multi-sensory teaching, and organization? You’re in the right place! We have so many tips for teachers and trainings to share.
The world of Orton-Gillingham teacher training programs can be a bit confusing for those who are new on the scene. Although there are numerous training programs that are based on Orton Gillingham, what is sometimes referred to as “straight Orton Gillingham” is not a program, but a group of principles underlying the practice of teaching…
Tyler’s classroom teacher shows you his latest writing assignment. He scored 100% on his latest posttest on structured literacy concepts, but his writing sample is full of errors. Despite all the practice on the k/ck spelling rule, he has not applied it here even once. You pop into Camryn’s classroom during reading time and despite…
For many years, those of us who work with striving readers and writers have known that certain strategies or techniques, like repeated practice, are effective, but we haven’t really been able to tell WHY. We’ve known that students with dyslexia often have a pattern of areas of weakness in their psychological testing. We have theories…
Teaching to mastery is one of the most important considerations when teaching your students with dyslexia. Striving readers and writers very often find the class and instruction moving forward before they have had a chance to master new concepts. This results in learning gaps. When I encountered this in pupils at school, I would describe…
Late summer means cooler evenings, and back to school. Even for the most seasoned teachers, back to school this year presents many new challenges. Nerves and uncertainty dull the shine of freshly sharpened pencils and new sneakers. The excitement of seeing friends is confused by social distancing requirements, separated cohorts, and face coverings. And holding…
When you’re the parent of a child with a diagnosis like dyslexia, everything can feel overwhelming. Relief over finally having answers and a plan for helping your child can swiftly turn into a feeling of being unprepared. Parents often find themselves faced with an abundance of new information, unfamiliar terms in both legalese and “teacherese”…
Multisensory teaching is a key element of instruction for students with dyslexia. Orton Gillingham has become synonymous with multisensory instruction, but let’s review what multisensory actually means. Multisensory teaching engages multiple senses for the student to support their learning. Ideally, this would involve the senses of sight, hearing and touch or movement. When I am…
If you’re feeling overwhelmed by teaching online, you are NOT alone. It IS overwhelming. Your planning make take longer. There’s technology that may be new to you. Your emotions towards teaching may be a very mixed bag. Let me tell you. Every feeling you have is valid. Recently, I reached out to Nancy Young. You…
The road you take to become a structured literacy interventionist can take many twists and turns throughout your career. Who I am today is certainly not the young, impressionable twenty-two-year-old in her first year of teaching back in 2000. If I could talk to that young teacher now, I would definitely have some advice to…