User:Bob C. Cleckler

Hi, Bob.

I'll do my best to explain, but I would suggest you look at some of the research literature about effective instruction for dyslexics. There are many experts who can explain this much better than I ever could.

The big issue with fluency for these kids, both in reading and spelling, is that they do not naturally construct an understanding of language patterns purely from exposure as       most typically developing readers do. You cannot expect these kids to memorize a significant number of words by sight. They have to be explicitly and systematically taught the rules and patterns of the English language. They need to understand how the patterns work and what they mean so that they can think about them and talk about them. This means you have to "teach to their intellect" -- and they need to learn the metalanguage we use to talk about language.

But, essentially, what is required is to explicitly teach not just phonics, but the actual structure and patterns of the language, such as syllable and morphological patterns and their relationship to spelling. These things can be taught to very young students --- k-2 --- especially if using multisensory methods to help with retention. As kids get a little older, they should also be instructed in the basics of English word origin so that they can predict the spelling and morphological building blocks of more sophisticated vocabulary.

If it sounds like the kids are learning basic linguistics, you're right. They are, although with age-appropriate vocabulary instead of college level linguistic vocab (eg, root words, word endings, etc). They are very capable of doing so, and it's pretty easy to make it fun for them!

As they learn and master the patterns, they can generalize those patterns from one word or word family to another. For example, when looking at the morphological elements, you teach root words and patterns like -tion. Analyze a number of words using these patterns and then when they see another word with that root or the -tion ending, they are able to apply the specific skill they were taught, first with prompting, then on their own, and then you work with them to generalize the skills to their subject classes (history, etc).

Learning the language patterns is their salvation. Otherwise, they *would* have to memorize every word individually.

Fluency in reading connected text is a different matter, and there are methods that can be used to address this (such as repeated reading).

To learn more about building fluent word recognition in struggling readers, here are a few resources. There are many more, of course, but these are among the best.


 * Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print, Marilyn Jager Adams
 * Multisensory Teaching of Basic Language Skills, Judith Birsch
 * Dyslexia: Theory and Practice of Remedial Instruction, Diana Clark and Joanna Uhry
 * Unlocking Literacy: Effective Decoding and Spelling Instruction, Marcia Henry
 * English Isn't Crazy! The Elements of our Language and How to Teach Them, Diana Hanbury King
 * Speech to Print, Louisa Cook Moats
 * Overcoming Dyslexia, Sally Shaywitz

Hope this helps,

Best,

Rosmoran 02:25, 9 August 2007 (UTC)