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Understanding Your Child's Reading Program

Hello Parents,

If your child is at a dyslexic school or has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) specifically for reading difficulties, it's crucial to ensure their reading progress meets expectations. There are key elements to focus on with intervention programs, whether at school or through a tutor after school.

Critical Observations:

• Program Steps: Each reading intervention program has specific steps that must be followed. From my experience, tutors and some dyslexic schools often follow only parts they prefer, which can hinder progress.

• Program Variety: Tutors may use different systems, such as Barton, PAF Reading Program, and Wilson. One crucial discovery was that the end-of-unit testing is often neglected, impacting the child's progression. Schools and tutors may move on to the next lesson without confirming mastery of the unit lesson, resulting in students with many holes in their phonemic awareness.

• Complete Activities: Programs like Wilson include many moving parts, including workbooks, which are often overlooked. They also have flashcards. Schools should purchase these materials for the students' use, so parents can see the whole picture of where the student is going. I had no idea Wilson had a workbook or flash card for students. It was not until I took the Wilson training that I was shocked at what was being left out of my children's daily lessons. Non-master teachers' lack of comprehensive teaching can limit the program's effectiveness.  

Action Points for Parents:

1. Know the Program: Familiarize yourself with the reading program your child is using. Understand the steps and components involved. Know what a daily lesson should look like.  A great example of this is Redwood Learning.  I was blown away when I saw Kait Feriante teaching a Wilson lesson on YouTube.  I could not find the video, but if you click the link, it will take you to the Redwood Learning YouTube page. If I can find it, I will update the link.

2. Engage with Learning Materials: Review the workbooks and teaching books, which often contain snapshots of lesson expectations.  Buy the curriculum from the company your child's school or tutor is using.  You will be shocked at all the parts the school may not use.  This may be fine for some students, but something is wrong if you do not see true reading progress! 

3. Decodable Reading: Ensure your child engages with decodable reading material from their current learning unit, rather than just reading any book for a set time.  PAF Reading Programs has decodable books to buy. Wilson has a spot on their website where teachers can download decodable stories at a lesson level.  There are many decodable books on Amazon now, too.

By taking these steps, you'll be better equipped to determine whether you and the school can support your child's reading journey. Remember, no one cares as much as you do about your child's ability to learn to read.

Take care and stay tuned for more insights next week.

If you have questions, you can reach out on Instagram or my website.

Best,

The Dyslexic Upgrade