Teaching Reading

These are my favorite resources for teaching reading to kids with dyslexia.  Some of these programs come in book form, some are computerized and some involve the hiring of a certified tutor or educational therapist.  I have personal experience with every program mentioned here.

All About Reading: A complete program that teaches phonics, decoding, fluency and comprehension in a fun way.  This program, as are all of the programs on this page, multi-sensory, Orton-Gillingham based approach.  Lessons are in an ‘open and go’ format so there is very little teacher prep needed.  Excellent customer support and 100% guaranteed. Read my Review  II  Shop for All About Reading

All About Spelling: From the makers of All About Reading (above).  All About Spelling teaches encoding skills, spelling rules and multi-sensory strategies to help your student remember what they are learning.  Easy to use and easy to get help from the extensive customer support articles and forums.

Logic of English: A very thorough, easy-to-use reading program based on the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading.  Foundations level for children ages 4-7 has many highly multi-sensory teaching ideas and includes instruction in cursive or manuscript (whichever you prefer).  Essentials level for children 8+ contains 3 levels so that instruction can be tailored to your child’s needs.  Can be used for several years in a row using the higher levels.  Includes study of Greek and Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes.  An excellent, well-rounded program.  Read my Review II Shop for Logic of English

Reading Horizons: I highly recommend the Reading Horizons Elevate Program for the older struggling reader.  It is an online, self-directed way to learn the fundamental skills of reading.  Starts at the beginning and provides review for any ‘gaps’ in your child’s skills without any ‘babyish’ graphics.  Excellent option for the older struggling reader. Read my review   II  Shop for Reading Horizons

Barton: Another one-on-one reading tutoring system, completely scripted for easy parent use and Orton-Gillingham based.

Rewards: An intervention program for reading and writing designed for grades 6 and up.  An excellent resource to increase fluency rates, deepen comprehension and increase precision in sentence writing.

AVKO spelling: Teaches spelling by teaching the patterns of spelling.  Some kids do better with this approach to spelling instruction.

I dug through my reading resources and pulled out some resources to add into my daily instruction of both of my young boys who are not yet reading fluently.

An informal literacy assessment is any type of test that you can use with a child to help you observe his/her understanding about literacy concepts.

Here is a list of FREE literacy assessments:

• Book & Print Awareness Assessment: (designed for beginning readers)
• Cool Tools: An a.m.a.z.i.n.g. collection of assessments for phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, & comprehension!
• Jennings Informal Reading Assessment: This informal reading assessment includes word lists, reading passages, and comprehension questions for grades K-8.
• Running Records: a great go-to resource with helpful tips

Spelling Inventories from Words Their Way: this is such a thorough, yet quick way to assess exactly what your child understands about phonics. There are three different leveled spelling lists, ranging from K to high school.

• Primary Spelling Inventory: 26 words, appropriate for K through 3rd grade
• Elementary Spelling Inventory: 25 words, appropriate for first grades through fifth grades
• Upper-Level Spelling Inventory: 31 words, appropriate for upper elementary, middle, high school, & post-secondary levels.