Dyslexia is a neurological language-based learning disability. Several legislative bills related to dyslexia have recently been introduced in the United States so dyslexia can be understood and interventions in reading instruction can be provided. Studies have shown measurable improvements in the language areas of the brain's left hemisphere after…

This article shares the authors' work with first graders and how, through various reading, writing, and art experiences around picturebooks, the children learned to read and communicate through art along with written language. The work is grounded in multimodality theory and the belief that all modes (particularly art for the purposes of this…

Based on a first grade teacher's search for approaches to promote successful reading acquisition in her first grade classroom, the authors present a curricular engagement in which the teacher explored using music, specifically singing songs, as a fun and motivating way to accelerate reading progress. The premise is that singing (while at the…

Reading standards are regarded by many as the true yardstick by which to measure school effectiveness, and the relative standards achieved by different generations are often debated by adults. Some young people do not perceive reading to be of anything like such importance, however, using digital communication habitually and easily. Each year a…

Research has demonstrated a strong positive correlation between behavior problems and low academic achievement. Student success and/or failures are in large part determined by how well teachers provide effective instruction to their students. This article overviews key behavior-management approaches related to academic and behavioral success that…

This paper proposes a technique for teaching decoding of the Arabic language to Arab dyslexic students following the multisensory, systematic, explicit phonics approach and based in part on the Orton-Gillingham approach. This technique emphasizes vocabulary controlled, font-modified, cumulative, color-coded reading materials, and orthographic…

The article describes the Alphabetic Phonics Teacher Training Programs which focuses on incorporating multisensory instruction with a more "old-fashioned" phonics-first basic presentation of reading for dyslexic children. Suggestions are made for infusing the approach into the regular classroom and into teacher preparation programs. (CL)

In this interview, Dave Krupke, retired speech-language pathologist in the Davenport, Iowa public schools, describes "See The Sound/Visual Phonics," whose shortened name is "Visual Phonics," and its use with struggling readers and students with communication disabilities. What distinguishes See The Sound/Visual Phonics from…

The paper reports on multisensory approaches to reading instruction of learning disabled children. G. Fernald's "tracing" method, also known as the V-A-K-T method, is described and research questioning its effectiveness is cited. Next, the Adapted Fernald Technique (AFT) which requires the student to write, illustrate, read and reread…

This case study describes different traditional and sensory approaches to reading which were tried unsuccessfully with Jim, a third-grade nonreader, until a breakthrough was made by teaching him Exact English Signing. The author speculates that other techniques, such as braille, might also help the learning disabled. (SJL)

The Fernald Technique (originated by G. Fernald), which is a multi-modal approach involving tracing, is one method of teaching reading to learning disabled students. (Author/PHR)

Describes a multisensory reading program for teaching beginning reading to general education students. The program's main feature is that students learn to read by seeing, hearing, saying, and signing words. Pretesting and posttesting of participating kindergartners indicated that signing greatly enhanced the ability of hearing students to retain…

Multisensory approaches and learning styles theories have been found to be effective in developing strategies to teach diverse learners in the elementary school setting. This paper examines how learning styles theory is related to multisensory approaches to teaching, describes a multisensory approach and the reading styles method, and discusses…

Describes the "Indirect Learning" (IDL) system, a speaking-computer-based multisensory system for teaching literacy skills of reading and spelling in children aged 6 upwards and adults, produced by Starcross. IDL measures how effectively the system remediated the reading and spelling in children and adults with poor phonological skills…

The instructional materials for inservice teacher education that are described here focus on five different approaches to teaching reading--phonetics, multisensory, linguistic, language experience, and sight. The program stresses that no one approach is best for all children. This descriptive report provides information on the purposes and content…