Educators across the country are shining a spotlight on Structured Literacy™. The term Structured Literacy™, created by the International Dyslexia Association in 2016, brings a modern name to the approaches we have known in the past as Orton-Gillingham, multi-sensory, and/or explicit phonics instruction.
It is an exciting time for all of us who know in our hearts and have seen the proof that an explicit, cumulative approach to teaching reading is what will help our children find success. The Institute for Multi-Sensory Education has championed this approach for the last 25 years.
Teachers leave our sessions with a multitude of multi-sensory approaches to listening, speaking, reading and writing that are often used as intervention or add-ons to core curriculums.
In rural Alabama, we met a Kindergarten teacher who said her ELL students are finally retaining concepts — despite speaking little to no English at home — after she introduced Orton-Gillingham techniques. A special education teacher in Maryland said three of her students’ assessment scores jumped from 57, 28 and 14 percent to 100, 100 and 95 percent, respectively, in just three months. In New Jersey, a literacy coach tracked one and a half years’ worth of growth in a year’s time as her students jumped from Level B to Level G on the Fountas and Pinnell scale.
We’re seeing an increased focus on education across the U.S. with state-level legislation focused on expanding resources and intervention efforts. Georgia’s governor in May signed into law a bill requiring universal Kindergarten dyslexia screening within five years. Similar bills have been proposed in Montana, New York and North Dakota, among other states.
Looking forward to the 2019-2020 school year, I’m thrilled to introduce practice books that allow teachers, parents, and administrators to track students’ growth. As I worked with school districts across the U.S., I spoke with far too many educators who didn’t have access to paper or dedicated notebooks for children. Students weren’t writing enough, and there wasn’t enough data to measure advancement from the beginning to end of any given school year.
The IMSE Practice Books are a one-stop shop to assess the breadth and depth of what children are learning while giving students space to apply the skills you’ve taught them. Once children know four letters, they can start writing words. With nine letters, they can write sentences. Practice books offer reviews at key junctures to ensure children have truly mastered spelling, reading and fluency skills, and are ready to tackle the next lesson.
At the Institute for Multi-Sensory Education, we’re dedicated to supporting teachers and will never stop innovating. We’re always listening to classroom teachers, conducting research with university partners, and hiring and training new instructors to meet your needs. We want you to feel supported, and we are here for you!
Cheers to another great school year!
Best,
Jeanne Jeup, Co-Founder
Institute for Multi-Sensory Education
Please connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest to get tips and tricks from your peers and us. Read the IMSE Journal to hear success stories from other schools and districts, and be sure to read the OG Weekly email series for refreshers and tips.