IS THERE A ‘BEST’ PRACTICE WHEN IT COMES TO LITERACY?
Yes! The National Reading Panel in 2000 concluded that the most effective way to teach reading is through explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. These components form the foundation of evidence-based reading instruction and continue to be recognized as best practice for helping most children learn to read successfully.
Current research shows that while the human brain is hardwired to speak, it is not preprogrammed to read. For this reason, learning to read requires direct and systematic instruction; instruction that enables the brain to create new connections and pathways as it acquires a new skill.
Coupled with this, children MUST feel engaged and connected to the literature they read. Although the fundamental literacy skills required to read can be learned, reading truly doesn’t begin until it becomes a JOYFUL and MEANINGFUL practice.
The Sounds Apart Approach: Transparency and Collaboration
To establish a clear and accurate understanding of every learner, we rely on preliminary diagnostic assessments, student interviews, parent meetings, and teacher feedback to identify the needs of each child before creating their unique learning plan.
From there, we will create a program plan specifically for your child. This will be shared with you before our first lesson so you have a clear understanding of the SCOPE AND SEQUENCE of the program.
All progress is communicated regularly to parents and teachers. Progress reports will demonstrate what we have focused on, what successes were experienced, and what areas need more attention.
Transparency and collaboration are at the centre of every relationship we have with our very important literacy ‘families’.
Sounds Apart began as a clinic grounded in the structured and systematic Orton-Gillingham (O.G.) approach to literacy.
O.G. is a multi-sensory approach to the remediation of reading, spelling, and writing. For over 80 years, it has been used by educators, speech-language pathologists, and interventionists to directly address the language processing problems of children diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, oral and written expression delays, as well as those with ADHD and working memory and/or processing speed deficits. Rooted in the explicit and direct teaching of language skills, the O.G. approach is beneficial for all learners.
Today, we weave a collection of evidence-based literacy approaches (OG, EBLI, SRSD, etc.) into our remediation to ensure that our teaching aligns with exactly what each student needs to thrive.