As a parent myself, seeing the relief and excitement in a parent’s eyes is an incredibly heart-warming experience. Often students who are struggling to school feel isolated, inferior to their peers, and unmotivated. It is a natural human tendency to avoid things that we find difficult. My initial assessment work identifies exactly where students have weaknesses. But, before we begin systematically attacking these weaknesses, I help students understand that they are not alone!
They learn that:
- Reading is a complex learned skill
- Reading problems are common (69% of students in the US can not read proficiently at grade-level)
- Reading problems have nothing to do with intelligence or ability
- Difficulties reading are caused by weakness in phonologic processing and other fundamental skills
- Effective instruction improves reading skills (Gagen, 2007)
I also assure them that we will work together and the work may be tedious or hard at times, but as they start to improve it will be fun! The methodology and curricula that I use are research-based and are proven to lead to reading success. I have used them for years and I know they work. I can tell students with complete confidence that they will love reading.
I use a variety and combination of approaches depending on the learner. These include the Wilson Reading Method, Lindamood-Bell’s Visualizing and Verbalizing, the SLANT system for Structured Language Training, White’s Structured Reading Approach, and Hochman Writing.