Understanding Dyslexia: Why Early Prevention and Intervention are Crucial
Unlike learning to speak, reading is not a natural process. Reading has to be taught. For many, learning to read is one of the most difficult cognitive tasks they will ever encounter, especially for those with dyslexia.
According to the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
Read the white paper by Dr. Dale Webster, Chief Academic Officer for CORE, to learn more about how to identify dyslexia and how early assessment and research-based instruction for prevention and intervention for reading difficulties can stop the struggle to learn to read for your students.
Webinar Handouts: Mastery-Based, Individualized Learning to Accelerate Literacy Proficiency
Mastery-based learning provides a solid foundation for students to build and develop their knowledge at their own pace. Pajaro Valley Unified School District in California has made the move to a mastery-based, individualized learning and has seen improved student outcomes, particularly in the area of literacy.
In a recent webinar, Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez and Early Literacy Coordinator Lynda Pate shared:
- Key components of mastery-based, individualized learning
- District and Site systems needed to support significant change
- Critical steps to take an initiative from pilot to scale
- Milestones/checkpoints to monitor along the way to track intended impact
A Quick Guide to California Dyslexia Guidelines
The California Dyslexia Guidelines were published in August, 2017 in response to Assembly Bill 1369, Statutes of 2015, in order to assist regular education teachers, special education teachers, and parents in identifying, assessing, and supporting students with dyslexia. This Infographic highlights major points from these Guidelines.
CORE can support your district’s efforts to address dyslexia and to help you prevent students from developing reading difficulties right from the start. Contact CORE today to find out how to implement the new Guidelines in your district!
Lesson Model Videos
Phonics
The following videos align to the Explicit Phonics Lesson Sequence chart in the CORE Teaching Reading Sourcebook, p. 175.
Blending Long E spelled ee – First Grade (aligns to Step 3, Blend Words)
Reading Words for Automaticity (aligns to Step 4, Build Automatic Word Recognition)
Reading Decodable Text – First Grade (aligns to Step 5, Apply to Decodable Text)
Reading Decodable Text – Fourth and Fifth Grade (aligns to Step 5, Apply to Decodable Text)
Word Work (aligns to Step 6, Word Work for Decoding and Encoding)
Multisyllabic Word Reading
The following videos align to HOW lessons in the CORE Teaching Reading Sourcebook.
Introducing Open and Closed Syllables (pp. 272-275)
Syllable Division Strategy – VC/CV (pp. 276-282)
Syllable Division Strategy – VCV (pp. 283-287)
Introducing Affixes (pp. 304-307)
Flexible Strategy for Reading Big Words (pp. 308-313)
Informational Text
The following videos align to HOW lessons in the CORE Teaching Reading Sourcebook.
QAR (Question-Answer Relationships) (pp. 702-710)
Dyslexia Links
Hard to Read: How American schools fail kids with dyslexia (podcast and transcript by American Public Media)
Also from APM, “In Ohio, parents demand change for dyslexic kids”
International Dyslexia Association
The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen: Quick, evidence-based screening tool that identifies students who are at risk for dyslexia.
Understood.org: Understanding Dyslexia
