We were so excited to have reading expert Kathy Chappell-Muncy present a webinar for us! She presented on “The Essential Need for Orton Gillingham Based Reading Instruction” and did a fabulous job!

Just so you know, Orton Gillingham based reading instruction is a systematic intervention used for struggling readers that includes visual, auditory, and kinesthetic components to engage the child’s entire brain. Here are some questions and answers from Kathy’s wonderful webinar:

What is a joint and cut off point?

We don’t have the resources to put every child that is a poor reader into special services. So, where do we draw the line? There is no natural cut-off. Schools make up a cut point not based on research. It has been assigned arbitrary. So we miss kids… these are the kids that fall through the cracks. But if we give all kids a systematic, Orton Gillingham reading intervention, these students don’t have to fall through the cracks.

What are your recommendations for a child who has a lisp?  Is it important to remediate this (for a 7 year old) or to continue to work with speech, singing, rhythm waiting until the child is 8 or 9?

Very important to remediate. A child who has a lisp is going to get special services with a speech pathologist. However, I’m going to recommend a fabulous pronunciation tool from Reading Horizons that shows animated tongue placements and footage of a mouth saying each sound.

Click here to try Reading Horizons Pronunciation Tool for free! >

I’m tutoring two fourth graders that can barely read, and I was wondering if they need to start from scratch with an Orton Gillingham based approach?

What they need to start from is a great assessment. Use as many assessments that you can use. One that I use is the San Diego Quick Assessment. It is whole word based and they have to read the words with automaticity or they get it wrong. But if you have a child that is reading two grade levels below or more, you want to do more than one assessment. You need a diagnostic assessment. Another one is called, CORE, online assessments (as long as they go into segments – decoding, vowels, diphthongs, syllables). Look for assessments that go deep and that will diagnose for you. Also, there are some free assessments on Reading Horizons website.

Click here to try Reading Horizons Assessments for free! >

How does this program work with adult and ESL students?

For years I worked with ESL students and we used an Orton Gillingham approach with them. Using an Orton Gillingham approach we became the highest scoring school for ESL students. By adding a tactile approach to the instruction, the students finally started to get it.

It works great for adults as well as long as long as you are using age appropriate activities.

Do you have an opinion about retaining a child in the same grade if they struggle with reading?

As a parent or teacher you have to look at what the child is being taught with. Dependent on the teacher using it and the way it is being used, the child may need another year. But if the teacher and program are the problem then they may just need remediation. Regardless, if a child isn’t reading by the end of the first grade then there is something going on and you need to look into it before making a decision.

View the free webinar recording now! >

Inspired by Tony Hsieh’s book, Delivering Happiness (and seriously, who isn’t?), combined with our own plan to break away from the mundane to create amazing customer service, the team at Reading Horizons recently hosted a Waffle Off Wednesday (WOW).

WOW was an early morning meeting to kick-off new business and cultural initiatives that would not only improve the delivery and message of: “We Teach Struggling Readers ‘How-to’ in About 40 Hours!” but was created to drive every aspect of delivering a wow experience for our customers.

• The Definition of Wow According to Reading Horizons:

• Unexpected Surprises – The Customer is Begging: “Delight Me!”

• Enthusiasm – In Voice, Thought, and Action

• Extra, Unsolicited Effort – Going Above the Above and Beyond

• First Impressions – Always Will, and Do, Count

• Solve the Problem – Do it Right the First Time

• Free Agency – Don’t Take Away the Customers’ Right to Choose

• A Swing & a Miss – This is Your Opportunity to Make it Right

• Beyond Satisfied – Nurture Raving Fans

• Takes Work – A Reading Culture with Wow Takes Constant Thought

Not only was Waffle Off Wednesday a representation of our commitment to our customers, it was also an event that fostered unity of mind and purpose among Reading Horizon employees.

For the past few years, we have enjoyed other corporate activities like the famous egg drop contest, art projects, LAN parties, and more. These fun and very creative internal events are part of who we are as a organization: a company on a mission to change the world - one successful reader at a time.

Did you know?

That according to the U.S. Department of Education, about a third of 2007-08 first-year college students have taken at least one remedial course. That number rises to about 42% at two-year community colleges.

USA Today reports that, education observers worry that the vast numbers of students coming to college unprepared will pose a major roadblock to President Barack Obama's goal for the United States to once again lead the world in college degrees.

According to studies done by the U.S. Department of Education, many secondary schools across the nation aren’t adequately preparing students to excel at college. Universities and community colleges are stepping in to fill the gap by offering remedial college courses in subjects like reading and math.

Reading comprehension is such a critical skill, in college, because textbooks become more complex, leaving many students unprepared for advancement.

Will Taxpayers Pay for the Same Education Twice?

Remedial training is costly. The Alliance for Excellent Education reports that the nation loses $3.7 billion a year due to the fact that students have not learned the basic needed skills, like basic reading, comprehension, and fluency.

According to 2004 Education Department data, students who need remedial classes are more likely to drop out of college. For example, those taking any remedial reading, only had a 17% chance of completing a bachelor's degree,

Remedial Reading programs should be research-based and implemented with fidelity by teachers who have received sufficient training.

Reading concepts should be explicit while moving sequentially from the simplest concepts to the more complex.

For a free instructional reading framework, click here >

Interactive writing is a shared writing experience used to assist emerging readers in learning to read and write. With help from the teacher, students dictate sentences about a shared experience, such as a story, movie, or event.

The teacher verbally "stretches" each word so students can distinguish its sounds and letters through multisensory phonics - as students use chart paper to write the letter while repeating the sound.

After each word is completed, the teacher and students reread it. The completed charts are put up on the wall so students can reread them or rely on them for standard spelling.

This teaching method is used to support the development of phonological skill and will help children who are emerging readers attach meaning to print. Interactive writing creates an environment to practice reading skills while maintaining enthusiasm in the class.

How Interactive Writing Works
Students and teachers talk about what they are going to write. The teacher chooses a topic and facilitates the discussion – guiding, summarizing, confirming and combining ideas. The goal is to get the children’s thoughts on a large poster-sized paper while discussing the topic and the process of writing and dealing with the conventions of grammar, spelling, punctuation, letter formation, and phonics.

Other Interactive Writing Strategies

• Group-brainstorming on a given topic

• Whole class discussion of how a particular text might need adjustment

• Collaborative writing

• Whole class text construction and composing on the blackboard

• Writing workshop or in-class writing

• Group research on a text topic

• Peer-editing

• Whole class examination of texts produced by other students - with names removed

We learn to speak, read, and write – each skill is interrelated and builds upon the other.

Have you successfully used interactive writing strategies in class to help your emerging readers?

I heard this idea from a teacher the other day and I thought I should pass it on.

Place students into two teams; each representing the current Super Bowl teams. In this case, for 2011, it is the Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers. Instruct each team member to read over the weekend recording every twenty minutes of reading by coloring in a football. Each colored football is a touchdown!

You provide the reading class with a simple Super Bowl football card that has about 40 footballs on it that can be colored in by the student. Ask parents to sign the card and have students bring their cards back to the classroom on Monday. Add up the number of touchdowns (colored footballs) to determine which team wins.

Another great teaching tip is to ask students to write down a few lines about their favorite Super Bowl commercial. When students return to class ask them to read what they’ve written to everyone else. As an added element of fun, record a few of the commercials and play them back in class.

Don’t forget that Reading Horizons is a win every time – guaranteed - when used to help struggling or reluctant readers. Check out our free reading workshop!

Share your teaching tips to promote reading and literacy!