Multisensory phonics instruction is effective for struggling readers and dyslexics because it helps students:
1. Create a Solid Reading Foundation
Imagine you were planning to build an addition to your home but in the process you discovered that your house was built on an unstable foundation that failed to provide adequate support for your home. Instead of trying to build on top of the problem, the smartest decision would be to repair the problem before it gets worse and degrades the safety of your home. This analogy easily applies to the need to help struggling readers and dyslexics strengthen their reading foundation, rather than trying to cover up the problem.
Multisensory phonics helps dyslexics and struggling readers connect the letters of the language to the individual sounds. These connections are often what are missing in the understanding of dyslexics and struggling readers. By building these connections, reading makes more sense to these students.
2. Strengthen their Mind
Multisensory and interactive instruction is effective when teaching phonics to students because it works to strengthen the mind. By engaging students in learning through multiple senses they are able to make connections in their mind that they were not previously able to make. For students that do not naturally acquire reading skills, new and stronger brain connections help them overcome their difficulties.
3. Improve Reading Fluency and Comprehension
As students increase their phonetic abilities and understanding, reading fluency and comprehension also improve. A thorough understanding and competency in phonics allows students to focus on the meaning of what they are reading instead of focusing on sounding out each individual word.
To promote the development of natural word decoding skills and phonetic abilities, Reading Horizons has developed this unique marking system:
5 Phonetic Skills
2 Decoding Skills
Learn more about Reading Horizons curriculum to see how it can help your students build a solid reading foundation, strengthen their mind, and improve reading fluency and reading comprehension: http://www.readinghorizons.com/v5/index.aspx