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| Before a student can effectively deal with academic content, she or he must be a fluent and proficient reader. To enjoy reading, the mechanical skills involved have to be automatic and effortless. |  |
| Research
indicates that good readers use several well-developed skills as they
draw meaning from the page. Besides figuring out words from contextual
clues, they have to break the code of written language-- decode by
correct phonetic processing. At the same time, they must quickly recognize
common words and common patterns in words. Phonetic processing, or sounding out words from letters, first requires the ability to pull apart and order the individual sounds that we blend together in syllables. These individual sounds, the smallest units of language, are called phonemes. The Reading Clinic uses a multisensory approach developed and proven effective by Lindamood Bell Learning Processes® and Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing®, to help students with weak phonemic awareness. By discovering, and then identifying how they make sounds, students are able to use articulatory feedback (feeling) to distinguish individual sounds for accurate reading, and to blend sounds for more accurate spelling. This new way of looking at the process can open doors for those students who just don't seem to "get" how to sound out words. |
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After
students begin to understand how to deal with the sounds and letters
in words at a one-syllable level, it becomes far easier for them to
deal with more complex words. We help students develop a plan for
word attack by breaking these words up into their component parts. |
| Just
as important as the ability to sound out words is the rapid recognition
of frequently seen words and patterns in words. Recalling these "sight
words" requires a strong visual memory. At The Reading Clinic, we use the * Seeing Stars® Program, to strengthen visual memory by using symbol imagery. As they "write" in the air and on surfaces, students learn to create mental images of letters and words. Starting with simple exercises and moving more complex, students learn to hold and manipulate letter patterns so that they can more readily recognize words and parts of words. As they increase their lexicon of these sight words, students become more fluent readers and accurate spellers. As they improve, they feel better about themselves as students and as people. They spend less of their energy on the process of reading, and can devote more attention to the purpose of reading, drawing meaning and gaining knowledge. In both of these programs, a key element is our one-to-one approach. Each student does his or her best learning in a safe environment, where a trained tutor keeps the instructional level challenging, not frustrating. Follow-up programs reinforce application of new reading skills in school and at home. |
