Multisensory Phonics for Word Recognition (Decoding) & Spelling (Encoding)- I

DESCRIPTION: In this class, Dr. Karen Wieland, a credentialed Wilson Reading System Dyslexia Practitioner, provides small-group comprehensive instruction to beginning readers and spellers related to decoding, encoding, vocabulary development, reading fluency, & reading comprehension. Instruction will start with Book 1 of the WIlson program, which involves reading and spelling single-syllable, closed-syllable words made up of 3 sounds, and suffixes -s and -es. 

This class is the correct level for students who confuse their short vowel sounds and struggle to read CVC (3-sound consonant-vowel-consonant) sound words. The class assumes prior knowledge of how to name and write all 26 letters of the English alphabet.

The instructor, Dr. Karen, will be using the Wilson Reading System approach. The Wilson Reading System (WRS) is one of several structured, systematic, sequential, multisensory phonics programs that is often recommended for students who experience dyslexia or similar language-related learning difficulties/disabilities. 

- This instructional approach is STRUCTURED, because it teaches through direct instruction the structure of the English language: phonology ("the sound structure of spoken words" (IDA, 2018), sound-symbol associations, syllable patterns/types, syntax (grammar), morphology (basewords, roots, affixes), and semantics (meaning structures).

- This approach is also SYSTEMATIC in that every credentialed WRS practitioner uses the same general lesson format and the same general teaching techniques, though lessons are designed individually to meet the needs of specific learners. These include sound-card review, word list reading, syllabication of polysyllabic words, coding of syllable structures, sentence reading, “quick drill in reverse” sound-card dictation, spelling dictation, sentence dictation, oral reading fluency practice using controlled passages, and authentic reading and discussion  of student-selected texts. Dr. Wieland also incorporates direct teaching of Latin and Greek word elements and unfamiliar meaning vocabulary, 

- In addition, this approach is SEQUENTIAL. The curriculum follows a "scope and sequence" that introduces and reinforces information, skills, and strategies, layer by layer. Every credentialed practitioner follows this scope and sequence.

- This instructional approach is also a MULTISENSORY, in that it activates learners' visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile learning pathways. 

- Wilson Reading System (WRS) is one of several PHONICS-based programs designed for struggling and striving literacy learners. Wilson is considered to be a derivative of the Orton-Gillingham approach, and it widely used by school, reading clinics, and private practitioners in the literacy re/mediation of students who experience dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties.

The more advanced levels of WRS also include MORPHOLOGICAL components (Latin and Greek roots and affixes). Across their WRS study, students gain understanding of the three layers of English orthography (spelling): (1) the alphabetic layer, which is learned through the methodical practice of sound-symbol relationships; (2) the pattern layer, which is learned through the careful study of the six main types of syllables in English words; and (3) the meaning layer, which is learned through the study of a select number of prefixes and suffixes, and a multitude of basewords containing Latin and Greek roots.

HOW DO I KNOW IF THIS TYPE OF INSTRUCTION IS RIGHT FOR MY CHILD?

-- If your child's reading fluency (word recognition accuracy, reading rate, expression/prosody) AND his/her spelling are significantly below grade-level expectations, or if his/her spelling alone is significantly below grade-level, s/he likely would benefit from a structured, systematic, sequential, multisensory phonics approach. 

-- If your child has been diagnosed by a school psychologist or educational psychologist as experiencing dyslexia or another language-based learning disability,  s/he likely would benefit from a structured, systematic, sequential, multisensory phonics approach. 

WHAT THEORETICAL MODEL SUPPORTS THIS APPROACH TO TEACHING DECODING AND ENCODING SKILLS AND STRATEGIES?

According to Gough and Tumner’s (1986) “simple view of reading,” reading comprehension is the product of automatic context-free word recognition and language comprehension. Both variables, language comprehension and word recognition, are needed for reading comprehension, and each is composed of integrated skills and strands that combine into an integrated whole: knowledge of semantics, phonology, morphology, pragmatics, orthography, syntax, and discourse structures. This theoretical framework supports many scientifically-based approaches to literacy instruction that are structured, systematic, sequential, multisensory, and phonics- and morphology-based.

Another way to think about literacy development is through an information processing model. According to LaBerge and Samuel’s theory of automatic information processing in reading (Samuels, 2004/1994), a reader has only finite cognitive capacity to devote to the reading process. If the reader has to use too much of her cognitive capacity for the purposes of word recognition, then this limits her ability to focus on meaning-making. Similarly, Estes’ (1970) focus of attention hypothesis argues that if part of a reader’s finite attention is diverted from comprehension and understanding, the result is limited reading fluency and comprehension. 

Similarly, a writer who devotes most of his/her cognitive capacity to spelling has less attention or working memory free to devote to meaning-making and communication.

One of the ways to increase a reader’s word recognition abilities is to teach him/her strategies for figuring out words that s/he does not recognize automatically on sight, including phonic decoding and orthographic analogy strategies. By applying knowledge of common graphophonic and orthographic patterns to the analysis of an unfamiliar word, a reader can often arrive at a correct (or close-to-correct) pronunciation of the word. Then the reader can compare this pronunciation to words stored in his/her lexicon (the individual’s mental storehouse of word meanings) in order to comprehend the word. With sufficient practice, words identified using phonic decoding and orthographic analogy strategies become familiar and eventually become part of the reader’s sight vocabulary.

Similarly, one of the ways to increase a writer's spelling abilities is to teach him/her strategies for breaking words into syllables and representing those syllables in print. By applying knowledge of common syllable patterns in English, a writer can often arrive at a correct (or close to correct) spelling of a the word. With sufficient practice, words spelled using this approach become familiar and eventually become part of the learner's writing vocabulary.