Many Kids Are Being Taught to Read the Wrong Way. Here's the Right Way.

According to the International Dyslexia Association, “The most difficult problem for students with dyslexia is learning to read. Unfortunately, popularly employed reading approaches, such as Guided Reading or Balanced Literacy, are not effective for struggling readers.”

This means even bright, motivated kids can fall behind. And not because they can't learn, but because they haven't been taught in a way that works for their brains. Structured Literacy is a proven, research-backed way to teach reading that helps children with dyslexia and improves reading outcomes for all students. We’re explaining the key features of a Structured Literacy approach so you can recognize it in your child’s school and feel confident asking questions about how they are learning to read.

What Is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy focuses on two essential strands of reading development. These are based on Dr. Hollis Scarborough’s Reading Rope. This model shows that skilled reading is built by weaving together:

• Word Recognition: The ability to quickly and accurately read words. Students are taught how letters represent sounds, learn the different spelling patterns in English, and practice sounding out words until they are stored in their long-term memories.

• Language Comprehension: The ability to understand what we read is developed through systematic instruction in vocabulary and syntax, and the accumulation of background knowledge. This is achieved through expert-guided reading of texts across genres. 

The Building Blocks Your Child Will Learn

Structured Literacy covers every concept your child needs to learn to become a confident, fluent reader:

Phonemic Awareness: Hearing and working with the individual sounds in spoken words.

Phonics: Learning how letters and letter combinations represent sounds, including how to tackle longer words.

Morphology: Understanding how prefixes, suffixes, and roots from languages like Greek and Latin contribute to word meanings and spellings.

Syntax: Learning sentence structure and grammar to support both reading and writing.

Vocabulary: Building a strong understanding of word meanings and how they're used in context.

Fluency: Reading with accuracy, speed, and expression.

Text Structure: Recognizing how different types of texts are organized to better navigate and understand them.

Background Knowledge: Developing broad knowledge that helps students make sense of new information.

Why Structured Literacy Works for Students with Dyslexia

For students with dyslexia, the way reading is taught is incredibly important. Structured Literacy works because:

• It follows a logical sequence: Skills are taught from simple to complex and address skills they may have missed.
• It builds mastery before moving on: Students get the time and support they need to solidify each concept, working at their own pace.
• Teachers model skills clearly: Students are shown exactly how reading and spelling work, rather than being left to guess.
• It teaches how English words work: Instead of developing coping habits (like guessing), students learn real decoding and comprehension skills. 

The goal of Structured Literacy isn’t to speed through reading skills, but to create lasting knowledge of how language works and habits of strong readers.

Progress That Sticks

With the right instruction, students with dyslexia can become strong, confident readers. Research shows that with evidence-based teaching, up to 95% of students can learn to read successfully.  Structured Literacy gives every child the tools needed to read confidently and independently.

As a parent, knowing what evidence-based reading instruction looks like can help you advocate for your child’s needs in the classroom, seek out additional support if necessary, and feel confident that your child is on the path to becoming an accurate, fluent, confident reader. 

Get in touch with Hoot Reading to learn more about how Structured Literacy can help your child become a strong, fluent reader.