Tailoring Reading Remediation for Faster Results

There are thousands of reading remediation programs out there, as well as reading specialists who can help learners master the complex task of learning to read.

However, the process can be taxing, time-consuming, and expensive. In fact, many students are placed into slow and boring programs that force them to wade through a sequence of lessons, many of which are not needed and not fun.

Educational therapist working one-on-one with a young student during a personalized reading remediation session focused on faster learning outcomes.

How Can Reading Remediation Be Tailored to Meet Individual Needs?

Assessing each student's needs is imperative so that time can be used efficiently and positive results can abound quickly. This will allow the instructor to individualize remedial goals for maximum results.

Related Materials: Reading Remediation Resources - CLICK HERE

Good Sensory Learning banner promoting executive functioning instruction for elementary learners, featuring E-FUN workbooks for inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, and working memory.

How Can Individual Needs Be Assessed?

There are a number of areas that need to be evaluated to see where there are proficiency gaps. Once you know where the problem areas lie, you can focus on remediation. Here are the areas that should be assessed.

Letter: name/sound recognition
Rhyming words
Syllable divisions
Word Blending
Beginning sounds
Middle sounds
Ending sounds
Words to sounds
Drop the first sound
Drop the last sound
Sight words
Closed syllables
Open syllables
Silent-E syllables
Consonant LE syllables
R-combination syllables
Vowel combinations
Syllabication
Beginning blends, digraphs, and trigraphs
Ending blends
Compound words
Prefixes
Suffixes
Compound words

Phonics assessment score summary sheet showing pretest and posttest results for rhyming, blending, syllables, sight words, and decoding skills.

Is There A Publication That Assesses These Needed Areas?

The Good Sensory Learning Reading Assessment offers a comprehensive, 27-subtest evaluation that helps to tailor any phonics-based or Orton-Gillingham reading program. It was designed to offer reading specialists, teachers, and parents an easy assessment. The score sheet, pictured to the right, allows administrators to highlight instructional goals, and the re-administration (post-intervention) provides comparative information about the success of the intervention as well as additional needs.

Good Sensory Learning banner featuring children reading and promoting Orton-Gillingham based reading games that make reading fun, easy, and effective for dyslexic and struggling readers.

If you would also like to use remedial materials that bring the fun factor into lessons, consider Reading Games, Reading Games 2, and Reading Board Games. In addition, you can also find other great multisensory, fun reading materials at www.GoodSensoryLearning.com.

Cheers, Erica

Dr. Erica Warren is the author, illustrator, and publisher of multisensory educational materials at Good Sensory Learning. She is also the director of Learning to Learn and Learning Specialist Courses.