Effective dyslexia intervention helps students develop the foundational skills required for accurate, fluent reading. Research consistently shows that students with dyslexia benefit from explicit, systematic instruction that strengthens phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, morphology, and language comprehension through carefully sequenced lessons and meaningful practice.

Research consistently shows that students with dyslexia benefit from instruction that is explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic. Structured Literacy translates decades of reading research into instructional practices that help students develop the foundational skills required for accurate, fluent reading.

Rather than teaching reading as a collection of isolated strategies, Structured Literacy intentionally builds knowledge over time. Students progress through carefully sequenced instruction in phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, sound-symbol relationships, phonics, decoding, spelling, morphology, syntax, and connected text reading. Each new skill builds on previously learned concepts, allowing students to develop confidence while strengthening the connections that support skilled reading.

RGR's Literacy Suite was built around these evidence-based principles. Lessons provide explicit instruction, cumulative review, diagnostic assessment, and meaningful opportunities for students to apply new learning through reading and writing.

David Kilpatrick (2015) identifies three critical components of successful reading intervention:

• Eliminating phonological awareness deficits by teaching phonemic awareness to an advanced level
• Teaching and reinforcing phonics skills and decoding
• Providing opportunities to apply those skills through connected text reading

These principles guide RGR's instructional design. As students strengthen phonemic awareness, decoding, and spelling, they also develop the sound-letter connections that support orthographic mapping, allowing words to become stored in long-term memory for rapid, automatic recognition. Over time, students devote less cognitive effort to identifying individual words and more attention to understanding what they read.

Many students with dyslexia experience difficulty connecting speech sounds to letters and letter patterns. As a result, foundational skills instruction plays a critical role in reading development. RGR's Literacy Suite begins by strengthening phonological awareness and phonemic awareness. Students learn to identify, segment, blend, and manipulate sounds within spoken words before connecting those sounds to print.

Instruction then progresses to sound-symbol relationships, decoding, encoding, and fluent reading practice. Through explicit teaching and cumulative review, students develop the skills necessary to read unfamiliar words accurately and efficiently. Diagnostic assessments help educators identify specific areas of need and monitor student progress over time. By understanding where students are experiencing difficulty, instruction can be targeted more effectively and adjusted as students develop new skills.

This emphasis on foundational skills aligns closely with research demonstrating that students with dyslexia benefit from direct instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and word recognition.

As students become more accurate decoders, they also need instruction that helps them recognize larger patterns within words. Understanding prefixes, suffixes, roots, syllable types, and common spelling patterns allows students to read increasingly complex vocabulary while strengthening both word recognition and comprehension.

Spear-Swerling (2016) explains that "at more advanced levels of word reading and spelling, interventions should also explicitly and systematically teach structural and morphemic analysis," including instruction in prefixes, roots, suffixes, and spelling generalizations. This research highlights the importance of moving beyond basic decoding as students become more proficient readers.

RGR incorporates these concepts throughout instruction. Students learn to analyze multisyllabic words by recognizing syllable types, meaningful word parts, and recurring spelling patterns rather than relying on memorized syllabication rules. Prefixes and suffixes are taught explicitly alongside their meanings, allowing students to uncover base words and roots while developing a deeper understanding of vocabulary.

This approach builds more than decoding accuracy. As students recognize patterns more automatically, they strengthen orthographic knowledge, improve spelling, expand vocabulary, and devote more attention to comprehending increasingly complex text.

Structured Literacy is most effective when students actively engage with language. Multisensory instruction strengthens learning by engaging visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways while students develop foundational reading skills. Rather than replacing explicit instruction, multisensory techniques reinforce concepts and provide students with multiple opportunities to practice and retain new learning.

The International Dyslexia Association (2017) emphasizes that students with dyslexia benefit from "a systematic and explicit method that involves several senses (hearing, seeing, touching) at the same time." Combining multiple sensory pathways helps students make stronger connections between spoken language and print while supporting memory and retention.

Throughout Really Great Reading's Literacy Suite, students actively participate in learning by listening to phonemes, manipulating letter tiles, using purposeful movement, and practicing sound-symbol relationships through structured routines. These experiences reinforce phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, and spelling while keeping students engaged in instruction.

As students gain confidence and automaticity, multisensory practice helps reinforce the foundational skills that support fluent reading, accurate word recognition, and long-term literacy success.

Effective dyslexia intervention requires more than strong instructional materials. Schools need a comprehensive approach that combines evidence-based instruction, ongoing assessment, professional learning, and consistent implementation across classrooms.

RGR's Literacy Suite was developed around the instructional principles consistently recommended by researchers and organizations including the International Dyslexia Association, David Kilpatrick, Sally Shaywitz, Joseph Torgesen, and Spear-Swerling. Our programs provide explicit, systematic instruction that develops phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, spelling, morphology, and fluent reading through carefully sequenced lessons and cumulative practice.

Educators are supported with diagnostic assessments that help identify students' specific instructional needs, while embedded routines make it easier to deliver consistent, high-quality instruction across classrooms and MTSS tiers. Professional learning and implementation support help schools translate reading research into sustainable classroom practice.

Whether supporting beginning readers or older students who require intervention, Really Great Reading helps educators provide the structured literacy instruction students with dyslexia need to become accurate, confident, and successful readers.

References

Eide, D. (2011). Uncovering the logic of English: A common-sense approach to reading, spelling, and literacy. Minneapolis: Pedia Learning.
International Dyslexia Association. (2015). Effective reading instruction for students with dyslexia. Retrieved from https://dyslexiaida.org/effective-reading-instruction
International Dyslexia Association. (2017). Dyslexia basics fact sheet. Retrieved from https://dyslexiaida.org/dyslexia-basics
Kilpatrick, D. A. (2015). Essentials of assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.
Torgesen, J.K. & Hudson, R. (2006). Reading fluency: critical issues for struggling readers. In S.J. Samuels and A. Farstrup {Eds.}, Reading fluency: The forgotten dimension of reading success. Newark, DE: International Reading Association.
Shaywitz S. E., & Shaywitz B. A. (2008). Paying attention to reading: The neurobiology of reading and dyslexia. Development and Psychopathology, 20(4), 1329-49.
Spear-Swerling, L. (2016). Instructional considerations for students with dyslexia.