Oh boy, targeted instruction is a big one - so buckle up because we absolutely LOVE this topic. What does it mean to provide targeted literacy instruction? Well, we are so glad you asked. As you already know by now, we are huge fans of using the literacy processing triangle basically everywhere possible. Have you seen it?

One of the things we hear over and over is that we need to be using evidence-based practices in intervention. We are told that using evidence-based intervention is critical to student success. I am suer that you have heard not to use resources that aren’t evidence based.

But what does that even mean?

Discover the key to intervention success: generalization. Learn why traditional approaches may fall short in helping students apply skills beyond sessions. Explore how connecting decoding to comprehension transforms outcomes. Uncover strategies to bridge skills and empower students for real-world reading success!

Multisensory teaching is a popular concept in research-based reading instruction, but the problem is that most teachers, interventionists, specialists (including US!) completely misunderstand what is needed to create multisensory reading and spelling instruction. We will show you the most effective and easiest way to incorporate multisensory instruction without the mess!

We’ve been there.

Planning for our students had us stressed. It had us burning out and tired. It was nothing short of exhausting, and on top of that, our students weren’t connecting with it. They weren’t growing in a way we would expect knowing how much work we were putting into it.

…and then we figured out why.

We’re sure that you have heard it before. “You should be working smarter, not harder!” It’s a fairly common expression that most people use to help motivate them to be more efficient and stop fumbling around in their work… but it’s more than that. These are the 7 steps you need to work “SMARTER” in your intervention and finally start seeing the results you have been wanting.

So we absolutely LOVE Speech Language Pathologists and know that they can bring so much to the field of literacy intervention. As an SLP it can be hard to determine if such a broad scope of practice is a good thing or a bad thing but the bottom line is that with your training in the development of language you are often best positioned to support students with language-based literacy disorders.

Literacy intervention, specifically for students with dyslexia causes this interesting conversation around who best supports this type of intervention? Traditionally literacy specialists and special educators have been the ones tasked with supported reading disabilities, I mean…it makes sense it’s an academic issue right?

The challenge is that dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. It’s often really a continuum of an oral language disability that transcended into the world of written language. This is a challenge for literacy specialists and special educators who don’t have a background in supporting oral language problems. And really - literacy specialists and special educators generally don’t have a background in supporting oral language struggles because that is an SLPs bread and butter.

So what this means is that….

Reading intervention for struggling readers, such as those with dyslexia or other reading disabilities needs to be systematic, sequential, cumulative, targeted, research-based…the list goes on and on. But how do you come up with a lesson plan that has reading and spelling activities that hits on all of these targets for your struggling readers? Well look no further, we are giving you behind the scenes access to our comprehensive lesson plans that leave nothing out for your struggling readers so that they can get to grade level once and for all and you can stop spending all your time planning.

There are a variety of reasons why students struggle to develop reading and writing skills, and many of these students need explicit instruction in foundational skills such as phonics for decoding and spelling, automatic fluent reading skills, and basic text structures.

So often, I meet or talk to an interventionist who is leaving out one of the most critical parts of their lesson. Usually, it is because it only takes a few minutes, is similar to other pieces of the lesson, and just gets overlooked. This is doing such a disservice to our students, because without this crucial aspect, their reading intervention is not building a strong enough foundation. This critical piece is the Auditory Drill.

If you’ve been around with us for awhile you know how passionate we are about Structured Literacy. But don’t feel bad if you’re still wondering: What is Structured Literacy? It’s actually a rather new term that’s taking over what’s more been more popularly known as:Orton-Gillingham or (OG) Reading Instruction

When we think of Reading Intervention, we often refer to the Jenga Tower. This stems from the game Jenga where players take turns strategically pulling  blocks out of a tower. Each block is then placed on top of the tower, creating a progressively taller and more unstable structure.

Looking for a better way to group students for literacy intervention or small-group instruction? In this post, we break down the 4-Quadrant Grouping Model—a simple, research-aligned framework that helps you differentiate instruction based on whether students need support with word recognition, language comprehension, or both. Learn how to use this model to plan more targeted, effective instruction without feeling overwhelmed.

Wondering if your child or student may have dyslexia? This post walks you through common dyslexia symptoms across age groups, explains why they matter, and provides a free printable checklist to help you track what you’re seeing. Learn how to use observation data, recognize red flags, and take confident next steps toward evaluation or support.

My name is Mackenzie, and I am dyslexic.

Some of my earliest memories of school are feelings of frustration, confusion, sadness, and feeling lonely. Another memory that still makes my stomach hurt today is trying to memorize math facts. I have a great memory for some things; song lyrics, things people say, and pictures. But, remembering letters and numbers is a totally different story.

Okay everyone, we’ve got some heavy stuff for you this Friday. But here’s the thing we are super amped up about it right now because we are at the International Dyslexia Association National Conference and just had the opportunity to present this information about our favorite thing since sliced bread.

So this can be one of the most challenging things we face as reading interventionists - what activities do I pull to target specific weaknesses for my struggling readers? And how can I do that without spending a TON of extra time that I don’t really have?

We all want the very best for our students, it’s our mission and our goal to be providing the best possible instruction to help completely eliminate reading and spelling gaps.