A Catholic primary school’s ‘structured literacy’ method really works, say advocates. People with neurodiverse learning difficulties like dyslexia are learning to read.
Four years ago, this wasn’t the case at Wānaka’s Holy Family Catholic school.
The traditional literacy programme wasn’t working, says principal Jo McKay (pictured).
Despite interventions like Reading Recovery, some students weren’t succeeding.
As the school leader, McKay felt she should try other ways. She needed to ensure every child became a successful learner.
The question was – how?
She hadn’t been taught about neurodiversity at university or teachers’ college. She didn’t really know how to teach a dyslexic child.
“That is the same for a huge number of educators and it’s no fault of their own,” she says.
She knew she had neurodiverse students. She knew others were “raising red flags”. Some students were being left behind.
A talk from Cara McNeil gave her hope. The former school principal was a mother of a child with dyslexia.
McNeil’s structured learning approach inspired McKay to give that approach a go.
How structured literacy works
All children are screened when they start school.
The structured literacy approach uses a six-step process. This teaches learners to decode words in an explicit, systematic and diagnostic way.
The decoding includes six components: phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax and semantics.
It also has a strong oral language component.
Spelling-instruction lessons and instructional reading are given with decodable text.
Staff monitor each child’s progress. Where necessary, they adapt lessons to suit individuals. Some do extra lessons in small groups.
“We are seeing these children having success. The approach is not going to fix them overnight but it makes a significant difference to their confidence and their ability to access text,” says McKay.
“And they will learn to read and write, but it’s going to take time.”
All benefit
Structured literacy is good for all students, says McKay.
Now her school’s refined its approach and top students complete it in years five or six. That’s two years earlier than when the school began its structured-literacy journey, she says.
Once students complete their sequence of learning, they may learn a second language – or do more in-depth English-language study.
Success is key
It is crucial to identify a strength children and adults with dyslexia have developed, says Lumsden School principal and dyslexia researcher Danelle Smallridge.
That strength is crucial. It could be the thing that saves children. It could be art or sports, for example.
Neurodiverse people think they’re ‘thick’ so it’s important to make sure they know they’re not, she says. “They have to see they have other things where they can shine and get self-esteem.”
McKay agrees. “They work four times harder and do four times as much as any other child in the classroom. And they do find it really tough. So we have to make sure that they get success.”
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