How I Teach Reading and Spelling

A Highly Structured, Research-Based Approach for Dyslexic Learners

Each lesson is designed with precision, care, and a strong research base. Whether a learner is home educated or attending school, the approach remains the same: deeply supportive, explicitly taught, and tailored for dyslexic learners and others who find reading and spelling difficult.

Every element of the session is intentional. Nothing is improvised. This structure has helped many learners rebuild confidence, strengthen skills, and make steady, sustainable progress.

Parents are warmly encouraged to join the lesson.

For most learners, having a parent nearby reduces anxiety, increases confidence, and makes it far easier to consolidate learning throughout the week. When families participate, progress often accelerates.

1. A Calm, Predictable Beginning

Lessons begin with relaxed conversation.

This short settling-in period helps learners regulate and shift into a focused mindset. Many have experienced anxiety from previous learning environments; a gentle start creates emotional safety and readiness.

A regulated learner can learn.

2. Introducing the Day’s Sound

We begin with the core building block of literacy: the target sound (phoneme).

• All the common spellings of that sound are shown.

• We talk about the sound together.

• One spelling pattern becomes the focus of the lesson.

This exposes learners to the structure of English spelling while giving them a single, achievable goal for the session. It is an oral–visual stage, with no reading pressure.

3. Building Meaning First

Next, we explore three images representing words that contain the target spelling.

Learners identify the objects, discuss them, and see the words written on the screen.

This stage:

• builds vocabulary

• links meaning to spoken language

• reduces cognitive load

• prepares learners for later decoding

• strengthens the “meaning → sound → print” pathway

Meaning first, print second—this is especially effective for dyslexic learners.

4. Strengthening the Sound System (Phonological Awareness)

Before any reading occurs, learners work orally with sounds:

• segmenting words into sounds

• blending sounds to make words

• swapping one sound for another

• adding or deleting sounds

Learners are shown simple images to anchor meaning, but no printed words.

This step targets the heart of dyslexia: a difficulty with phonological processing.

Strengthening the sound system makes the later reading tasks far more successful.

5. Reading Words One at a Time

Print is introduced slowly and deliberately:

• Only one word appears on the screen.

• It reveals itself in small chunks (for example, ‘n’ → ‘ew’ → ‘new’).

• The learner reads the fully revealed word aloud.

• The pace is gentle and teacher-controlled.

This approach reduces visual overwhelm, supports accurate blending, and prevents guessing—something many dyslexic learners rely on in busier classroom environments.

Each successful read builds confidence and accuracy.

6. Building Fluency Through Playful Practice

Learners then play a decoding game such as Dots & Boxes or Connect 4 using a grid of target words.

The game structure creates:

• repeated decoding in a meaningful, enjoyable way

• natural error correction

• fluency without drills or pressure

• learner agency and motivation

• a sense of success

This playful practice is one of the most effective ways to build fluency and confidence simultaneously.

7. Reading Real Sentences (One at a Time)

Learners read sentences containing the day’s spelling pattern.

Only one sentence is displayed at a time, which helps:

• reduce visual load

• maintain attention

• support phrasing and prosody

• reinforce vocabulary and syntax

• connect decoding to meaning

The sentences are natural and varied, bridging the gap between isolated words and authentic reading.

8. Multisensory Spelling: Hands-On, Effective, and Evidence-Based

This is where decoding and encoding come together.

Learners build and spell the target words using the method that suits them best:

• grapheme tiles

• handwriting

• sensory materials (e.g., salt trays, foam)

• Bananagrams tiles

• typing

• writing short sentences

The task is always the same:

hear the word → identify the sounds → choose the correct spellings → sequence them accuratel

This is how spelling becomes secure and automatic.

Immediate Feedback

Learners hold their work to the screen so I can check for:

• reversals

• missing graphemes

• incorrect substitutions

• sequencing errors

• issues with handwriting or tile placement

Corrections are given gently and immediately to prevent habits from forming.

From Words to Sentences

Many learners then write a short sentence using one or more target words.

This develops:

• vocabulary

• grammar

• punctuation

• syntax

• spelling in context

• confidence in composition

It turns spelling practice into real literacy.

9. Optional, Low-Pressure Spelling Check

If helpful, the session ends with a brief spelling check.

If spelling tests have been stressful in the past, we skip this entirely.

Any check is private, optional, and supportive. Parents can help if needed.

The focus is always mastery, never pressure.

10. Ending With Enjoyment: Shared Novel Reading

When time allows, we finish with a few pages from a novel that both learner and tutor have in hard copy.

This final stage:

• reinforces reading identity

• strengthens comprehension and vocabulary

• builds background knowledge

• ends the lesson positively

• shows literacy as pleasure, not just practice

Whether a learner is home educated or in school, this helps them experience reading as something to enjoy.

Why This Approach Works for Dyslexic Learners

This lesson structure supports the areas where dyslexic learners typically struggle:

• phonological processing

• sound–symbol mapping

• decoding accuracy

• spelling

• working memory

• confidence and self-belief

• fluency and phrasing

• comprehension

• vocabulary depth

• emotional readiness

It also avoids barriers that learners often face in group instruction:

• visual overload

• fast pacing

• limited repetition

• inconsistent modelling

• high-pressure tasks

• insufficient scaffolding

• few opportunities for personalised feedback

Every part of the lesson reflects how the dyslexic brain learns best.

Who This Approach Supports

This method benefits:

• dyslexic learners

• learners with suspected reading or spelling difficulties

• highly anxious learners

• home-educated learners needing explicit structure

• learners with ADHD or working-memory weaknesses

• older learners rebuilding foundational skills

• younger learners needing clarity and confidence

It adapts naturally across ages while holding a consistently high standard of instruction.