Structured Literacy Approach

Structured Literacy approach: The SL approach focuses on explicitly teaching the elements of reading. This teaching approach is the most effective for students struggling to read (Moats, 2020).

• Phonology: learning the individual sounds (phonemes) that makeup words

• Sound-symbol association: pairing the sounds to the letter/letter symbols (graphemes)

• Orthography: spelling patterns and syllable types

• Morphology: smallest unit of meaning (prefixes, roots, base words, and suffixes).

• Syntax: word order in a sentence to communicate meaning

• Semantics: the meaning of words

• Explicit: the concept is explained directly and clearly

• Systemic and cumulative: instruction follows a sequence that progresses from easier to more complex

• Multisensory: hands-on, using gestures, using letters tiles, color-coded cards, etc.

• Diagnostic and responsive: using progress monitoring to guide the pace of instruction and practice