USING LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT TO INCREASE READING COMPREHENSION WITH THE SOUNDS OF WORDS

Recently, I was asked why I insist on teaching phonics to students who are having difficulty learning it. My answer is that I am providing the least restrictive environment (lre) for reading students. Experts in special education have proven that lre is best for these learners because it allows them to learn as normally as possible. So, lre is always set as a goal.

Brain science has confirmed that natural readers decode all novel words according to their vocabulary. They may follow all the decoding steps, such as sounding each letter, dividing each syllable, sounding the word, etc. Or they may decode by comparing the novel word to (an) another word (s) already stored in their recognition/comprehension center. They may use context to help them figure out the word. Yet, one way or another, all novel words are decoded, and phonics plays a role. Thus, decoding and phonics are essential to lre.

The Sounds of Words is a universal word, explicit teaching, concrete, multi-sensory, applied phonics, and reading intervention. It is a method that directly teaches decoding and phonics skills to students who are having difficulty learning phonics. So, whenever the teacher/parent uses The Sounds of Words to teach decoding and phonics skills, the parent/teacher is meeting the goal of the least restrictive environment.