Welcome to SOUNDS APART Literacy Education

How do we teach our unique students to read, spell, and write?

• Through a direct, explicit, and sequential approach to spelling and reading instruction, we gently guide our students towards seeing the "code" behind the sound-symbol connections we teach (phonics) — so they understand that every letter represents a sound and every spoken word can be captured with written letters (Moats, 1999).

• Use a multimodal approach to maximize understanding and retention of new language concepts.

  • What does multimodal instruction mean? Students’ cognition is activated and engaged through:

    • Visual - Seeing the letters/words

    • Auditory - Hearing the sounds/words

    • Tactile - Feeling the letters/sounds/words

    • Kinesthetic - Touching or large motor movements with letters/words

• Systematically teach phonemic awareness, first orally and then with print attached.

• Use a research-based scope and sequence to teach phonics concepts as students work towards reading and spelling with greater accuracy and automaticity.

• Apply a diverse and well vetted collection of high-quality materials that pique the interest and capture the attention of every learner as they begin to read and spell with greater fluency.

• Sequence lessons into small and manageable chunks so students feel successful and maintain stable momentum throughout their program, while working to develop important comprehension skills.

• Provide regular feedback to families in order to propel learning forward within a safe and supportive environment.

• PROGRESS MONITORING: Each lesson provides a ‘diagnosis’ for what to ‘do’ next. Students are never asked to move on before we know they have mastered all current concepts. Formal progress monitoring using DIBELS assessments occur every 6-8 weeks, and formal progress reports are provided three times per year.

• OUR GOAL: Unlock the true potential within every student, and guide them towards becoming confident readers and writers.