8/7/2024

Tips for Developing a Structured Literacy Program

With approximately 40% of students unable to read at grade level across the nation, educators are under increasing pressure to accelerate learning for all students. Along with that, the current teacher shortage and lack of specialists and content-area experts available within the education system add to that pressure.

Teachers need support now more than ever, and a huge part of this support is going to come from educating them about effective teaching strategies that help all students—regardless of their backgrounds. This is where Structured Literacy comes in.

What is a Structured Literacy Approach?

Structured Literacy (SL) is an evidence-based method of teaching students how to read. As defined by the Rhode Island Department of Education, Structured Literacy is the explicit, systematic, diagnostic, and cumulative instruction of phonological and phonemic awareness, phonics, syllables, morphology, semantics, and syntax. Along with these components, Structured Literacy typically combines reading, writing, speaking, and listening to provide students with a holistic approach to literacy acquisition.

Structured Literacy vs. Balanced Literacy—What’s the Difference?

In the United States, there is no standard for the way reading is taught. This is starting to change as more states pass laws requiring evidence-based literacy instruction. Still, there is a range of teaching methods and standards across the country. Aside from Structured Literacy, one of the most common methods of teaching reading is the balanced literacy approach.

Balanced literacy is not an evidence-based approach to teaching students how to read, instead, it is a philosophy that emphasizes the balance between teacher-led and independent learning. While this sounds good in theory, it is ultimately becoming less popular as more research comes out surrounding the science behind learning to read. Balanced literacy is not supported by science, specifically because new concepts and skills are not taught explicitly or systematically under this teaching method. This leaves the majority of students struggling, and doesn’t make room for Emergent Bilinguals or students with learning disabilities like dyslexia.

Only 36% of fourth and eighth grade students are able to read proficiently. But research shows that when students are taught with a Structured Literacy approach based on the science of reading, 95% of them have the capacity to read, and even find joy in doing so.

Elements of Structured Literacy Programs

The International Dyslexia Association® (IDA) states that curricula taking a Structured Literacy approach must cover phonemic awareness, sound-symbol correspondences, orthography, morphology, semantics, and syntax.

Phoneme Awareness

Phonological and phonemic awareness refers to the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words and understand these sounds are made up of individual speech sounds (phonemes). It is the first step toward learning to read and includes rhyming, syllables, and counting the number of words in a sentence.

Sound-Symbol Correspondences

The English language is made up of graphemes, which are written versions of phonemes. Graphemes are letters and letter combinations that represent sounds. Sound-symbol correspondence is the act of matching sounds to their written equivalents—this is often referred to as the “alphabetic code.” The English sound-symbol correspondence system is more complex than some languages, so it might take some time for students to master, but it is still completely possible when taking a Structured Literacy approach.

Patterns and Conventions of Print (Orthography)

Orthography refers to the rules of a written language. English has many rules and patterns, such as the fact that some letters, like v and j, can’t be used at the ends of words or that only some letters can be doubled.

The IDA explains that Structured Literacy programs usually teach six types of written syllables: “closed (com, mand), open (me, no), vowel-consonant-e (take, plete), vowel team (vow, mean), vowel-r combinations (car, port), and the final consonant-le pattern (lit-tle, hum-ble).” Being able to recognize written syllable patterns will help students understand spelling conventions or practice decoding when faced with a difficult word.

Morphology

Morphemes include prefixes, roots, base words, and suffixes. Having a strong understanding of morphemes will help students with spelling and figuring out the meaning of new words.

Semantics

This refers to the aspect of language concerned with meaning, which can be conveyed through single words or phrases and sentences. Developing a strong comprehension of oral and written language comes from learning vocabulary, interpreting phrases and sentences, and understanding text organization. Semantics is a key aspect of reading comprehension that should be integrated into all levels of reading instruction.

Syntax

This refers to organizing words in a specific way so they make sense. Syntax involves understanding parts of speech, grammar conventions, and word use within sentences.

How to Implement a Structured Literacy Program

One of the most important aspects of choosing an effective literacy program is taking into account the specific needs of your students. The research behind the science of reading provides a multidisciplinary look at how the human brain learns how to read, and this research can be applied to all types of students—regardless of their background. This means that to adequately teach students how to read, educators must ensure their curriculum is backed by research.

Structured Literacy instruction is composed of a few elements: explicit, systematic, cumulative, and diagnostic instruction.

Explicit Instruction: The teacher explains new concepts directly and clearly. It is not assumed students will learn naturally through exposure, but instead through direct student-teacher instruction. Explicit instruction paired with plenty of practice benefits all students.

Systematic & Cumulative Instruction: According to the IDA, this form of instruction “teaches language concepts systematically, explaining how each element fits into the whole. Instruction follows a planned scope and sequence of skills that progresses from easier to more difficult. One concept builds on another.”

Diagnostic: This refers to teachers constantly evaluating where each student is in the learning process. This way, educators can adjust pacing, presentation, and amount of practice given for each new concept. It also allows teachers to individualize instruction and ensure each student has the chance for reading success.

Along with these elements, the IDA also promotes hands-on and multimodal instruction. This means students get the opportunity to practice reading through games and tactile activities. These can range from using tiles to spell out words to engaging in group oral reading activities.

The Importance of Making Reading Possible for All

The number of Emergent Bilinguals in the United States is growing every year, and potentially one in five students in any given classroom has some form of learning disability. This means that now more than ever it is imperative we implement effective reading programs that will allow all students to find success in reading, and as a result become confident learners.

When implementing a Structured Literacy curriculum in the classroom, 95% of students have the ability to read at or above grade level. To learn more about Structured Literacy and how to implement the science of reading in the classroom, take a look at this Education Insight written by Dr. Suzanne Carreker.