A Systematic Multisensory Phonics Intervention for Older Struggling Readers: Action Research Study

Abstract

Upper elementary readers who persist with reading difficulties face both academic and emotional challenges when they do not make reading gains equal to their peers. Decades of research has shown that persistent treatment resisters respond positively to a systematic multisensory phonics intervention. In my action research study, I examined how 5th and 6th grade struggling readers responded to a multisensory phonics intervention. Following the eight-week intervention, students made gains in word reading accuracy and demonstrated increased confidence in word reading skills. Implications of the study bolster the importance of providing phonics instruction to older struggling readers. Sixth grade students entered the Literacy Lab one at a time and circled up around the rug for a whole group check. I sat on the rug next to my teaching partner, a veteran Special Education teacher who developed this reading class as a Tier 3 intervention for Special Education students with IEP reading goals and for General Education students reading below grade level. "I have exciting news I'd like to share," I began. "Just like you, I'm also a student. I'm taking a class and I have a big project." I explained that I was conducting an action research study and have been thinking about big questions I have as a reading teacher. I looked around the circle and saw all eyes on me and felt very fortunate to work with this group of students. All seven of the students in the class had also been in the Literacy Lab for reading instruction the previous year as fifth graders. I had even worked with some when they had been in second grade, providing one-on-one and small group reading interventions. Several students leaned forward anticipating where this might be going, while out of the corner of my eye, I saw two boys slowly nod their heads and fold their arms in front of them. I have known these boys since they were in second grade and I was used to their playful rapport. I told the class I had written a letter to

Dissertation in practice: who teaches the teacher? increasing the literacy knowledge of teachers through formation of a professional learning community

“…When participants discussed the instructional strategies utilized within their classrooms, they tended to describe challenges with instruction or their plans for structuring a lesson to address a specific skill (i.e., providing a phonics review at the beginning of the lesson instead of saying how they would teach the phonics skill). Explicit, systematic instruction of foundational skills is necessary for students to make meaningful progress (Brownell et al, 2017;Henry, 2020;Lucariello, Butler, & Tine, 2012;Woods & Graham, 2020). Although some teachers provided evidence of individual instances in which they explicitly taught decoding skills, their practices of finding independent resources instead of utilizing the scope and sequence of the provided curriculum did not allow for the instruction to follow a systematic progression.…”

“…Effective reading instruction for students with and without learning disabilities has been well documented (Alturki, 2017;Brownell et al, 2017;Henry, 2020;Lucariello, Butler, & Tine, 2012;Reynolds & Goodwin, 2016;Woods & Graham, 2020). Effective instructional practices for students with emotional behavioral disorders (EBD), however, are lacking (Campbell et al, 2018;Hoang & Oshiro, 2011).…”

“…Numerous studies indicate the benefit of explicitly and systematically teaching foundational reading skills to developing readers (Brownell et al, 2017;Henry, 2020;Lucariello, Butler, & Tine, 2012;Woods & Graham, 2020). Students make meaningful reading progress when provided with instruction that directly targets components of the Simple View of Reading (Brownell et al, 2017;Henry, 2020;Lucariello, Butler, & Tine, 2012;Woods & Graham, 2020). Both word recognition and language comprehension are necessary for students to become skilled readers.…”

“…Phonics instruction refers to the teaching of letter-sound relationships so that children can read and write words (Sitthitikul, 2014). The implementation of explicit and systematic phonics instruction within the classroom setting positively impacts reading achievement for students (Ehri, 2020;Henry, 2020). Students who are taught to read using systematic phonics instruction, in which letters and sounds are introduced in a specific order for mastery, make greater gains than those who are taught using whole-word or whole-language instruction, in which students are encouraged to use picture or context clues to guess at unknown words.…”

Development of phonics teaching guideline for Thai elementary school students: lesson learned from best practice teachers

“…Phonics teaching Henry (2020) conducted an action research to investigate if multisensory phonics intervention helps to enhance student's reading ability. The researcher examined how 5 th and 6 th grade struggling readers responded to a multisensory phonics intervention by providing the eight-weeks intervention to those students.…”