Sterne READS

Reading Education And Dyslexia Support

Dyslexia Intervention at Sterne

Dyslexia Intervention at Sterne

I suspect my child has dyslexia or a reading challenge... now what?

It’s an all-too-common experience at Sterne for families to wait until 6th grade to switch schools.

Unfortunately, by this point, many students have developed anxiety about reading aloud or writing in class; their self-esteem may be suffering, and some students may even withdraw or attempt to avoid school altogether.

4th grade presents a crucial shift from “learning to read” to “reading to learn.” At this level, children begin synthesizing information across texts and the curriculum, and the amount of reading and writing at school greatly increases.

Often, parents are the first to identify a reading problem. And you can play an active role in your child’s reading development by getting help as early as possible. Here are a few things to look for that may indicate a reading problem:

My child doesn’t recognize common “sight words” when they read
My child struggles to “sound out” words phonetically
My child doesn’t do well on spelling tests and/or demonstrates inconsistent spelling of common words
When my child reads aloud, they read very slowly, skip over words and/or invent words
My child avoids reading and writing

On the flipside, many struggling readers and writers demonstrate strengths in these areas:

Oral comprehension (when a text is read aloud)
Oral vocabulary
Artistic or musical abilities
Making and engineering
Interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence

Sterne READS: Our Dyslexia Intervention Program

Sterne READS
Reading Education And Dyslexia Support

Sterne School’s intensive dyslexia intervention program

Dyslexic students need intensive and structured literacy intervention to achieve success in reading and school. We know that these learners are not limited in their capacity to understand, process, and express sophisticated concepts. This understanding drives our approach, and it is the reason why Sterne READS is not a pull-out program, but rather, a comprehensive intervention program embedded in our English Language Arts courses.

Our unique intervention model, based on the Orton-Gillingham approach, integrates dyslexia support within English Language Arts classes. Students participate in shared learning experiences like novels, workshops, and writing projects with their peers. Our inclusive design provides individualized support while keeping students connected to their classmates, teachers, and grade-level curriculum.

The framework of our program is composed of seven key aspects:

Targeted, personalized intervention
Multi-sensory instruction for skill-building
Daily practice in phonics, syllables, and phrasing
Linking spelling, reading and writing
Word study and vocabulary instruction
Applying skills to novels and texts
Bypass strategies and assistive technology

For an in-depth explanation of each of these components, expand the menu below.

Sterne READS: Our program's framework

Targeted, personalized intervention

Our class sizes are between 5-8 students, which allows for direct feedback and a strong student-teacher relationship. Using data collected from reading and spelling assessments, we can provide personalized, targeted instruction. We recognize that many of our students have developed compensatory strategies and bypass mechanisms by fourth grade, so our program builds on those strengths. Our motto is, “Move as fast as we can, and as slow as we must.”

Multi-sensory instruction for skill-building

Color-coded magnetic letter boards are a key component of our program. This is a strong visual element that helps students identify and practice all the sounds in our English language. They learn that each magnet has a “home” and belongs to a specific letter family. As students build words, they engage their fine motor skills, learn kinesthetic motions for each letter sound and word, and develop their visual memory. Seat time during this instructional process is thoughtfully considered; there are many opportunities for movement throughout the lesson.

Daily practice in phonics, syllables, and phrasing

Students receive daily lessons and practice in letter/sound correspondence, spelling, and fluency. Unlike other programs that may have targeted instruction only a few times a week, students enrolled in the READS program receive daily instruction in their ELA class, focusing on increasing fluency and spelling. Regularly activating the phonetic area of the brain is important for students with dyslexia. From repetitive quick exercises on the magnetic board, to auditory phonetic games, and identifying the six syllable types, teachers intentionally bring awareness to sound and symbol.

Linking spelling, reading, and writing

It is important to acknowledge the inherent link between all aspects of literacy – spelling, reading, and writing. Spelling is all about understanding patterns and knowing that 85% of the English language spelling is predictable. As students strengthen their spelling, they can better decode words when reading. When reading becomes more fluent, they will be able to construct words and sentences for writing. Important to the Sterne READS program is the acknowledgement that spelling rules and patterns must be expressly taught because students with dyslexia so often struggle with visual memory. Memorizing words or spelling lists is not a simple or reliable strategy. Multi-sensory spelling instruction, word list study, and weekly quizzes reinforce and assess students’ understanding of these essential spelling rules and concepts.

In the Sterne READS program, writing is something that happens often and is celebrated. The Jane Schaffer writing method provides a color-coded, highly structured process of writing from sentence structure, to paragraphing, to essay-generation. Students in the Sterne READS program engage in weekly informal writing assignments where they can practice these skills. Students use computers for typing, spelling, and grammar checks. Normal writing assignments are scaffolded and chunked into manageable pieces to build confidence and capability.

Word study and vocabulary instruction

Morphology, or the study of the parts of words, is a key piece to understanding how English works. As a part of our scope and sequence of the Sterne READS program, students study prefixes, suffixes, and base words. They start with the most common suffixes (–tion, –er, –ness) before moving into Latin and Greek/Latin bases. These are directly tied into reading assignments and spelling lists.

Applying skills to novels and texts

It is common in many phonics programs for students to study language without participating in meaningful reading. The Sterne READS program ensures that students read books every day. This provides the crucial link between spelling, reading, and writing, and builds students’ fluency, comprehension, and confidence. At Sterne, we believe if you're going to learn how to ride a bike, you should stop studying the pieces and just hop on the bike. We read books.

Leveled chapter books reinforce spelling word lists and weekly concepts, and are assigned at students “stretch level” so they are appropriately challenged. All books and instruction are rooted in Common Core standards for comprehension, text and craft, and parts of a story.

Bypass strategies and assistive technology

Each student at Sterne has a Chromebook with assistive technology software, including audio books, text-to-speech, dictation, grammar and spell check. Teachers are trained in all aspects of this technology, and in turn, work with students to use it consistently, appropriately, and to its fullest capacity.

Recognizing the "superpower" of dyslexia

This article was published to our Currents blog in October 2024.
One in every five students in the U.S. has dyslexia. Here at Sterne School, the ratio is almost three out of every five. This year, as we honor Dyslexia Awareness Month, we want to bring awareness to these statistics as well as awareness of how we support our dyslexic learners at Sterne.

Malia Rubens is Sterne's English Language Arts (ELA) Coordinator and Learning Resource Specialist, working with dyslexic students in our lower middle school grades for the past six years. “Dyslexia is not a bad word here at Sterne,” Rubens emphasized. “We see it as a superpower and support our students in identifying those strengths they possess by being able to see a situation differently.”

Celebrating uniqueness is a core value here at Sterne, so we’re used to looking at situations differently. While we know that dyslexic students need intensive and structured literacy intervention to achieve success in reading and school, we also recognize that these learners are not limited in their capacity to understand, process, and express sophisticated concepts. This understanding drives our approach, and it is the reason why we are proud to highlight our signature Sterne READS dyslexia intervention program.

Based on the Orton-Gillingham method, Sterne READS (Reading Education and Dyslexia Support) is a one-of-a-kind program that is designed to be individualized and inclusive. Rather than using a pull-out model for support, Sterne READS is embedded in our lower and middle school ELA curriculum. Students participate in shared learning experiences like novels, workshops, and writing projects with their peers. This inclusive design provides individualized support while keeping students connected to their classmates, teachers, and grade-level curriculum.

Describing the program in detail, Rubens noted, “There is so much scientific-neuro research today about how the brain learns to read. We blend these practices into games, repetition, and daily reading during our ELA periods. Every day, our students receive the specific, structured instruction that they need in decoding and spelling. Because of this embedded daily instruction, our students participate in all other electives, PE, and other areas of interest and strengths. They do not need to be pulled out. This helps them see their value in a place like school.”

It’s that last piece that truly sets apart the inclusive nature of the Sterne READS model, an approach that Rubens connects with personally. “Today, I think of my teaching inspiration—my sister,” Rubens said. “School was a place where she learned to tolerate, not thrive. Her dyslexia became a wall between her and feeling accepted in a school atmosphere. The teachers who saw her brilliance and looked past her spelling were the key to helping her belong. I am so proud that today I get to work in an atmosphere that challenges kids to work through their struggles while celebrating their strengths.”

Click the dropdown menus above to read more about Sterne READS, and visit the Admissions section of our website to take the next steps in seeing our program in action.

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