Structured Literacy

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Table of Contents

What Is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy is a research based approach to instruction and involves multisensory strategies. The terms Structured Literacy and Multisensory Structured Language Education (MSLE) are often used interchangeably. Structured literacy components include phonology, phonics, syllables, morphology, etymology, syntax, fluency, semantics, comprehension, and handwriting. It also requires that instruction be direct, sequential, systematic, cumulative, diagnostic, and multisensory. 

Structured Literacy is the most effective approach to teaching children who struggle with reading and writing and is beneficial to all children. Click here for a link to the International Dyslexia Association’s infographic on Structured Literacy.

Structured Literacy Components

Phonology:

Phonology is the study of sounds in words. An important milestone in literacy is the ability to isolate individual sounds in words, also known as phonemes. Blending, segmenting, and manipulating phonemes is the foundation of reading and writing. Please follow this link to learn more about the importance of phonemic awareness.

Phonics:

Phonics requires children to map sounds to the correct letters and vice versa. When children read, they map letters to the corresponding sounds. When children write, they map sounds to the corresponding letters. Phonics is the only way to guarantee that children can read and spell unfamiliar words

Syllables:

A syllable is a unit of speech with one vowel sound. Structured Literacy requires children to understand the six syllable types so they can divide unfamiliar words into manageable pieces. Understanding syllables is helpful for both reading and writing.

Morphology:

Morphology is the study of meaningful elements of language such as prefixes and suffixes. For instance, the prefix re- means again, un- means not, the suffix -ed means past tense, and -s means more than one. Morphological awareness is proven to aid in word identification, spelling, vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension.

Etymology: 

Etymology is the study of word origin. Word origin affects how words are pronounced and spelled. It helps students understand why some words may not follow the “rules” of literacy. Some common origins are Latin, Greek, and Old English. 

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Syntax: 

Syntax is a system of rules that dictate word order. Syntactic rules allow children to combine words in different ways and change sentence structure. For instance, “The dog is eating” can be transformed into, “Is the dog eating?”

Fluency:

Fluency is the ability to read accurately, automatically, and with prosody. When a person reads fluently, their brain power is freed up for reading comprehension. It allows attention to be focused on higher-level thinking skills such as inferencing, predictions, and understanding instead of decoding. 

Semantics-Comprehension:

Semantics refers to the meaning of individual words, sentences, and connected text. It requires that children comprehend what they read at every level. Comprehension is the end goal of reading. 

Handwriting: 

Writing letters is more than a fine motor skill. It is a form of written language. The most effective literacy instruction includes teaching reading, spelling, and handwriting. Children should be taught to write in cursive, manuscript and through keyboards.

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How To Teach Structured Literacy

Explicit and Direct:

Structured Literacy requires instruction to be straightforward and leaves nothing to be assumed or implied. Everything that children need to know will be told to them directly, even if something seems obvious. Feedback should also be explicit and direct. Students need to understand exactly what they need to change. Explicit and direct instruction leaves nothing to chance. 

Sequential, Systematic, and Cumulative: 

Sequential and systematic instruction requires that information be presented to students beginning with the simplest concept and progresses in a logical order. Cumulative instruction means that each lesson increases the students’ knowledge one step at a time. Concepts should be presented one at a time and in order of difficulty. 

Diagnostic:

Diagnostic means that the instructor will monitor the child’s progress and use that information to adjust instruction accordingly. The curriculum should provide the framework but it is not meant to override the child’s needs. Structured literacy needs to be individualized and tailored to the child.

Multisensory:

Multisensory refers to the way children are taught using auditory, visual, and motor strategies. Structured literacy requires that all three of modalities are used simultaneously when teaching. 

Is your child receiving structured literacy? Do you have questions about the approach? Let us know in the comments or reach out to us via our connect page. We would love to help support you on your journey!