What is Structured Literacy?

Structured Literacy is a term adopted by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) that encompasses all approaches to reading instruction that conform to the IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards. The term “Structured Literacy” is not designed to replace Orton Gillingham, Multi-Sensory or other terms in common use. It is an umbrella term designed to describe all of the programs that teach reading in essentially the same way. https://dyslexiaida.org/structured-literacy/

"Structured Literacy (SL) teaching is the most effective approach for students who experience unusual difficulty learning to read and spell printed words

"The evidence is strong that the majority of students learn to read better with structured teaching of basic language skills, and that the components and methods of Structured Literacy are critical for students with reading disabilities, including dyslexia."

Moats, L. (2019). Structured Literacy: Effective instruction for students with dyslexia and related reading difficulties. Perspectives on Language and Literacy, 45(2), 9-10.

Key Features of Structured Literacy:

explicit, systematic, and sequential teaching of literacy at multiple levels - phonemes, letter-sound relationships, syllable patterns, vocabulary, morphology, syntax and semantics
cumulative practices and ongoing review
diagnostic and responsive
hands-on, engaging, and multimodal
a high level of student-teacher interaction
use of decodable texts; and
prompt, corrective feedback

Structured Literacy is especially

well-suited for students with dyslexia and language-based reading disabilities as it directly addresses their core weaknesses in phonological skills, decoding and spelling

(Moats, 2017).

Not only is Structured Literacy ideal for students

with learning disabilities but it is also especially beneficial for English Language Learners.