The “Blocking” Technique & Digraph Mastery
One highly practical strategy is helping children confidently tackle unfamiliar words is by spotting reliable letter patterns. The book Teach Your Child to Read introduces a simple, tactile “finger-blocking” method starting around Chapter 20.
This technique builds directly on phonics knowledge and gives kids a concrete, hands-on way to isolate and recognize common digraphs (two letters that make one sound) like ee, oo, ea, ai, etc.
Here is my reply to Allie and Emma Hartnell-Baker
I hear you, but you're still missing the point.
You're describing a kid limping because there's a nail embedded in his heel — and instead of pulling out the nail, you're listing a dozen other possible reasons: wrong shoes, poor nutrition, weak muscles, bad posture, lack of motivation, etc. Sure, those things could matter in some cases. But when 20% of kids have been leaving school as functional illiterates for decades, year after year, with the failure rate barely budging, it's time to stop the excuses and remove the damn nail.
How I Spot the Real Problem in Under 5 Minutes (And Why I’m Confident They’ll Read Fluently in 3 Months)
In Part 3 we covered memorising the 220 Dolch high-frequency words. These words appear so often in print that knowing them by sight gives children an immediate boost in reading confidence and momentum.
Now let’s address the question parents ask me most often:
“How can you be so confident that you will get my child to read within three months of two-hour lessons per week — even when the psychology report says he has dyslexia or a specific learning disorder?” LINK
Some belief systems have become so deeply ingrained in educators and policymakers that no amount of real-world experience or evidence seems to shake them. One of the most persistent is the claim that kids don’t need to know letter names to learn to read — and that teaching them can even make reading harder.
This idea circulates widely on social media and in teacher training circles. Yet every state still lists naming letters as a kindergarten standard. The result? Generations of children, particularly those with dyslexia or other reading challenges, continue to fall through the cracks.
Different Perspectives on Teaching Reading: Dolch Word Memorisation (High-Frequency Words)
In my recent Facebook discussions with educators Kylie Hoey and Barbara Schubert, the topic of rote memorisation of Dolch words came up. They expressed concerns that memorising words is inefficient, hit-and-miss, or creates bad habits compared to pure decoding. Kylie emphasised teaching words like “with,” “there,” and “one” through explicit decoding and etymology, while Barbara noted that comprehension doesn’t simply follow decoding.
Recently, I came across a comment from Allie-Alejandra Joyner, M.Ed.:
Founder, CEO & Creative Director at Create Curiously | Advancing Literacy Through Curiosity, Creativity & Voice
Luqman Michel, I have had many students in my classrooms over the years who might have been described as “shut down” or identified as emerging readers. How I helped these students was by never stopping the development of rich language through stories while also teaching with evidence-based practices. Often, the shift came from reframing their relationship with reading and rebuilding their confidence alongside explicit instruction. Listening to stories is not separate from learning to read. It strengthens language, comprehension, and connection. For many students, that is exactly what helps them re-engage and begin to read.
Even consonants are not spared.
Almost all the consonants too represent more than one sound.
When we correctly teach the sounds of letters — that is, without any extraneous “uh” or “huh” noises tacked on — many children still shut down if they haven’t first been taught the letter names. This is because a huge number of everyday words are actually pronounced using the sounds of the letter names themselves, not the isolated phonemes we drill in phonics lessons.
Yesterday, an Educator from South Bay asked me how I teach dyslexic kids. Her profile says: ‘Helping young learners grow in reading.’
I started by communicating with her on messenger but thought why not post the conversation here so more may benefit.
Here is our discussion thus far:
In the last 2 days I noticed many on social media disagreeing with class retention if they haven't mastered the basics. This is the foundation for my post today.
If a child hasn’t learned to read by the end of 1st grade, how will they possibly succeed in 2nd grade?
The following discussion on Facebook is another excellent example of ‘The human mind is like the human egg’. Once an initial idea or belief gets in—especially about how children learn to read—the mind forms a protective barrier, shutting out contradictory logic, evidence, or real-world success stories, much like a fertilized egg blocks additional sperm. No amount of logic or examples can change a person’s line of thinking once that first “sperm” (a firmly held teaching philosophy) has taken hold. Educators and researchers often cling to their preferred methods despite clear counterexamples from actual teaching.
I read the following Tweet by @SciAdapt and replied him.
Questions and comments are welcome
Adapt And Thrive @SciAdapt Apr 16
Bro. I'm a sped teacher and 1000% yes. I've expressed this concern with my admin, the psychs, anyone who will listen. The refrain is they should've been identified sooner. Or? I have handled 12 referrals in 4th grade alone this year.
The title is the question posed by a retired SPED teacher on Twitter.
My Answer After Teaching 80+ Smart Kids Who Couldn’t Read"
@SciAdapt, Spot on! The big picture is just a series of small steps—and when we teach those steps right, the rest often falls into place. I’m an accountant, not a trained teacher. Years ago, I started working with a bright boy who had finished kindergarten + Grade 1 but still couldn’t read a single sentence in English. I knew nothing about phonics, so I grabbed a set of Peter and Jane books. I read a sentence, he repeated it after me. We did this for six months until he could read on his own. Then we flipped it—he read while I helped only on tricky words. That success made me curious.
Many intelligent children falter not because of lack of ability, but because of shame avoidance. When early struggles in reading are met with ridicule or punishment, these children misbehave to mask their difficulties. In supportive systems, they thrive; in punitive ones, they derail.
I Received a comment on my post ‘Stop Blaming Kids' 'Poor Phonemic Awareness' — It's the Wrong Letter Sounds, Stupid!’ LINK
Here is the comment by Deanna White - Interdisciplinary Studies Major
Sir, while your success in helping students is commendable, neuroscience offers a clearer explanation for why your "letter-naming" method works—and why "rote memorization" isn't actually what is happening in the brain.
Here is an on-going discussion with a lady who is very knowledgeable and open to discussion.
Cynthia Shevel CALT /TCRS Therapy
Cynthia:
As a Certified Academic Language Therapist, Wilson Practitioner, and Intervention Specialist, I’ve been reflecting a lot lately on how dyslexia is identified and supported here in Ohio—and what families actually experience through the process.
For clarity, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) defines dyslexia as a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language and are often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.
