Welcome to Part 6 of How to Teach Dyslexic Kids! We’re building directly on the finger-blocking method from Part 5. Once your student has solid success with ee (the long /ē/ sound), it’s time to introduce more common vowel teams and digraphs. This keeps the momentum going while systematically expanding their ability to decode thousands of new words.
Vowel teams (two or more letters working together to make one sound) are a frequent sticking point for dyslexic learners because English spelling is inconsistent. Explicit practice with the blocking technique turns confusion into confidence.
Core Principle for This Stage “Spot the familiar pattern → Block the rest → Blend what you know.”
This reduces cognitive load, prevents guessing, and reinforces that reading is a logical code, not magic.
Next Recommended Sequence (Structured & Logical)
After ee, move to these high-frequency patterns (one at a time, with plenty of review):
oo (as in book / foot and moon / food)
ea (as in eat / bread – note the two sounds!)
ai / ay (as in rain / play)
oa (as in boat)
ie / ei and others later
Detailed Lesson: Introducing “oo” (Example). Today’s Lesson:
“Today we will learn another powerful letter combination: oo. It can make two main sounds – the short sound like in ‘book’ and the long sound like in ‘moon’. We will start with words that use the long /oo/ sound.”
Step-by-Step Finger-Blocking Routine (same as “ee”):
Show a word, e.g., moon.
Student identifies “oo”.
Left index finger blocks everything before “oo” (m).
Right index finger blocks everything after “oo” (n).
Only “oo” visible → child says the known sound.
Lift right finger → sees “oon”, blends.
Lift left finger → full word “moon”.
Repeat the word, use in a sentence, and write it.
“oo” Word List (ready-to-use, mix long and short sounds later):
Long oo (moon sound):
moon, soon, food, tool, school, cool, pool, room, boom, zoom, root, boot, shoot,
Short oo (book sound – introduce after mastery):
book, look, cook, took, foot, good, wood, stood, hood, wool
Mixed practice words: cooking, looking, schooling
Extension Activity – “Cooking” example from the book:
Spot “oo” → block → read “cook” → add “ing” → “cooking”.
Daily/Weekly Routine Suggestions
Warm-up (5 min): Quick review of previous digraphs (ee words).
New Pattern (10–12 min): Introduce + 8–12 words with blocking.
Application (5–8 min): Read sentences or a short decodable book containing the pattern.
Broader Goal – Toward Independent Reading
As they master more vowel teams, students will suddenly unlock huge numbers of words. Celebrate this “explosion” moment! Transition gradually to:
Removing fingers entirely (visual blocking only).
Teaching common suffixes (-ing, -ed, -tion).
Reading real chapter books with support (audiobooks + text together).
Chapters 27–30 of Teach Your Child to Read contain a single, engaging story that uses every one of the 220 Dolch High Frequency Words. Read the story aloud together a few times until your child reaches fluency. Once they can read it smoothly, they’ll have mastered all the most common words — and will be ready to pick up real books with confidence.
This structured approach (explicit, sequential, multisensory) is exactly what research shows works best for dyslexia. Consistency beats intensity — short daily practice compounds powerfully.
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