Welcome to Part 7 of How to Teach Dyslexic Kids! By now your student has built strong foundations in phonics, multisensory techniques, and the finger-blocking method for spotting reliable patterns like ee, oo, and other vowel teams. This stage focuses on two powerful unlocks: R-controlled vowels (the “bossy r” sounds)
Syllable division rules — the key to cracking longer, multisyllabic words.
Important Milestone Message
With consistent practice, children gradually internalize these patterns. In time, they will spot the familiar part they know visually (without using their fingers at all) and read many new words independently. The fingers are just temporary training wheels — excellent for building confidence and accuracy at first, but the goal is fluent, automatic reading. Celebrate every step toward independence!
R-Controlled Vowels (“Bossy R”)
When a vowel is followed by r, it changes its sound. These are often tricky for dyslexic learners because the vowel sound is neither short nor long.
Common R-Controlled Combinations (teach one at a time):ar → /ar/ as in car, star, farm
er → /er/ as in her, bird, nurse (also ir, ur — they often make the same sound)
or → /or/ as in for, corn, storm
Teaching with Finger-Blocking:
Show the word: star
Student spots “ar”
Block (“st”) with index fingers
Say the known “ar” sound
Then reveal 't' and say 'tar'.
Blend the whole word 'star'
Use in a sentence: “I see a bright star.”
Practice Word Lists:
ar: car, star, farm, hard, park, dark, start, garden
er/ir/ur: her, bird, fur, shirt, hurt, girl, turn, first, nurse
or: for, or, corn, storm, horse, short, morning
2. Syllable Division – The Big Unlock for Longer Words
Once students know vowel teams and r-controlled vowels, teach them to break big words into smaller, manageable syllables. This dramatically reduces overwhelm.
Basic Syllable Division Rules (keep it simple and explicit):VC/CV (Vowel-Consonant / Consonant-Vowel)
Example: rab-bit → divide between the consonants.
V/CV (open syllable — long vowel)
Example: ba-by, ti-ger
Compound words — divide between the two words
Example: sun-shine, foot-ball
Words with suffixes — separate the base word and ending
Example: farm-ing, help-ful
Combined Technique (Finger-Blocking + Syllable Division):
For cooking → spot “oo”, block, read “cook”, then add “ing”
For garden → divide into gar-den → apply r-controlled “ar” in first syllable
For important → break into im-por-tant → tackle one syllable at a time
Practice Words (start simple, build up):
rabbit, mitten, picnic
tiger, robot, paper
sunshine, basketball
farming, helpful, starter
Fading the Finger Supports (Gradual Release)
This is the perfect stage to begin weaning off physical fingers:
Full physical blocking (current stage) — use both index fingers.
Visual blocking — use two small cards or just point with fingers (no actual covering).
Mental spotting — child circles or highlights the known pattern with a pencil, then reads.
Independent — “Spot the pattern in your head and read the whole word.”
Praise the transition explicitly:
“Amazing! You spotted the ‘ar’ without even using your fingers — that’s real reading power!”
Weekly Routine Suggestion
Days 1–2: Introduce new r-controlled or syllable rule + 8–10 words with blocking.
Days 3–4: Mixed practice + short decodable sentences/stories.
Day 5: Review + fun activity (word hunt in a real book, create a silly story using new words).
Daily cumulative review of all previous patterns.
Parent/Teacher Encouragement
Progress is not always linear. Some days will feel slower — that’s normal with dyslexia. Focus on effort and strategy use (“You used the syllable rule so well!”). Keep linking reading to the child’s interests and strengths.
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