The Right Methods Eliminate Reading Problems

How much phonics knowledge is needed to become an excellent reader?

Are extensive phonics knowledge and keen decoding skills really needed to eliminate mild to severe reading problems? Read Right Methodology and the “sentence” below challenge the assumption they are:

The sentence below is about PETS. Lines represent missing letters. Can you read it?

        M_     d_ _       l_ _ _ _      t_      b_ _k      a_      m_      c_ _.

Remarkably, struggling readers who know the sounds made by the stable letters of the alphabet (each makes only one sound–b,d, f, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, and w) can easily read this sentence! It is not a trick. It is pure brain science!

The sentence above can be easily read when at least three types of information accumulated from birth are implicitly located and activated by what some consider the guidance system for all neural activity, executive function. The three types: 

(1) Background knowledge–in this case, about “pets”

(2) Implicit knowledge of language and how it works and

(3)  Basic sound/symbol or “phonics” knowledge. 

The human brain’s ability to connect all this information together instantaneously allows us to anticipate the right message! Anticipation is not a guessing game. It is an innate brain function that must be used to perform any activity that requires activation of multiple brain systems: crawling, walking, talking, bicycle riding, and so much more. Because reading is a process performed by the brain and not a single skill, it requires effective anticipation involving multiple neural systems. This can only be achieved through implicit procedural learning!

Read Right methods are successful because they are grounded in the right science for reading development and reading improvement–NOT the wrong science! Check out this video to see the difference Read Right makes for the futures of two students:

At age 8, Ethan (above) was recommended for Special Education classes. Instead, his mother enrolled him in Read Right Online Tutoring. In 9 months, Ethan read at grade level. His sister, Allie, wanted to participate, too, even though she was in kindergarten. By Grade 1, Allie was reading chapter books. We visited the family 10 years later and asked how the kids are doing. Their success is common for Read Right students.

How Does Read Right Work?

We use very different methods to compel the brain to remodel the neural network that guides the reading process. Our methods keep the student’s focus where it belongs: On figuring out and comprehending an author’s message.

To become successful, the struggling reader must figure out how to guide an integrated process that combines: (1) strategic phonetic information with (2) anticipation of the author’s intended language and meaning. Sadly, over emphasis on decoding (sounding out words) is an all-too-common cause of reading problems. Why? The answer is pure brain science: Decoding isolates neural activity to the language centers of the brain (where oral speech is produced), thereby preventing the brain’s natural guidance system (executive function) from seamlessly locating and integrating the multiple types of knowledge required to produce proficient reading ability.

This is very different from the popular assumption that phonics and decoding are the right way to fix reading problems. They are not! The belief was widely promoted by the National Reading Panel in the Year 2000, despite its major flaws.  In a 2014 scientific article, Compton et al. suggest over-emphasis on individual “word” identification can be hazardous to reading development. The act of decoding words compels the brain to only focus on individual words!

The youth below was a virtual non-reader when he started a classroom-based Read Right program. See and hear his improvement:

Read Right methodology is highly effective despite the fact we NEVER ask students to decode a single word. Evidence of rapid effectiveness includes (1) a 2010 independent gold-standard study conducted by Education Northwest; (2) a longitudinal study conducted by a local school system and selected for presentation at the 2006 International Rodin Remediation Conference; (3) data from individual district and school programs serving thousands of students; and (4) individual case studies.

Read Right: Small Group Instruction & Online Tutoring

Read Right is both a theory of how reading excellence develops and a highly structured reading intervention program that works with all ages and levels of disability (including dyslexia). Our highly trained tutors use the same methods for all ages — only the reading material changes. Read Right students learn to use basic phonics knowledge and virtually NO decoding activities to become excellent readers.

In this final video, a former Read Right student talks about overcoming her reading problem as a teen and what happened 15 years later to her first son, Raymond, as a pre-schooler. The family followed Read Right methodology for early reading development and, without ever being asked to decode a single word, Ray figured out how to read at age 5, before starting kindergarten. Testing by his school revealed he started kindergarten reading at an upper first/low second grade reading level.

Read Right Methods Work — in the Classroom and Online

Early reading excellence and rapid reading improvement are possible with Read Right methodology because we put comprehension first, not last. You will see the difference in just eight sessions. We guarantee this for all individuals and families joining the Read Reading Online Tutoring program.

Award Winning and for All Ages

An Award-Winning Program, Read Right is available as Online Tutoring provided by our highly-trained staff, but also as a site-based program managed and implemented by a site’s program staff (K-12 Schools—including Special Education and ELL Programs—Colleges, Prisons, Detention Centers, Community-based Organizations, and Corporations. We’ve trained tutors across the United States, in Canada, and in China. We also provide on-site training for a whole-class Primary Core Curriculum for K-3 (for info, call 360-427-9440). We have worked extensively with ethnic minorities—most notably Native Americans, African Americans, and Latin Americans—and have an impressive record of success with these populations.

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