Read Right

The Choice:

A Theory of Reading or Expert Coaching?

Read Right Offers More than a Theory. It is a Highly Structured System of Reading Development and Reading Intervention Grounded in a Broader Understanding of Brain Science.

Did you know that two-thirds of American students read at a basic level or below (source: National Assessment of Educational Progress, 2002 to present)? As a result, most children, teens, and young adults today either struggle with reading or resist it! Reading problems are not only common–they are the norm.

The bottom line: Something is wrong with early reading instruction in our schools, as well as reading remediation (Grade 3 and beyond). If it weren’t, two-thirds of America’s students would read at a proficient level or above. Instead, the opposite is true.

Excellent reading ability cannot be “taught”: a teacher tells a student what to do to be a better reader. Reading excellence must be “coached”: a highly trained coach provides structured guidance as the reader puts in the effort to figure out how to be a successful reader.

Read Right methodology quickly transforms struggling readers to successful, confident readers. By design, Read Right reflects what neuroscientists know about how the brain learns a process. Procedural learning is significantly different from declarative learning, which relates to facts that can be declared (the dominant focus of both education scientists and K-12 education). Thus, Read Right presents a whole new, scientifically-based view of what every brain must do to make reading excellence happen.

Compare the differences between main-stream thinking in the field of reading (source: the “five basic skills” theory, the product of the National Reading Panel’s 18-month literature review, 1998-2000) and Read Right’s deeper understanding and broader application of neuroscience reflected in the extensive literature review and classroom/student intervention work of Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., 1982 to present:

MAIN-STREAM READING THEORY

Source:
National Reading Panel

THE READ RIGHT VIEW

Source:
Dee Tadlock, Ph.D.
Main Stream Reading Theory
Phonemic awareness must be explicitly taught because it is a necessary pre-requisite for decoding and word-attack.
The Read Right View
Every individual who can speak successfully already possesses implicit phonemic awareness. Implicit awareness is all that is needed to begin to learn to read.
Main Stream Reading Theory
The foundational skill and main event of reading is the ability to easily and comfortably identify each word—using decoding, sight word recognition, and word attack skills. PROBLEM: Neuroscience challenges this view. Neuroscientists have found that the human brain cannot process more than 3 to 7 bits of information at one time before working/short-term memory wipes everything clean and starts over. As a result, syllable-by-syllable and word-by-word reading make comprehension very difficult, if not impossible.
The Read Right View
Read this sentence. Keep in mind that it is about pets:
M_      d_ _      l_ _ _ _    t_      b_ _k    a_     m_      c_ _.
How is it possible to read this? Rather than decode or recognize words, your brain relies on a different strategy: using minimal phonetic information to “anticipate” the author’s message. Relying on anticipation compels integration of minimal phonetic information with knowledge of how language works, as well as knowledge associated with the subject matter (e.g., “pets”) where ever the knowledge is stored in long-term memory. Anticipation allows the brain to get around the limitations of working/short-term memory. When readers learn to read this way, excellent reading becomes effortless. Read Right uses highly structured methods to coach struggling readers to read this way. The method has demonstrated effectiveness with mild to severe reading problems, including dyslexia.
Main Stream Reading Theory
Fluency is a reading skill that can be explicitly taught by encouraging students to identify words faster. 
The Read Right View
Fluency is not a separate reading skill. Lack of fluency is a symptom that the brain isn’t reading right.  
Main Stream Thinking
Vocabulary instruction helps students recognize the studied words when encountered in print. Word lists or words used in phrases are often used during instruction. 
The Read Right View
Research has documented that the act of reading is a major source of vocabulary expansion. It happens seamlessly, often without the reader noticing. 
Main Stream Thinking
Comprehension is addressed by explicit teaching of comprehension strategies and by providing correction for incorrect answers. 
The Read Right View
Comprehension does not have to be addressed as a separate skill. Literal comprehension, like fluency, is a by-product of the process when the brain reads right (creating anticipatory sets that accurately reflect the author’s message).  



Read Right’s methods are rapid and effective. Dozens of educators, school administrators, parents, and students verify its effectiveness in our Written and Video Testimonials.  

We all want the same thing: Reading success for every child, teen, and adult. Read Right delivers! Rather than give educators a manual and set them free to figure out the methods on their own, we provide hundreds of hours of training with students present. Each of our Online Tutors has received the same intensive training. For our Online Reading Intervention Program, see our Online Tutoring Guarantee.

Explore this website to learn more:

Successful Reading Program

Above: Ten years ago at age 8, Ethan recommended for Special Education classes. Instead, his mother enrolled him in Read Right Online Tutoring. With just 9 months of tutoring, Ethan was reading at grade level. Our reading improvement methods lean on procedural learning associated with complex processes the brain performs, not simplistic decoding and individual word identification. How powerful is this approach? His kindergarten-age sister, Allie, wanted to participate, too–and she was reading chapter books by Grade 1.

Non-Reader Into Successful Reader

Above: This video from our Read Right library will show you the “before” and “after” power of Read Right Tutoring for Reading. Throughout their reading intervention experience, struggling readers focus on comprehension. They are never asked to decode individual words because doing so violates the human brain’s limitations on short-term/working memory.

Young Children Can Learn To Read Easily

Finally: A brief example of how young children can learn to read easily when the methodology is right. From the time he was born, Ray Nunn’s parents followed Read Right methodology for early reading development (see “Read Right! Coaching Your Child to Excellence in Reading” by Dee Tadlock, Ph.D., New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005). As a result, Ray, pictured upper right corner, became a successful reader before starting kindergarten. In October of his kindergarten year, he tested at an upper first/lower second grade reading level. Even with developing readers, Read Right methodology never asks children to decode a single word.