Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to examine the efficacy of the multisensory teaching approach to improve reading skills at the first-grade level. The control group was taught by the Houghton-Mifflin Basal Reading Program while the treatment group was taught by the Language Basics: Elementary, which incorporates the Orton-Gillingham-based Alphabetic Phonics Method. The results showed that the treatment group made statistically significant gains in phonological awareness, decoding, and reading comprehension while the control group made gains only on reading comprehension.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aaron, P. G., & Joshi, R. M. (1992). Reading problems: Consultation and remediation. New York: Guilford Press.
Ansara, A. (1982). The Orton-Gillingham approach to remediation in developmental dyslexia. In. R. N. Malatesha & P. G. Aaron (Eds.). Reading disorders: Varieties and treatments (pp. 409–433). New York: Academic Press.
Aukerman, R. C. (1984). Approaches to reading. New York: John Wiley.
Ball, E. W., & Blachman, B. A. (1991). Does phoneme segmentation training in kindergarten make a difference in early word recognition and developmental spelling? Reading Research Quarterly, 26, 49–66.
Blachman, B. A. (1987). An alternative classroom reading program for learning disabled and other low-achieving children. In W. Ellis (Ed.), Intimacy with langue: A forgotten basic in teacher education (pp. 49–55). Baltimore, MD: Orton Dyslexia Society.
Blachman, B. A. (1997). Early intervention and phonological awareness: A cautionary tale. In B. Blachman (Ed.), Foundations of reading acquisition and dyslexia (pp. 409–430). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Blachman, B. A., Ball, E. W., Black, R. S., & Tangel, M. (1994). Kindergarten teachers develop phoneme awareness in low-income inner-city classrooms: Does it make a difference? Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 6, 1–18.
Calfee, R. (1983). Book review of dyslexia: Theory and research by F. R. Vellutino. Applied Psycholinguistics, 4, 69–101.
Carroll, J. B. (1963). A model of school learning. Teachers College Record, 64, 723–733.
Clark, D. B., & Uhry, J. K. (1995). Dyslexia: Theory and practice of remedial instruction (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: York Press.
Cox, A. R. (1985). Alphabetic phonics: An organization and expansion of Orton-Gillingham. Annals of Dyslexia, 35, 187–198.
Cox, A. R. (1992). Foundations for literacy: Structure and techniques for multisensory teaching of basic written English language skills. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service.
Ehri, L. C. (1997). Learning to read and learning to spell are one and the same, almost. In C.A. Perfetti, L. Rieben, & M. Fayol (Eds.), Learning to spell (pp. 237–269). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Enfield, M. L. (1987). A cost effective classroom alternative to “pull out” programs. In W. Ellis (Ed.), Intimacy with language: A forgotten basic in teacher education (pp. 45–48). Baltimore, MD: Orton Dyslexia Society.
Foorman, B. R., Francis, D. J., Fletcher, J. M., Schatschneider, C., & Mehta, P. (1998). The role of instruction in learning to read: Preventing reading failure in at-risk children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 37–55.
Foorman, B. R., Francis, D. J., Novy, D. M., & Liberman, D. (1991). How letter-sound instruction mediates progress in first-grade reading and spelling. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 456–459.
Foorman, B. R., Francis, D. J., Shaywitz, S. E., Shaywitz, B. A., & Fletcher, J. M. (1997). The case for early reading intervention. In B. Blachman (Ed.), Foundations of reading acquisition and dyslexia (pp. 243–264). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Gillingham, A., & Stillman, B. W. (1997). The Gillingham manual: Remedial training for children with specific disability in reading, spelling, and penmanship (8th ed.). Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Service.
Herman, R. (1993). The Herman method for reversing reading failure. Los Angeles: Romar Publications, Inc.
Joshi, R. M., & Aaron, P. G. (1991). Developmental reading and spelling disabilities: Are these dissociable? In R. M. Joshi (Ed.), Written language disorders (pp. 1–24). Boston/London: Kluwer.
Juel, C. (1988). Learning to read and write: A longitudinal study of 54 children from first through fourth grade. Journal of Educational Psychology, 80, 437–447.
Kline, C., & Kline, C. (1978). Follow-up study of 216 dyslexic children. Bulletin of the Orton Society, 25, 127–144.
Liberman, I. Y. (1971). Basic research in speech and lateralization of language: Some implications for reading disability. Bulletin of the Orton Society, 21, 71–87.
Liberman, I. Y. (1973). Segmentation of the spoken word and reading acquisition. Bulletin of the Orton Society, 23, 65–77.
Liberman, I. Y. (1987). Language and literacy: The obligations of schools of education. In W. Ellis (Ed.), Intimacy with language: A forgotten basic in teacher education (pp. 1–9). Baltimore, MD: Orton Dyslexia Society.
Lyon, G. R., Gray, D. B., Kavanagh, J. F., & Krasnegor, N. A. (Eds.). (1993). Better understanding learning disabilities: New views from research and their implications for definition, classification, education, and public policy. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
MacGinitie, W. H., & MacGinitie, R. K. (1989). Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests. Itasca, IL: Riverside Publishing Co.
McIntyre, C. W., & Pickering, J. S. (1995). Clinical studies of multisensory structured language education. Salem, OR: International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council.
Moats, L. C. (1994). The missing foundation in teacher education: Knowledge of the structure of spoken and written language. Annals of Dyslexia, 44, 81–102.
Moats, L. C., & Farrell, M. L. (1999). Multisensory instruction. In J. R. Birsh (Ed.), Multisensory teaching of basic language skills (pp. 1–17). Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Monroe, M. (1932). Children who cannot read. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (1994). The nation’s report card. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.
National Assessment of Educational Progress. (2000). The nation’s report card. Washington, DC: National Center for Educational Statistics.
National Reading Panel (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Rack, J. P., Snowling, M. J., & Olson, R. K. (1992). The nonwords reading deficits in developmental dyslexia: A review. Reading Research Quarterly, 27, 29–53.
Rayner, K., Foorman, B. R., Perfetti, C. A., Pesetsky, D., & Seidenberg, M. S. (2001). How psychological science informs the teaching of reading. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2, 31–74.
Rayner, K., Foorman, B. R., Perfetti, C. A., Pesetsky, D., & Seidenberg, M. S. (2002). How should reading be taught? Scientific American, 286 (3), 85–91.
Schenck, B., Fitzsimmons, J., Bullard, P. C., Taylor, H. G., & Satz, P. C. (1980). A prevention model for children at risk for reading failure. In R.M. Knights & D. J. Bakker (Eds.), Treatment of hyperactive and learning disordered children (pp. 31–48). Baltimore, MD: University Park Press.
Slingerland, B. (1977). A multi-sensory approach to language arts for specific language disability children. Cambridge, MA: Educators Publishing Services.
Snow, C. E., Burns, M. S., & Griffin, P. (1998). Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Spalding, R. B., & Spalding, W. (1990). The writing road to reading. New York: William Morrow & Company.
Stanovich, K. E. (1986). Matthew effects in reading: Some consequences of individual differences in the acquisition of literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 21, 360–407.
Stedman, L. C., & Kaestle, C. E. (1987). Literacy and reading performance in the United States from 1880 to the present. Reading Research Quarterly, 38, 175–190.
Strag, G. A. (1972). Comparative behavioral ratings of parents with severe mentally retarded, special learning disability, and normal children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 5, 52–56.
Swerdlik, M. E (1994). Review of Gates-MacGinitie reading tests. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press.
Torgesen, J. K. (2000). Individual differences in response to early interventions in reading: The lingering problem of treatment resisters. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 15, 55–64.
Torgesen, J. K., Alexander, A. W., Wagner, R. K., Rashotte, C. A., Voeller, K., Conway, T., & Rose, E. (2001). Intensive remedial instruction for children with severe reading disabilities: Immediate and long-term outcomes from two instructional approaches. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 34, 33–58.
Torgesen, J. K., & Bryant, B. R. (1994). Test of phonological awareness. Austin, TX: PRO-ED.
Torgesen, J. K., Wagner, R. K., & Rashotte, C. A. (1997). Prevention and remediation of severe reading disabilities: Keeping the end in mind. Scientific Studies of Reading, 1, 217–234.
Vellutino, F. R. (1991). Introduction to three studies on reading acquisition: Convergent findings on theoretical foundations of code-printed versus whole-language approaches to reading instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 437–443.
Walberg, H., & Tsai, S. (1983). Matthew effects in education. American Educational Research Journal, 20, 359–373.
Wilson, B. (1988). Wilson reading system. Millbury, MA: Wilson Language Training.
Wilson, B. (2000). Wilson reading system. Millbury, MA: Wilson Language Training.
Woodcock, R. W. (1987). Woodcock reading mastery test-revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Services
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Joshi, R.M., Dahlgren, M. & Boulware-Gooden, R. Teaching reading in an inner city school through a multisensory teaching approach. Ann. of Dyslexia 52, 229–242 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-002-0014-9
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-002-0014-9