Learning to Read and Learning Disabilities

Exposure to sight words can be instrumental to children with learning disabilities - in more ways than one. Various disabilities, like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, can significantly slow a child’s reading development.

Numerous researchers have recognized that repetitive interaction with high frequency “sight” words is particularly instrumental when challenged or at risk children learn to read. One representative study found that brief instruction in sight word recognition combined with daily sight word drill assignments resulted in test scores “significantly higher than those of control group students.” (This particular study was of third graders considered at risk for learning disabilities). Learn to read games, which capture and retain a child’s attention, often prove the most rewarding for both student and teacher when performing sight word drills.

But sight words can also play a role in identifying a child’s disability. While learning disabilities are typically diagnosed in the teenage years, many disabilities can be addressed, and sometimes prevented, by intervention at a much earlier age. Experts now know that there are things that parents can do at home to help even at the pre-school level.

Attributes such as auditory and visual processing, memory, processing speed, comprehension, and attention are the underlying tools that enable kids to learn. Any weak cognitive skill— or a combination of several— can lead to a learning disability. (ParentGuide News, April 2007). Repetitive sight work interaction allows parents and teachers to assess many, if not all, of these attributes in their children and students.

Er-u-di-tion is a sight words game that provides teachers and parents a great opportunity to assess these skills, through interaction with sight words, in a fun and interactive way. According to Veronica Krieger, a professor in the Department of Reading at the State University of New York at Albany, “Among the various reading problems encountered by learning disabled children, the misreading of high-frequency sight words or the tendency to reverse the sequence of letters within those words have been of particular interest to educators.”

The Five Skills Needed When Learning to Read

Learning to read is a critical component in a child’s development, which not only affects a child’s ability to succeed in school but also his or her desire to learn. The critical years are from kindergarten to third grade. Specific skills need to be taught to a child in order for them to successfully learn to read. Teaching experts break these critical skills into five categories: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension.

Phonemic awareness is the ability to recognize individual sounds (phonemes) in spoken words. In order for children to learn to read they need to understand how specific sounds comprise words. Phonics refers to the ability to comprehend the general relationships between letters and phonemes. By learning phonics, beginning readers can decode those unfamiliar words that follow the phonic rules. Fluency is the ability to recognize certain words automatically and read text accurately. Fluency is the bridge to text comprehension as it fosters effortless reading, which allows the mind to focus on understanding what was read.

Vocabulary relates to those words that a student must understand (when listening, speaking, reading and writing) to communicate effectively. Text comprehension is the ability to understand what is read. To master text comprehension readers must be aware of what they understand, be able to identify what they do not understand and use strategies to solve problems by themselves. According to a U.S. Department of Education publication, “Teaching specific words before reading helps both vocabulary learning and reading comprehension.”

Er-u-di-tion, the sight words game, was designed to enhance each of these five critical reading skills. The game’s cards are segregated into four categories so players with different reading skills can play together. The blue cards were designed for pre-school ages and develop phonemic awareness and phonics skills. Each of these cards contains an upper and lower case letter and two words that emphasize that letter’s most common phonic sound.

The green, yellow, and red cards were designed for elementary school ages and serve to develop fluency, vocabulary and text comprehension skills. Each of these cards contains a sight word as well as its syllabication and definition. Through repetitive interaction with these game cards, children learn to recognize upon sight, properly pronounce, and comprehend the meaning of these high frequency words.

In the classroom, centers ranging from 4 to 6 children provide an ideal environment to use the game creating a fun and entertaining atmosphere while exposing students to those high frequency words that are critical to early reading development.
Er-u-di-tion is also a great educational game to play with friends and/or family.

Parental Involvement Accelerates Learning to Read

A child’s ability to read dictates, in large measure, his / her success in school and throughout life. As eliquently stated by Ontario Canada’s Ministry of Education, “The focus on instruction in the early years is on learning to read, but over time the focus shifts to reading to learn. … There is a critical window of opportunity from the ages of four to seven for children to learn to read.”

Most schools begin reading curriculum in kindergarten and test students’ ability to read common sight words beginning in kindergarten and continuing through 3rd grade. When a child has reading difficulties into the third grade, the child is more likely to be labeled as having a learning disability. It is critical for young children to receive all the support necessary to be literate by the third grade.

Parents can help their children learn to read. If parents instill the correct skills, they significantly enhance a child’s reading ability and minimize the risk of a child being labeled as having a learning disability. A recent study determined that parental involvement with children in kindergarten to third grade had a favorable impact on a child’s literacy enhancement.

The study focused on three distinct types of parental involvement: 1) reading to the child, 2) listening to the child read and 3) teaching the child literacy skills. The study found that teaching literacy skills was significantly more effective in enhancing a child’s literacy than the other two methods.

Parents participating in the study worked with their children to enhance various literacy skills. Daily parental activities were performed to reinforce the reading skills taught at school. Among those activities was repeated exposure to sight words.

Er-u-di-tion, the sight words game, was created to expose children to high frequency words in a fun and entertaining atmosphere. The words are categorized by level of difficulty so children from pre-school through third grade can play the game together. When older children, teenagers, and adults play Er-u-di-tion, they are encouraged to define the sight word and use it in a sentence to enhance vocabulary and text comprehension skills.

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