Wilson Reading System and Orton-Gillingham Tutoring in Westchester

Have you ever recognized that your child could benefit from a Westchester tutor trained in Wilson Reading or the Orton-Gillingham Tutoring approach to tutoring? Wilson Reading and the Orton-Gillingham approach concentrates on helping struggling students learn how to decode and spell.

Having children who are struggling readers can be frustrating for parents who want nothing more than the best for their children; thankfully, there are many resources available to assist your child in cracking the code. The Trace Copy Recall teaches students to spell by combining sight words and phonetic principles into groups based on pronunciation patterns.

Our Westchester Wilson Reading and Orton-Gillingham tutors use a multimodal approach to teaching phonemic awareness, sound-symbol links, the seven-syllable kinds, word origins, prefixes and suffixes, grammar, syntax, and vocabulary.

The Wilson Reading System is a reading instruction program designed to assist children with language-based learning issues or children who have a hard time learning how to read and spell. After starting her career as a special education teacher, Barbara Wilson received training in the Orton-Gillingham approach. As a result, she formed the Wilson method, which focuses on children of all ages who struggle with dyslexia. She systematically taught word structure to assist these struggling readers before progressing to higher levels with their reading instruction. Students must master each level before progressing. This method has been proven successful worldwide!

The main idea is that every child learns at their rate by learning literacy one step at a time, leaving little space for later confusion.

Before beginning the Wilson Reading System (WRS), students complete an assessment in which Wilson professionals evaluate the child’s ability level, strengths, and weaknesses. These assessments let professionals know which lessons each student starts with based on the WSR criteria.

WRS tutors/instructors are experts in teaching grammar and syntax, punctuation skills, and sentence structure. They also focus on ten essential skill areas that all children should know how to handle like a champ: letter-sound recognition, comprehension of texts, and stories read aloud or independently by the student.

Orton-Gillingham is the grandfather of multisensory reading programs. This curriculum was the first to use multimodal methods to teach children to read and write by employing all of their senses. The thirty-minute lesson includes the 3 part drill, new concepts taught in each session, decoding exercises that help them learn sight words while playing games with red letters (Orton’s term for sight words), and comprehension questions at the end so students can demonstrate what they learned before moving on to the next chapter.

Orton-Gillingham is a customized program that can be tailored to the specific needs of each learner. Orton- Gillingham’s ability to adapt contributes to its effectiveness and fits well with children who require a lot of flexibility or special accommodations as they learn.

Orton-Gillingham is the grandfather of multisensory reading programs. Orton-Gillingham is a systematic teaching approach that focuses on the needs of young children and struggling readers. As a result, a reading expert or an Orton-Gillingham instructor can construct and adjust lessons to a student’s present skill level. In addition, small-group education can benefit from the Slingerland Approach, which is used in small group teaching sessions. Finally, while Orton-Gillingham focuses primarily on teaching literacy skills (reading, spelling, and writing), its multimodal nature and sequential teaching have allowed it to be modified to help children who struggle with mathematics. Ask us about multisensory math and how our math tutoring can help as well.

For students who struggle with reading, spelling, writing, or any combination of the three, our Orton-Gillingham-trained instructors are here to help! We offer Orton-Gillingham techniques to improve your child’s literacy skills.

A variety of complex and intertwined approaches can assist us in improving our reading abilities. Phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary or language development, and comprehension are the five pillars of literacy or reading. The ultimate goal of reading is comprehension. To put it simply, reading comprehension is the ability to evaluate literature, comprehend and interpret its meaning, and apply prior knowledge.

A student must first acquire phonological awareness, reading fluency, and linguistic knowledge, understand the link between sounds and words and have a large vocabulary to gain comprehension. In addition, reading comprehension requires the ability to infer and link, understand character motivations, and solve issues, all of which need cognitive processes.

Students learn to detect the sounds of words as they advance through the reading process, beginning with phonological awareness. Words are frequently divided into sounds and syllables, represented by graphemes (the smallest meaning unit during a writing system).

When a young child has adequate phonological awareness, they can listen to vocal sounds and understand how they translate into print, where the sound and grapheme are the same. A young child’s reading is improved by studying phonics and sight words (where print patterns are memorized).

Encoding is constructing and writing words using individual sounds (spelling), whereas decoding converts printed sounds into words (reading).

Before we can read or write, we must first develop phonological awareness or recognize that words are made up of sounds called phonemes. This phonological awareness enables us to deconstruct words into sound units. Sound to print is an important process/mechanism that facilitates reading and spelling.

Reading fluency is the ability to read with speed, precision, and appropriate expression. Reading fluency has a significant impact on reading comprehension. To comprehend what a child reads, children must read smoothly, whether aloud or quietly. Fluent readers read in sentences and inappropriate tones without pausing to decipher vocabulary or look up definitions when reading aloud.

Fluency is necessary for understanding and motivating young children. Fluent reading frees up brain resources, allowing children to better absorb what they are reading. According to research, students require frequent opportunities for meaningful practice at their instructional reading level to achieve optimal reading fluency. Silent reading will not help you achieve your goal. Frequent oral reading chances and regular progress monitoring by a teacher, tutor, family member, or even a peer are essential to assist the youngster in achieving more fluency.

When attempting to enhance fluency, it is also crucial to select the appropriate book or reading material. When you spend too much effort decoding specific words, you will find it difficult to read fluently. As a result, there may be inadequate time to comprehend a chapter or a text as a whole thoroughly. As a result, it is crucial to select appropriate materials for the student’s independent reading level. This entails selecting books or works that include vocabulary that the reader is familiar with and understands.

Once appropriate reading materials are chosen, a reading teacher or tutor will:

• Provide and encourage kids to read a diverse choice of stories or texts.
• Introduce new words to the pupil before reading them independently, periodically assessing the reading rate and accuracy.
• Practice fluent reading in front of your child regularly while also modeling it.
• Encourage pupils to reread texts independently by demonstrating how to do so correctly (ease in voice tone) to understand how much intonation affects comprehension from the written content.

Many parents believe that both strategies are beneficial to their children! Because they are both phonics-based, multisensory courses, they have more similarities than differences. Wilson is distinct in that it is more regimented, making it an excellent option for those who benefit from rigidity. Orton-Gillingham is more adaptable and can be adapted and executed based on the student, tutoring goals, and other variables.

Important Points to Remember

• Wilson Reading System and Orton-Gillingham are multimodal reading programs that have been shown to improve literacy.
• Orton-Gillingham is a structured technique that allows for flexibility based on the needs of the student.
• Wilson is a systematic strategy in which pupils begin at the beginning and work their way up, ensuring mastery as they proceed.

For more information, check out our Westchester Wilson Reading and Orton-Gillingham tutoring options for Westchester!

M.S. Education

Betsy is a second-grade teacher at a private school in the Upper West Side. She received her Master’s Degree in General Education from Hunter College for first through sixth grades. Betsy has a passion for teaching math and reading to first through third-graders, including those who are advanced and those who struggle to learn these fundamental skills.

Betsy teaches through an inquiry-based curriculum and loves to see her students take ownership of their math and literacy learning. She uses a variety of strategies through personalized instruction to meet the needs of her students. She believes in a game-based, hands-on, multi-sensory approach to mastering mathematical concepts. One of her areas of expertise is helping students learn a number sense, building strategies to solve math word problems, and understand maths concepts (connecting abstract to concrete). She is also trained in Everyday Math, Exemplars, Mathletics, and Matific.

Betsy is also passionate about reading and believes in the importance of building students’ confidence at the elementary level. She has experience in the Teachers College Reading Workshop and Fountas and Pinnel reading programs. She loves to find ways to spark reading in young children and scaffold and develop reading strategies to support them as they acquire underlying literacy skills. In a favorite curriculum at her school, Betsy aligns her reading and writing units through transdisciplinary themes.

Location: Rye, Rye Book, Mamaroneck, Harrison, Scarsdale
Type of Services: Initial reading and math assessments, individualized reading, phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling and math intervention, and instruction.
Expertise: Homework help, spelling difficulties, reading comprehension, expository and narrative writing instruction
Ages: First-Third grade

Certified Elementary, Special Education Teacher

Kara, a Certified Elementary, Special Education Teacher and Dyslexia Practitioner has been working in the public school setting for the past 6 years. She graduated with her Masters of Science in Education with a speciality in learning and behavior disorders from CUNY Hunter College.

Kara is certified in the Wilson Reading Program that specifically works to target language-based learning disabilities like dyslexia. She is also trained in several other multisensory reading and writing programs. Kara is currently a special education teacher in Westchester County working with students that have learning disabilities, executive functioning difficulties, ADHD, and autism. Kara also helps students with test prep for local and state exams.

When not teaching or tutoring, Kara enjoys spending time with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, Avery. Kara also enjoys exercising and loves working with The Girls on the Run running program!

LOCATION: Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley
TYPE OF SERVICES: individual & group sessions, evaluations, parent consultations, etc.
EXPERTISE: Language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, etc.
AGES: Kindergarten-6th Grade

Master’s in Special Education, New York State certifications in Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities Grades 1-6

Derycka has a master’s in Special Education from Grand Canyon University and is pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with an emphasis on Special Education. She has New York State certifications in Childhood Education and Students with Disabilities in Grades 1-6. Derycka is also a literacy curriculum specialist, where she designs, organizes, and develops specialized instructional materials for 2nd-grade scholars. Her administrative work enhances scholars’ ELA critical and inferential thinking skills. Derycka has taught and tutored for nine years in various instructional capacities, including a first-grade self-contained classroom, a kindergarten to 2nd-grade integrated co-teaching classroom (ICT), and general education classrooms. Derycka is a 2nd-grade ICT teacher in a New York City Charter School in the Bronx. Derycka has taught students using many literacy and mathematics programs, including Teacher’s College Reading and Writing Project, Bridges Mathematics, Ready Gen, Go Math, and the Engage NY ELA and Math modules. She has extensive literacy experience using Orton-Gillingham, Read Works, Wilson, and Fundations for supplemental ELA intervention. Additionally, she has experience with integrated instructional technology programs such as Lexia, Dream Box, Epic, and I-Ready in her daily small group and individualized classroom instruction. Derycka strongly understands how to support children with special needs through her work with parents and other special education teachers. Her experience includes: advising parents on appropriate services for their children, leading workshops for general education and special education teachers focused on differentiating instruction in the classroom, and presenting workshops for parents on reading comprehension and literacy strategies, which provides a plethora of strategies to support their children at home. Derycka is committed and will continue to help students and their academic growth.

CCC-SLP, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST, CERTIFIED TEACHER OF STUDENTS WITH SPEECH AND LANGUAGE DISABILITIES (TSSLD)

Kathryn is a New York State licensed Speech-Language Pathologist. She holds a Certificate of Clinical Competence (CCC-SLP) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). She is also certified as a Teacher of Students with Speech and Language Disabilities (TSSLD). She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Sciences in Speech-Language Pathology from Loyola University. Kathryn is level one PROMPT trained and has received extensive training in multi-sensory reading instruction.

Kathryn serves as a speech-language pathologist for public schools. She works with a diverse population of students from Pre-K through Eighth grade. Kathryn has worked in a range of settings, including private practice, early intervention, and home care. She has extensive experience in the treatment and evaluation of children with Developmental Delays, Autism, Central Auditory Processing Disorder, Apraxia, Language-Based Literacy Disorders, Fluency Disorders, ADHD, and Speech Sound Disorders-Articulation/Phonology.

Kathryn is level one trained in PROMPT therapy which is a treatment approach for speech sound disorders. Kathryn has a literacy background and has taken courses from the Institute for Multisensory Education and Reading with TLC. She believes in providing students with Multisensory experiences based on Orton Gillingham to effectively teach reading skills and meet each student’s individual learning needs. Kathryn has a strong interest in helping students develop phonological and phonemic awareness skills to build foundational skills for reading. Kathryn aims to support struggling readers and build their confidence and comprehension skills. When working with students with receptive/expressive language disorders, Kathryn believes in collaborating with parents/caregivers and teachers to incorporate spoken language that a child needs through activities and play. She uses a variety of age-appropriate treatment methods to help children with language and communication.

Kathryn prides herself on creating individualized plans for each child to ensure success at home, school, and in the community. Kathryn believes in working as part of an interdisciplinary team to help each child reach his or her full potential. She strives to create a rewarding and engaging environment by incorporating your child’s preferred activities and interests into his or her sessions.

LOCATION: Bronxville, Tuckahoe, Eastchester, Ardsley, Scarsdale (lower Westchester)
TYPE OF SERVICES: Individual therapy, group (2-3 children), speech-language evaluations, parent consultations
EXPERTISE: early/school-age language development, developmental delays, speech sound disorders, receptive/expressive language disorders, phonological awareness, dyslexia, reading instruction, reading comprehension, and literacy
AGES: All ages

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