Structured Literacy Intervention for Students With Dyslexia: Focus on Growing Morphological Skills

Area of Science:

• Speech-language pathology
• Literacy education
• Linguistics

Background:

• Structured literacy (SL) is an evidence-based instructional approach for reading, spelling, and writing.
• SL integrates all aspects of spoken language.
• While prominent in reading, SL is less familiar to speech-language pathologists.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe structured literacy (SL) with a focus on its morphological component.
• To provide research-informed clinical strategies for speech-language pathologists.
• To facilitate morphological skill development in students with language and literacy impairments, including dyslexia.

Main Methods:

• Review of current research literature on spoken and written language impairments, SL intervention, and morphological awareness.
• Description of specific therapeutic practices for morphological intervention.
• Focus on promoting academic success in students with language and literacy challenges.

Main Results:

• Structured literacy (SL) unifies evidence-based principles for effective reading and writing instruction.
• Morphology is a key component of SL.
• Familiarity with SL and its morphological practices is crucial for speech-language pathologists.

Conclusions:

• Speech-language pathologists must become familiar with structured literacy (SL).
• Implementing evidence-based practices for morphological awareness is critical for promoting language and literacy success.
• SL offers a framework for supporting students with dyslexia and other spoken and written language impairments.