How to Teach Reading to Students with Down Syndrome
Do you have students with Down syndrome who have been unable to read despite years of phonics instruction?
Do you have students who still have not mastered their letter names and/or sounds?
Do you have students who have “given up” on learning how to read?
There is an alternative! A reading method that can teach struggling readers to read in just a few minutes! It’s called…
MATCH-SELECT-NAME
This literacy method was developed by Patricia Logan Oelwein. Match, Select, Name builds on the visual skills of students with Down Syndrome, autism, hearing impairment, intellectual disabilities and other learning challenges.
Students learn to read by visually matching, selecting and naming the WHOLE word. Students do not sound out the individual phonemes. In this way, they can read words with irregular spellings just as easily as decodable words.
It reinforces the fact that “words have meaning” and are not just part of an isolated exercise of phonics rules, symbols, and sounds. Within minutes, students have success and join the community of readers.
Phonics is an auditory strategy that is difficult for students who have problems with hearing, language, and short term memory. For these students it is difficult to HEAR, ARTICULATE and REMEMBER the slight differences between sounds.
Using Match-Select-Name, students learn words visually as a whole rather than looking at individual letters that they then have to translate into sound and blend.
Do we give up on phonics? NO! A structured phonics program should always be the first choice. But when students are having great difficulty with phonics, this method provides an alternative. It gives a jump start to struggling readers. CLICK here to read about phonics and the Science of Reading.
Match-Select-Name can be taught alongside any traditional reading program. Students often have an increased interest in learning phonics after experiencing success with this method.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
At its most basic level it works like this:
1. Match- Student physically matches two of the same word.
2. Select- Student points to the word called.
3. Name- Student independently names the word on the card.
Then...student successfully reads a story that includes ALL the words learned in match, select, name!
Teachers can create their own flashcards and activities to teach MATCH-SELECT-NAME. Sign up below to receive the method.
You can also purchase one of my easy prep, ready to use units. Click here to check out a bestselling resource from teacherspayteachers.com.
Flashcards are included for all words in the stories. Just print, cut and use. Optional: Print each story flashcards on a different color card stock and laminate.
10, five page easy-to-read stories are included. Print extra copies for school and home. Students enjoy coloring and reading their “own” books!
Each story repeats commonly used Fry and Dolch sight words.
Cut and paste pages offer additional practice and fun!
This is a favorite activity for students using the program. They can visually match the story words in independent centers.
Kids roll the die and read the sentence next to the number rolled. This is an engaging way for readers to practice fluency. Print on different colored card stock and laminate.
Each story comes with a data sheet for teachers to document progress.
Four “Get up and Move” sight word game cards are included to break up seat work. Print, cut, and laminate. Attach with a book ring if desired.
Here are more MATCH-SELECT-NAME products you may be interested in:
READING INTERVENTION BUNDLE: Fall, Winter, Spring, Summer. Down Syndrome, Special Education
Short Vowel Word Families (CVC) Down Syndrome, Special Education