At the IFLS webinar Improving Literacy: Understanding Dyslexia and Reading Instruction for Librarians earlier this month, I was delighted to hear about a collection in Baldwin, developed by Molly Haley and Rita Magno in cooperation with the school district. I followed up with Molly for more informaiton.
Molly worked with the school district on finding the publishers and types of books they are using. Right now, Baldwin’s Reading Specialists are all trained in Orton-Gillingham, which is a very well-respected method of teaching reading to people with dyslexia. School personnel were able to recommend several publishers that focus on structured literacy. Decodeable books focus on introducing the 44 word sounds in a methodical way to allow children to learn them one at a time, and take the guess-work out of learning to read. Leveled texts (think the easy readers that we know and love) usually introduce more than one sound at a time.
Over the past year, the collection has expanded to include high-interest, low-reading-level books for older elementary and middle school students. Molly brings materials from the public library to the school library, where kids can check them out (books are checked out to the school library, then the school libraries check them out to individual students using either an excel spreadsheet or a barcode, depending on the librarian’s preferences. Molly switches out collections 3-4 times per year. At the same time, they have a robust collection at the library.
Some of the publishers recommended for structured literacy and for older kids with a lower reading level include:
Decodable and Hi-Low Bookshelf at Baldwin Public Library