What is the Slingerland Approach?
The Slingerland Approach is a structured way of teaching reading, writing, and spelling that supports learners of all ages—especially students with dyslexia and language-based learning differences.
The Approach is designed to help students progressively build skills while gaining confidence and a positive attitude toward learning.
From speech...
Instruction begins with modeled oral language and discussion, the foundation of all literacy skills.
...to handwriting...
Younger students engage in direct handwriting instruction to easily and automatically form letters and words. Older students learn to organize writing and take notes.
...to writing...
Students progress through writing words, phrases, sentences, paragraphs, and a variety of compositions at their level.
...to reading
Students practice reading with fluency and accuracy to understand what they read and put that information to use.
Typical Language Development
Children learn language (oral and written) through three main pathways:
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Seeing (visual)
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Hearing (auditory)
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Doing (writing and speaking—sometimes called kinesthetic or kinesthetic-motor)
Challenges with Literacy
For some, these three pathways work together easily. For others, one pathway may be weaker or harder to use. This can make reading, writing, or spelling more difficult—even for bright, capable students.
A child may:
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Understand ideas but struggle to read or spell
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Mix up letters or sounds
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Have trouble remembering learned words
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Know what they want to say but find it hard to explain or write it
These challenges are not caused by lack of effort or intelligence. They reflect differences in how the brain processes language.
A Multisensory Approach
For many students who struggle to learn literacy skills, their real challenge is connecting these pathways.
The Slingerland Approach helps strengthen those connections by teaching through all three pathways at the same time—seeing, hearing, speaking, and writing—so stronger pathways can support weaker ones.
This multisensory (multimodal) approach helps students make clearer connections, build confidence, and use language more successfully.
The goal of the Slingerland Approach is supporting students to be independent readers, writers, listeners, speakers, and thinkers.
How is the Slingerland Approach Different?
Traditional Reading Instruction
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Often expects students to "pick up" literacy skills
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May rely on memorization or guessing from context
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Spelling, writing, and reading often taught separately
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Weekly spelling lists focus on memorizing words
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Students who struggle may feel frustrated or discouraged
The Slingerland Approach
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Teaches reading, reading, and spelling step-by-step
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Uses seeing, hearing, speaking, and writing together
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Connects spelling, writing, and reading so skills reinforce each other
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Focuses on understanding how English works, not memorizing
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Builds confidence through structure, routine, and success