WordFlight is an effective, evidence-based dyslexia intervention.

Teachers using WordFlight are able to better support ALL students in their classrooms, including students who have been hard to reach in the past because of learning disabilities. Many students who have been diagnosed with dyslexia have benefited from using WordFlight.

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Students with dyslexia need specific experiences to build automatic word recognition in addition to explicit instruction in decoding and encoding.

Dyslexia is one of the most common neuro-cognitive disorders, with an estimated 20 percent of Americans affected by it (Yale, 2022).

Students with dyslexia may also have deficits in procedural learning in addition to decoding and encoding skills:

Decoding

Decoding is translating the written word into spoken sounds by applying knowledge of letter-sound relationships. Students with dyslexia often struggle to decipher the symbols into sounds and are unable to read.

Encoding

Encoding is breaking the spoken word into its written symbols. Often students with dyslexia struggle with spelling.

Procedural learning

Procedural learning enables students to extract the regularities and irregularities of the “code” so they are stored and automatically retrieved. This is often called “learning by doing.”

Students with dyslexia often read slowly, with great effort and difficulty; are unable to easily identify and distinguish vowels; have difficulty breaking words into syllables, and express other symptoms as well.

In short, in addition to needing help with decoding, these students struggle with automatic word recognition—the ability to read a word quickly and accurately, without relying on effortful decoding (Kunert & Scheepers, 2014). They need explicit instruction in decoding and encoding as well as systematic, structured practice to internalize, generalize, and automatically recognize words.

Student uses WordFlight on a laptop. Student selects which activity to work on from an illustrated map.

Automatic word recognition is the key to unlocking fluency.

Fluent readers go beyond decoding skills to automatically and effortlessly recognize words (Oslund et al., 2018). They can process large quantities of text quickly, with little conscious processing of letter-to-sound mappings.

When word recognition skills become automatic, readers can focus on comprehending, or understanding the meaning of the text, which is the goal of reading. That’s when stories come to life and students learn to love reading and get their academic career on track.

WordFlight is the only solution to specifically assess and target automatic word recognition, making it an excellent evidence-based dyslexia intervention to help students reach fluency.

WordFlight is designed for students in grades 2-8 who cannot achieve reading fluency and comprehension because of deficits in their foundational reading skills, such as students with dyslexia.

WordFlight identifies students who lack foundational reading skills early.

Research has found that students with reading disabilities like dyslexia are often indistinguishable from those who are low achieving in reading but not identified to have a learning disability (Fuchs, Fuchs, Mathes, Lipsey, & Roberts, 2001; O’Malley et al., 2002). But, early identification and evidence-based dyslexia intervention is very important to setting students with dyslexia up for success in school (Yale, 2022).

WordFlight has two assessments that help to identify challenges with foundational literacy skills early:

The WordFlight Screener

In 25 minutes or fewer, the WordFlight Screener identifies those students who are at risk for developing the foundational skills of decoding and automatic word recognition required for fluency. It is derived from the longer, more comprehensive WordFlight Diagnostic.

The WordFlight Screener is available to schools at no charge. If you are interested in enrolling students in the WordFlight Screener please contact us.

The WordFlight Diagnostic

WordFlight’s patented online diagnostic identifies which students lack foundational reading skills, regardless if they have received a learning disability diagnosis, with a level of specificity not seen before. The online diagnostic zeroes in on specific gaps in decoding, generalization, and automatic word recognition skills, the best predictors of fluency. Learn more about the WordFlight Diagnostic validation.

Now, armed with the knowledge of which students need additional support, including students with dyslexia, educators can offer individualized, targeted intervention through WordFlight and/or small group instruction as well.

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WordFlight complements your literacy program.

Gateway to fluence includes two activities with automatic word recognition as the bridge. On the right are three pillars: alphabetic knowledge, phonemic awareness, decoding and encoding. These foundational skills, like phonics, are taught through direct instruction. Automatic word recognition, which is learned through learner-driven, systematic, structured practice, helps students achieve fluency. Fluency pillars include rate, accuracy, and prosody. Fluence is learned through practice with connected text.

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Systematic, explicit phonics instruction is an important component of an effective literacy program, but many students need additional practice and instruction, especially those with dyslexia, to read with fluency and comprehension.

Evidence shows that a form of systematic, structured practice that builds automatic word recognition is the next step in preparing students to read fluently for comprehension. Read more about the science of reading.

Student uses WordFlight on a tablet. Student selects which activity to work on from an illustrated map.

WordFlight uses systematic, targeted structured practice to help students learn and apply phonics quickly and flexibly so they reach automatic word recognition.

Research suggests that developing automatic word recognition—an essential prerequisite for fluency—requires two types of learning experiences:

Initially, students need explicit phonics instruction to understand how letters link to the sounds of language.
Students also need targeted structured practice that is critical to the development of flexible and automatic word recognition.

Using current learning principles from cognitive science, WordFlight fills gaps in students’ knowledge of phonics as well as systematically supports the processes necessary to develop automatic word recognition and fluency.

Teacher and children reading in a group setting

WordFlight has a strong evidence base for supporting students with dyslexia.

Many students who have been diagnosed with dyslexia have benefitted from using WordFlight. This evidence-based dyslexia intervention is based on well-researched principles such as:

The Varied Practice Model

The Varied Practice Model, which emphasizes systematic variation in the learning process (Arciuli, 2018). Following this principle, WordFlight’s online instructional program varies task type and difficulty, interleaves content, and gives immediate feedback so that students learn to generalize and apply their skills in many contexts. WordFlight gives students thousands, if not tens of thousands of targeted experiences, so they can apply and generalize the “rules” of phonics. This model plays double duty for students with dyslexia by enhancing student use, practice, and understanding of underlying learning processes while supporting progress in skill development. It has been demonstrated in numerous domains to support the retention, application, and generalization of skills.

A game-based learning experience

A game-based learning experience that increases student engagement without sacrificing student learning. Students receive multiple opportunities to practice, develop, and internalize the system of phonics rules so that they can use them automatically.

Every student task is intentional and integrates the science of reading and the science of learning.

Every student task is intentional and integrates the science of reading and the science of learning. Practice is personalized, providing auditory and visual support as needed for each question across targeted tasks and difficulty levels—so students receive the right practice at the right level for them.

WordFlight supports teachers who need to provide differentiated instruction for multiple reading levels.

WordFlight can serve as part of an evidence-based dyslexia intervention program as well as benefit any students struggling with foundational reading skills.

Learn more about the WordFlight components

Helping every student learn to read

Students with dyslexia can learn to read, making academic success attainable. By identifying their struggles early and providing evidence-based dyslexia intervention, teachers and administrators can help set them on a path for long-term success.

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References

Arciuli, J. (2018). Reading as Statistical Learning. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 49(3S): 634.

Fuchs, D., Fuchs, L. S., Mathes, P. G., Lipsey, M. W., & Roberts, P. H. (2001, August). Is “learning disabilities” just a fancy term for low achievement? A meta-analysis of reading differences between low achievers with and without the label: Executive Summary. Paper presented at the Learning Disabilities Summit: Building a Foundation for the Future, Washington, DC.

Kundert, R. & Scheepers, C. (2014, October). Speed and accuracy of dyslexic versus typical word recognition: an eye-movement investigation. Frontiers in Psychology, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01129

O’Malley, K. J., Francis, D. J., Foorman, B. R., Fletcher, J. M., & Swank, P. R. (2002). Growth in precursor and reading-related skills: Do low-achieving and IQ-discrepant readers develop differently? Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 17, 19—34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ 1540-5826.00029

Oslund, E. L., Clemens, N. H., Simmons, D. C., & Simmons, L. E. (2018). The direct and indirect effects of word reading and vocabulary on adolescents’ reading comprehension: Comparing struggling and adequate comprehenders. Reading and Writing, 31(2), 355—379. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9788-3

Yale University. (2022). Dyslexia FAQ. Yale. Retrieved March 14, 2023, from https://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/dyslexia-faq/