**6. Fluency-based materials and methods used in the author's practice**

Given evidence of the importance of fluency in the development of reading, writing and spelling and the need to integrate instruction in both reading and spelling, the author has developed a set of fluency-based materials and methods for developing automaticity in reading, writing and spelling. These are based on Luria's [139] conception of the nervous system as a complex constellation of connections that in the performance of an adaptive task may be changed, whereas the task itself remains unchanged. They are also based on Schlaggar and McCandliss' [140] contention that neural networks are in a continual process of both functional and structural change during the development of fluency, Shaywitz and Shaywitz's [103] observation that neural malleability can be influenced by systematic and targeted remedial instruction and Perfetti and McCutchen's conception of reading and writing as both connected through the phonological basis of language, as well as schooled [141–145].

Following Luria [2, 3, 11], the author conceptualises the processes of reading, writing and spelling as hierarchical and linked, whereas the procedures used for developing automaticity in reading, writing and spelling are conceptualised as functional, activity-based and repetitive, based on teaching which is phonologically, visually and kinesthetically based. The materials used in the author's practice are phonically based, and the methods for using these are based on the suggestions made by Ehri [133] that the processes of teaching reading and spelling should be linked and closely articulated, using common knowledge sources and processes and that acquiring knowledge of the alphabetic system should lie within the province of teaching spelling.

The database of materials in the author's practice has been developed and added to over a 20-year period [146]. At this stage, it includes a phonically based large-print reading series, a foundation level series of readers with linked activity books, as well as manuals developed to enable the use of these materials by parents, teachers and therapists. Being phonically based, the materials can not only be used for developing reading fluency but can also be used for analysis, learning and testing of spelling and sequential spelling, linked to indications from the literature [147–150] that spelling practice has been found to result in superior orthographic learning relative to print exposure through reading alone.

of which longer and longer letter strings become stored in memory. Children in the final consolidated alphabetic phase are able to read fluently as well as spell accurately, by relying upon

Besides requiring integration between the processes of instruction used to develop reading, writing and spelling [133], it would also be important to conceptualise the development of fluency in writing and spelling as a long-term process. Both Frith [132, 134] and Ehri [133, 135] are in agreement that considerable practice at reading by means of an alphabetic procedure is necessary to enable the reader to establish internal representations of word forms, as the basis

Kellogg [136] suggests that mastering the mechanics of writing forms the foundations for a 10-year process of achieving fluency in the acquisition of knowledge, as well as written and spoken production in the telling of knowledge. This would then be followed by a second decade post school to advance from knowledge-telling to knowledge-transforming. As Kellogg observes, this is similar to the process of development involved in becoming an outstanding performer in music, chess, typewriting and other domains, in which deliberate practice needs to continue for a minimum of a decade for an individual to acquire expert

**6. Fluency-based materials and methods used in the author's practice**

Given evidence of the importance of fluency in the development of reading, writing and spelling and the need to integrate instruction in both reading and spelling, the author has developed a set of fluency-based materials and methods for developing automaticity in reading, writing and spelling. These are based on Luria's [139] conception of the nervous system as a complex constellation of connections that in the performance of an adaptive task may be changed, whereas the task itself remains unchanged. They are also based on Schlaggar and McCandliss' [140] contention that neural networks are in a continual process of both functional and structural change during the development of fluency, Shaywitz and Shaywitz's [103] observation that neural malleability can be influenced by systematic and targeted remedial instruction and Perfetti and McCutchen's conception of reading and writing as both connected through the phonological basis of language, as

Following Luria [2, 3, 11], the author conceptualises the processes of reading, writing and spelling as hierarchical and linked, whereas the procedures used for developing automaticity in reading, writing and spelling are conceptualised as functional, activity-based and repetitive, based on teaching which is phonologically, visually and kinesthetically based. The materials used in the author's practice are phonically based, and the methods for using these are based on the suggestions made by Ehri [133] that the processes of teaching reading and spelling should be linked and closely articulated, using common knowledge sources and processes and that acquiring knowledge of the alphabetic system should lie within the province

these stored orthographic representations.

124 Learning Disabilities - An International Perspective

standing [137, 138].

well as schooled [141–145].

of teaching spelling.

for developing the ability to spell accurately and fluently.

The reading fluency methods involve repetitive paired reading, involving a procedure through which paragraphs are divided into groups of three and then read by the child and a partner in varied order. This is done in 20-minute sessions which involve parents or reading partners in working the child four or five times a week. The writing and spelling fluency methods initially involve the use of the same phonically based, large-print material in activities involving copying, phonic analysis and learning words singly and in sequence. The procedures are then broadened to include more difficult graded material, which is used in activities involving handwriting, typing, analysis and revisualisation, as the basis for orthographic learning.

At the level of input, a five vowel and then a seven vowel phonic analysis procedure is introduced, which aims to make English orthography transparent to the child through activities involving colour coding.<sup>2</sup> The seven vowel analytical procedure is then applied repetitively in a cycle of activities involving copying, phonic analysis, use of working memory and coding of words learned into spoken, typed and written output.<sup>3</sup>

Target words are identified through analysis of the vowel situation within words [155], with the aim of making the alphabetic relationships between vowel sounds and letters evident. Once children have grasped and are proficient at the process involved in colour coding of vowels within phonically graded text, these phonic analysis skills are then applied in analysing more complex written material for reasons relating to the links between automaticity and semantics [156–160]. Text is used which the child has recently read and with which the child is familiar. Single words and then sequences of words are analysed, learned and tested through spelling of single words as well as dictation of sentences and paragraphs. In the process, focus is placed on developing working memory for words and sequences of words [99, 133, 152, 161–163] as well as underlying sequentialisation abilities,<sup>4</sup> through linking spoken to written output [166–169].

<sup>2</sup> Based on indications from the literature that fundamental linguistic differences in syllabic complexity and orthographic depth affect reading [151] and that orthographic learning varies in young children relative to the transparency of the particular written language involved [152].

<sup>3</sup> Emphasis on use of both handwriting and typing in the process of learning spelling and sequential spelling would follow indications from Ouellette and Tims [153] of different types of interactions between handwriting skills, typing skills, practice and success in learning new words. Both writing and typing are used in the learning phase, whereas writing is used in the testing phase, following indications from Ouellette and Tims [153] as well as Cunningham and Stanovich [154].

<sup>4</sup> Based on indications from two longitudinal case studies involving children with severe learning disabilities [164, 165]. Both children had difficulties with coding, as indicated by low scores on the coding subtest of the WISC-R. Coding abilities in both children improved after work on writing and spelling fluency using the Seven Vowel Analysis System and the Targeted Revisualisation and Sequential Spelling Programme.

As with the repetitive methods used for developing fluency in reading, the procedures used by the author for developing automaticity in writing and spelling are based on Luria's assumption [2, 3, 11] that language mediates reading, writing and spelling and that repetition and practice increases automaticity at each level of input and integration and fluency at each level of output. The methods used in the author's practice are multisensory, repetitive and integrative, following Nicolson and Fawcett's [118] and Nicolson's [170] contention that automaticity can relate to a variety of different reading, writing and spelling skills and that therapeutic techniques need to be capable of addressing a variety of areas of deficit in children with reading, writing and spelling difficulties.<sup>5</sup>

It is important to stress that these types of fluency-based activities are not undertaken in isolation, but as an integral part of an individual programme directed at a range of difficulties identified through assessment. How this is done will be outlined in the following sections.
