The LearnUp Reading Program
Steve Tattum gives a quick overview of the reading program. He also describes what happens in the brain that keeps kids with learning differences from learning to read easily and how our program helps to stimulate the word form area. (03:22)
The Reading Brain
Steve Tattum explains how dyslexia functions in the brain and how our program addresses the challenges facing struggling readers. Interview with Dennis Worley of This is America. (30:00)
The LearnUp Reading Program
Steve Tattum explains the nuts and bolts of the reading program to a group of University of San Francisco grad students. This is a great explanation of how and why the program works. (15:00)
How Steve Tattum Adapted the Orton-Gillingham Approach to Create a Superior Reading Program
Steve Tattum explains how he took the Orton-Gillingham program and adapted it to create the Tattum reading program. This is a great explanation of what the key differences and similarities are between traditional OG programs and LearnUp’s. (21:00)
We stimulate the Word Form Area through
LearnUp fluency techniques
Pressure Release
The Pressure Release Technique is one of the most powerful techniques used at LearnUp. It allows emerging readers to read outloud for extended periods of time without fatiguing. It is particularly helpful for a child who has trouble transferring phonetic knowledge to reading. It measurably increases confidence in reading, as well as fluency.
Repeated Reading
This procedure develops sight vocabulary and fluency in reading. It should be done daily.
Beat the Clock
Fun and challenging fluency builder.
LearnUp sample lessons on how we teach structured literacy
Teaching Consonant Sounds
How to teach the correct consonant sounds.
The Vowel Galaxy
How to teach the short vowel sounds.
Vowel Tag
How to teach the vowel tag. “The vowel tags the consonant breaking the word into syllables.”
Vowel Change
How to teach the Vowel Change. “Another way to sound out a word that doesn’t quite make sense.”
Hungry Rule
How to teach the Hungry Rule. “Short vowels in one tap words are hungry.”
The Bully Rule
How to teach the Bully Rule. “Vowel suffixes are bullies.”
Tattum Decodable Chapter Book Series Explained
The Stories in Tattum Decodable Chapter Books and How to Use Them
Steve describes the Tattum Reading Series
How to pick a reading program
How to pick a reading program
Steve describes the main characteristics of effective reading programs using the acronym THUMB (Teach, Half, Understanding, Main Idea, Begin): Teach to the child, Half the period is reading and writing, how to begin with Understanding, Main idea is stimulating the word form area, how to Begin teaching to the child.
How to pick a reading program
Why you shouldn’t not pick a sight word approach to reading if their word form area is not functioning.
How LearnUp Uses Entry Levels (called “Starts”)
Download a pdf that outlines how we meet students where they are on the reading spectrum and move them to grade level reading.
LearnUp wants your child to learn to read and we are confident our approach will get them reading at grade level in a short period of time.
The pdf corresponds to LearnUp’s reading assessment which tells us which entry-level/start in our program is the best one for your child. Generally speaking, the lower the start, the more time it takes to get your child on track.
Keep in mind that starts are set by reading level, not by age.
Reading Resources
Structured Literacy
Structured Literacy Program
View an Infographic of the components of a structured literacy program
National Reading Panel
Recommendations of the National Reading Panel (2000).
Audio & eBooks
- Learning Ally Learning Ally is a leading nonprofit education solutions organization that transforms the lives of struggling learners by delivering proven solutions that help students reach their potential. Great resource for audiobooks.
- Bookshare: Bookshare makes reading easier. People with dyslexia, blindness, cerebral palsy, and other reading barriers can customize their experience to suit their learning style and find virtually any book they need for school, work, or the joy of reading. Bookshare is a program of Benentech & the U.S. Department of Education and is free to qualified children.
Dyslexia
- Decoding Dyslexia: Decoding Dyslexia is a network of parent-led grassroots movements across the country concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia within the public education system.
- Decoding Dyslexia: Decoding Dyslexia is a network of parent-led grassroots movements across the country concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia within the public education system.
- International Dyslexia Association: The IDA’s vision is to create a future for all individuals who struggle with dyslexia and other related reading differences so that they may have richer, more robust lives and access to the tools and resources they need. It is a international network of members working on the challenges facing people living with dyslexia.
- Understood: The goal of Understood is to help the millions of parents whose children, ages 3–20, are struggling with learning and attention issues.
- Eye to Eye: In every classroom there is a kid being told, “You just have to try harder.” Misunderstood, isolated in self-doubt. That young person struggling with learning and attention issues. Eye to Eye gives the kid in the corner an inside chance — to succeed, to self-advocate, to graduate, to have community, to live a life of hope.
- California Department of Education Dyslexia Guidelines: The purpose of these guidelines is to assist regular education teachers, special education teachers, and parents in identifying, assessing, and supporting students with dyslexia.
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