Educational Pathways Academy (EPA) is a school that specializes in educating students with language-based learning disabilities, primarily dyslexia. Our literacy program is intentionally designed around evidence-based instruction and the understanding that students with dyslexia need explicit, systematic, and multisensory approaches to become successful readers.
The goal of this project is to expand our classroom library of Institute for Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE) fiction decodable books, giving students engaging opportunities to apply the phonics skills they are learning during daily literacy instruction. IMSE decodable books align with the Orton-Gillingham approach and the Science of Reading, allowing students to read text that corresponds directly with phonics patterns and irregular words they have already been explicitly taught.
For students with dyslexia, this alignment is especially important. Rather than relying on pictures or context clues to guess unfamiliar words, students learn to use their knowledge of sounds, letters, and phonetic patterns to decode words accurately. The books follow a structured scope and sequence so students are not routinely confronted with phonetic concepts they have not yet learned. This helps reduce cognitive overload and allows students to focus their attention on successfully applying developing reading skills.
Repeated exposure to familiar phonetic patterns also supports orthographic mapping and word automaticity, helping students progress from slowly sounding out words to recognizing them more quickly and accurately. As decoding becomes more automatic, students can devote greater attention to fluency and comprehension.
The fiction format adds an important dimension to the project by giving students opportunities to experience characters, stories, imagination, and the enjoyment of reading while working at an appropriate instructional level. For students who have experienced frustration or anxiety around reading, successfully completing an engaging book is particularly meaningful.
Ultimately, this project will support measurable growth in decoding, automaticity, fluency, comprehension, and reading confidence while reinforcing EPA’s commitment to providing students with dyslexia the specialized tools and instruction they need to become increasingly capable and independent readers.
Students will use the IMSE fiction decodable books as part of their daily literacy instruction, giving them opportunities to directly apply the phonics skills and patterns they are learning. While reading a physical book is primarily a visual task, IMSE decodable books are designed to integrate with the hands-on, multisensory strategies used throughout a comprehensive reading lesson. Students will actively engage with the text through reading, movement, touch, and visual coding.
For students with dyslexia, these strategies provide additional ways to reinforce the connection between letters, sounds, and words. Because the books align with the sequence of skills being explicitly taught, students can practice reading text at an appropriate level of challenge while building accuracy, fluency, comprehension, and confidence.
Teaching strategies and instructional activities will include:
- Tactile Tracking: Students will finger-trace, tap, or otherwise physically track sounds and words, reinforcing the connection between spoken sounds and written text.
- Pattern Coding: Students will highlight or color-code targeted spelling and phonics patterns in the text, drawing attention to concepts they are currently learning and reinforcing pattern recognition.
- Multisensory Reinforcement: Movement, touch, visual cues, and spoken language will be used together to reinforce letter-sound relationships and support students who benefit from learning through multiple modalities.
- Repeated Reading & Fluency Practice: Students will reread appropriately leveled text to build automaticity, accuracy, expression, and reading fluency.
- Comprehension & Discussion: Teachers will use the stories to engage students in discussion and comprehension activities, reinforcing that successful decoding ultimately leads to understanding and enjoyment of what they read.
The decodable books will be incorporated directly into daily IMSE literacy lessons, rather than used as a separate activity. Students will move from explicit instruction in a phonics concept to applying that skill within connected text. This provides an important bridge between learning how to decode individual words and becoming increasingly fluent, confident, and independent readers.
Students are expected to demonstrate measurable growth in decoding, reading fluency, automaticity, and reading comprehension as they use IMSE fiction decodable books as part of their daily literacy instruction. Regular practice with text that directly aligns with phonics concepts already taught will allow students to apply their skills successfully, become more automatic and accurate readers, and build confidence and independence.
The fiction format also gives students an opportunity to experience the enjoyment and satisfaction of reading a complete story at an appropriate instructional level. For students with dyslexia who may have experienced frustration with traditional books, repeated reading success helps increase motivation and willingness to read.
Student progress will be measured through weekly benchmark assessments, including timed readings that track words read correctly per minute using decodable text. These assessments will allow teachers to monitor individual growth in fluency and determine whether students are successfully applying the decoding skills taught during instruction.
Evidence of impact will include:
- Weekly benchmark assessment results, including growth in words read correctly per minute
- Frequent teacher progress monitoring of decoding, accuracy, fluency, and comprehension
- Teacher observations of students' confidence, independence, and willingness to read
- Parent anecdotal feedback regarding changes in reading confidence, interest, and reading behaviors at home
Together, these measures will show students’ growth as more accurate, fluent, confident, and independent readers while also helping us see something equally important: that students are discovering the pleasure of reading for enjoyment and what it feels like to get immersed in a good book.
This grant will allow us to purchase 8 sets of IMSE OG Plus Decodable Readers (sets A,B, and C Fiction). These books will be used by students in daily literacy instruction to support measurable gains and engage them in new and high-interest content. 60 students will benefit from this grant.
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
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IMSE | OG Plus Decodable Readers Set A, B, C Fiction
