SPIRE Reading Program: GREAT for Overcoming Dyslexia
The S.P.I.R.E. Reading Program was introduced to me during my Orton-Gillingham training. As parent, not a classroom teacher, I truly appreciated the clarity of the program and it’s solid, step-by-step explanations.
The SPIRE Reading Program uses a proven scope and sequence, is time-tested, and it’s a program that has been carefully developed over time.
S.P.I.R.E. (Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence) was written by an Orton-Gillingham Fellow. It is a high quality, Orton-Gillingham-based reading program created specifically to teach children with diagnosable dyslexia how to read.
The Teacher’s Guides are scripted to provide good teaching support, so the program is usable by most people. Preparation for each lesson is simplified because the procedures are very consistent from one lesson to the next, which makes it a good homeschooling curriculum for teaching reading dyslexic children.
S.P.I.R.E. Decodable Readers, Set 1A – 10 Titles (SPIRE)
$27.00 (as of 13 February 2025 12:36 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)The S.P.I.R.E. reading system uses all of the sensory channels. Thus, if you haven’t had specific training in Orton-Gillingham methods or multisensory instruction, be sure to visit the Learning Abled Kids’ Multisensory Instruction Tutorial.
You’ll want to understanding multisensory instruction because it is the heart of the SPIRE reading program. (Understanding this type of teaching will help you know how to work with your child using any Orton-Gillingham reading program for dyslexia.)
SPIRE Reading Program’s Scripted Teacher Guides
If you are not trained in Orton-Gillingham methods, it will be essential for you to get and follow the instructions in the SPIRE Reading Program Teacher’s Guides. Using the Teacher’s Guide for the Sounds Sensible Kit (Pre-Level 1) and each of the 8 levels will help you teach more easily because you won’t have to think up multi-sensory activities every day.
You must be sure to incorporate the multi-sensory aspects of the lessons into your teaching. If you don’t incorporate the multisensory activities into your teaching, the program is not likely to work. The key in any Orton-Gillingham reading program, including S.P.I.R.E., is in how well the multi-sensory elements are utilized within the program.
Reading Skill Mastery is Essential
Teaching your child to a point of mastery for each phoneme is also essential. Mastery means your child can immediately and automatically respond to prompts without hesitating to think about what his response should be. Mastery is demonstrated when your child automatically responds.
As mentioned above, there is a consistent lesson format from lesson-to-lesson within the SPIRE reading system. If you look at the S.P.I.R.E. 10-Step Lesson Format, you can see the types of activities used in the multi-sensory teaching and get a good idea of the amount of time you’ll be spending with each activity.
SPIRE Reading Program and Your Child’s Learning Style
You will find the SPIRE Reading Program is more Auditory than Visual. And large-movement Kinesthetic elements are the least in number within the S.P.I.R.E. program. Moving a tile or flipping through cards are kinesthetic, but not in such a way as to reinforce the learned element.
Tracing phonemes ON the card with a finger, tracing with a big toe on carpet or a bare finger on velvet would be much more effective as a kinesthetic activity, and can be added on to the program by you.
If your child is a kinesthetic learner, this program would not be likely to be the most effective program if you use it “as is” for your specific child. When practicing the writing elements in the program, I would recommend making modifications to those activities to incorporate more effective kinesthetic activities, and most notably adding on large writing on a chalkboard mounted on a wall.
The SPIRE Reading Program is great for a child who is primarily an auditory learner.
Reader (S.P.I.R.E. A Specialized Program Individualizing Reading Excellence, 2)
It is still a great program for any child given you are aware of your child’s primary learning style and you incorporate additional activities into the program based upon your child’s needs. 😉
Overall, the SPIRE Reading Program is a great program and can easily be modified to include additional elements for a tactile or kinesthetic learner. Visual elements are included in the student textbooks and may be sufficient to meet the needs of a visual learner. By incorporating additional tactile and kinesthetic activities into the program, this program can become virtually the “perfect” Orton-Gillingham reading program.
➜ See SPIRE Reading Program Books on Amazon Now
If your child is primarily a tactile or kinesthetic learner, and you are not inclined to add in kinesthetic and tactile activities, I’d recommend against using this program.
If you aren’t sure of your child’s learning style, you can assess your child’s primary learning style by using the tools suggested in the short tutorial at: ../multi_sensory_training/page01-welcome.htm — It is free online and generally takes about 20-30 minutes to go through.
The SPIRE Reading Program scope and sequence is as follows:
Spire Student Reader Level 1
$34.58 (as of 12 February 2025 23:32 GMT -05:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)Sounds Sensible Kit (Pre-Level 1) – covers mastery of 20 consonants and short a.
Level 1 – Short vowels i, o, u, e, ch, th, wh, ing, ong, ung, ank, ink, onk, unk.
Level 2 – ff, ll, ss, al, wa, qu, ck, tch, magic e, vowel+consonant+e.
Level 3 – so, he, fly, ild, old, ind, ost, oll, ay, -ed, suffixes, consonant syllable division, ou, prefix a-.
Level 4 – ea, oa, ai, ee, -le, oo, igh, ie.
Level 5 – soft c and g, er, ur, it, ear, wor, dge, s sounding like z, ow, oe, kn, or, ar.
Level 6 – a-, -a, -able, ph, ought, aught, ue, ew, tu, oi, oy, aw, au, ey, kn, wr, mb, gh, gu, -age, open syllables.
Level 7 – ct, ei, eigh, open sllable i, -tion, -sion, -ci, -ti, tu, -ture, -sure, -ous, -ence, -ent, -ance, -ant, -cy, -ency, -ancy, ui, eu, -er, -or, -ar, -ard.
Level 8 – ar, arr, ir, er, err, ur, dis-, mis-, pre-, pro-, re-, de-, ex-, -al, -en, -on, -an, -ain, -ine, -et, -ite, -ate, -ic, -ive, -ary, in-, im-, il-, ir-, un-, under-, sub-, con-, com-, cor-, col-, ab-, ad-, ac-, af-, ap-, per-, i sounding like y, ch sounding like k or sh, que sounding like k.
The S.P.I.R.E. scope and sequence was “refined over years of working with struggling readers.” As you can see, it builds in complexity and requires
When shopping for an Orton-Gillingham reading program for YOUR child, you have to know your child’s needs and your abilities before you can find the “right” program. Before continuing here, if you haven’t already been there, you might find it helpful to look at “How to find ‘Effective’ Orton-Gillingham Programs” to learn more about selecting a program.
SPIRE Reading Program Summary
I don’t know if that helps with your actual decision making about whether to use the SPIRE Reading Program, but it is what I know. 😉 S.P.I.R.E. is a solid Orton-Gillingham reading program, well worth using.
To consider other possible curriculum for dyslexic students, check out other Orton-Gillingham based reading programs here.
Best Wishes!
Sandy