Research and Results
The Reading Research, Orton-Gillingham and the Sonday System
The National Reading Panel (NRP) conducted meta-analysis on over 2500 reading studies since 1966. The findings were published in the National Reading Panel: Report of the Subgroups, 2000. Based on this analysis, the panel identified 5 elements of instruction that need to be included in reading programs for them to be successful with struggling students. These elements are phonological awareness, phonics instruction, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. The National Reading Panel also provided tools to evaluate programs for the 5 elements.
The Sonday System® has been evaluated by educational experts in industry leading organizations such as the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the International Dyslexia Association and Reading First offices in 7 states. They are all in agreement that The Sonday System® contains the required elements identified by the NRP. The Sonday System® follows the teaching methodology of Orton-Gillingham closely. NRP identified Orton-Gillingham as one of the effective methodologies that addresses the needs of struggling students. Reading research studies conducted over the past 70 years have included the Orton-Gillingham method as a standard. Studies sited were in 1940, 1956, 1969, 1979 and 1984.
Arlene Sonday, the author of the Sonday System® is a Founding Fellow and first president of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. This is the only Orton-Gillingham credentialing organization. She is an adjunct professor at Hamline University and Fairleigh Dickinson University, two institutions that are leaders in Orton-Gillingham instructional training. In 2009, the International Dyslexia Association presented Arlene with the Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ms. Sonday has tutored students, consulted with schools and taught Orton-Gillingham courses for over 35 years. She found that competent teachers and tutors were experiencing difficulty transitioning from one-on-one or small group intervention to the classroom setting. Teachers did not have time to write the learning plans and create the curriculum for that group of struggling readers in the classroom. Arlene along with Winsor Learning, created the Sonday System®, a systematic, explicit, sequential and cumulative multisensory language instruction program which cements student learning into long-term memory. The Sonday System eliminates lengthy lesson planning so teachers can focus their effort on instruction. Easy-to-use lesson plans limit initial training requirements and enable teachers to deliver quality instruction based on the needs of the struggling students right away even while they continue their own development.
Results
- Client Profile-JV Martin Junior High, Dillon SC 2007-2010 (PDF)
- Client Profile-East Orange NJ 2003-2010 (PDF)
- Client Profile Caldwell County NC (PDF)
- Client Profile Allentown PA (PDF)
- Client Profile St Lawrence CA (PDF)
- Client Profile Spring Lake Park MN (PDF)
- Client Profile So Allegheny PA (PDF)
- Client Data Sample Gilbert AZ (PDF)
- Client Data Sample Dillon SC (PDF)
Find Out More…
Read: Reading Research and the Sonday System
View: The Sonday System Lesson Plan Structure
Read: Matrix of Multisensory Structured Language Programs
Read: Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read Report of the Subgroups
About: The Author, Arlene Sonday
Research Essentials
Research indicates that the following are key components of successful reading programs.
The National Reading Panel Report and The No Child Left Behind Act state the required components for Research Based Curriculum. The following matrix shows how the Sonday System Product Line addresses these requirements.
Follow us!