As a parent, you know your child best. If your child is struggling more than expected in school, you might be wondering what support is available. In Colorado, families have the right to ask their school district for a formal evaluation to see if their child qualifies for special education services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or accommodations under a 504 Plan.
Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming, but the good news is that Colorado offers clear procedures, resources, and parent supports to guide you every step of the way. Below are some key differences between each service and some help on how to get started.
Section 504 Plan
Based on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability.
Ensures that a student with a disability has equal access to education and school programs by providing accommodations and supports.
Accommodations might include preferential seating, extended time on tests, breaks, use of assistive technology, modified assignments, etc.
Governed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
An IEP is a legally binding document that spells out special education services, supports, and modifications your child needs to make progress in school.
It describes your child’s current performance, measurable goals, how those goals will be assessed, and when/where services will be delivered.
Broad definition of disability; substantial limitation in one or more life activity (e.g., learning)
Must meet IDEA’s criteria (one of the categories) and need special education to benefit from school
Type of support
Accommodations and supports in general education
Specialized instruction, related services, accommodations/modifications
Academic goals or benchmarks
Typically no (or less detailed) goals
Yes — annual goals, progress measurement
Team and process
Usually a 504 team (teacher, admin, parent)
Formal IEP team (parents, teachers, specialists, administrator)
Frequency of review
Varies (often annually)
At least annually; full reevaluation every 3 years (or more frequently if needed)
Scope of protections
Includes access to extracurriculars, nonacademic settings, discrimination protections
Also includes protections but more focused on instruction and educational progress
What to Expect and What Parents Should Do
Getting Started / Eligibility
You or your child’s teacher can request an evaluation if you suspect the child has a disability or learning difficulty by contacting the school district’s Child Find or Special Education Department. (For IEP, it’s a full identification under IDEA.) https://www.cde.state.co.us/cdesped/referralresourcefamilies
Some districts have an intake / referral form that parents can fill out (e.g. DPS’s Child Find has an “intake form” online). https://ess.dpsk12.org/page/child-find
Development
For an IEP, the IEP team meets to write the plan, including goals, services, accommodations, and how progress will be reported.
For a 504 plan, the team decides what accommodations and supports are needed to give your child equal access.
Implementation and Monitoring
Parents should stay involved: ask for progress reports, observe how supports are working, and request changes if needed.
Both plans should be reviewed periodically. For IEPs, there is at least an annual review and triennial reevaluation.
If you disagree with decisions, you have the right to due process, mediation, or an impartial hearing (for both 504 and IEP).
Why They Matter
Promote access and equity. These plans help reduce barriers so children with disabilities can engage meaningfully in school and reach their potential.
Reduce unnecessary frustration. With appropriate supports, a child may be better able to demonstrate their true strengths and keep pace with peers.
Legal protection. These are not merely helpful — they are rights guaranteed by law.
Navigating the world of resources and services can be daunting. Feel free to reach out the the Colorado Reading Center if you have any questions about this process or would like to start with an academic assessment to get an accurate measure of you child’s reading skills.
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/thomas-park-6MePtA9EVDA-unsplash.jpg33695054ColoradoReadinghttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngColoradoReading2025-09-25 10:16:372025-09-25 10:36:44What Parents Should Know About 504 Plans and IEPs
What Is Visual Memory—Why It Matters for Reading and Learning
Visual memory is our ability to create and recall mental images. It lets us picture things in our mind—like a face, a place, or even a word. When a child remembers what a letter looks like, or can imagine the word “dog” and picture a furry friend, that’s visual memory at work.
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/Ortho-2.png10801080Robert Whttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngRobert W2025-07-23 11:24:212025-07-23 11:25:06What Is Visual Memory—Why It Matters for Reading and Learning
The Power of the Pencil: Why Handwriting Still Matters
In a digital world, it is easy to assume typing skills have replaced the need for handwriting. However, research tells a different story and demonstrates just how essential handwriting is for developing minds.
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/kelly-sikkema-is0zzmKunts-unsplash.jpg37125568Robert Whttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngRobert W2025-07-22 15:40:082025-07-23 09:45:41The Power of the Pencil: Why Handwriting Still Matters
At Colorado Reading Center, we believe that building strong reading skills starts at home. The following games and tools are ones we regularly recommend to families because they support phonemic awareness, memory, sequencing, vocabulary, and cognitive flexibility in fun and engaging ways. These are great, fun ways to develop early literacy skills.
These are affiliate links, which means CRC may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through them. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps support our ongoing work with students. Shopping on Amazon? Use our link to support CRC at no extra cost!
Ranger in Time – A time-travel adventure series ideal for ages 7–9.
Treasure Hunters by James Patterson – High-interest chapter book for readers ages 8–12.
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our work at no additional cost to you.
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/board-game-scrabble-board-games-games-words-spelling-1454747-pxhere.com_.jpg8361500Robert Whttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngRobert W2025-06-10 11:10:302025-07-23 11:04:32Recommended Games and Tools for Building Reading Skills
When it comes to reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge is essential. Without a strong vocabulary, readers may struggle to make sense of the texts they encounter. But why is vocabulary so important, and how can parents and educators help build it effectively?
Vocabulary: The Key to Unlocking Meaning
Vocabulary is the foundation of understanding. When readers know the meanings of the words they encounter, they can better understand sentences, paragraphs, and entire texts. Without this knowledge, comprehension becomes much harder, and the joy of reading can fade.
Research shows that a rich vocabulary enhances both basic understanding and deeper comprehension. Readers use vocabulary to grasp the literal meaning of a text and to infer hidden messages. Both types of understanding depend on a reader’s knowledge of words.
Vocabulary, Mental Imagery, and Cognitive Development
Vocabulary development plays a key role in cognitive growth. Each new word represents a concept or idea, and the more words a child learns, the better they understand the world. This expanded understanding helps them connect texts to their own experiences, deepening comprehension.
Mental imagery strengthens the connection between vocabulary and comprehension. Descriptive words help readers create pictures in their minds, making the text more engaging and easier to remember. For instance, phrases like “lush forest” or “towering skyscraper” trigger vivid mental images, enhancing understanding and creating a richer reading experience.
Building Vocabulary: Strategies for Success
Here are some practical strategies to support vocabulary development:
Read Aloud Together: Reading aloud introduces children to new words in context. Choose books slightly above their independent reading level to help expand their vocabulary.
Encourage Wide Reading: Provide access to a variety of materials, including fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and informational texts. Different genres introduce unique words and ideas.
Teach Word-Learning Strategies: Show students how to figure out unfamiliar words by teaching prefixes, suffixes, root words, and context clues.
Play Word Games: Games like Scrabble, Boggle, or vocabulary apps make learning fun and interactive.
Talk About Words: Discuss interesting or unusual words during conversations at home or in the classroom. This builds curiosity about language.
Use Visual Imagery: Use visual imagery to create vivid mental images of vocabulary words. This taps into personal experience as well as visualization for better memory.
Reinforce Through Writing: Encourage students to use new vocabulary in their writing. This strengthens understanding and helps solidify word meanings in memory.
Long-Term Benefits of a Strong Vocabulary
A strong vocabulary doesn’t just support reading comprehension—it’s a lifelong skill. From academic success to career readiness, vocabulary enables individuals to express themselves clearly, understand complex ideas, and engage with the world. It also enhances critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, which makes it a vital part of overall learning.
Final Thoughts
Building a strong vocabulary is an investment in a child’s success. By creating word-rich environments at home and in the classroom, parents and educators can empower young readers to thrive. Incorporating mental imagery techniques can make reading more vivid and memorable and turn every book into an adventure. The more words a child knows, the more opportunities they have—in books and in life.
If you or your child needs help with Reading Comprehension, we can help! Reach out to learn about our ReadingFish program for reading comprehension today!
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/Vocabulary-Head.png4301500Robert Whttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngRobert W2025-01-21 11:25:302025-09-25 10:57:19The Importance of Vocabulary for Reading Comprehension
The English language is built on 44 distinct sounds, or phonemes, that form the foundation of how we read and speak. While this may seem like a manageable number, the combinations of these sounds create endless possibilities for words. For emerging readers, the journey begins with identifying, articulating, and blending these sounds to form words.
If your child is struggling with reading, gaps in these foundational skills are often the reason.
The good news—these skills can be strengthened with the right instruction.
From a young age, children naturally begin to recognize and produce the sounds that make up spoken language. They then connect these sounds to labels, such as recognizing that the letter ‘a’ says the sound /a/, like in “apple.” This process, known as phonemic awareness, sets the stage for reading.
Step 2: Linking Sounds to Symbols
The next challenge is associating each sound with a visual representation—a letter or group of letters. This process involves three essential components:
Phoneme: The distinct sound.
Grapheme: The written symbol (e.g., the letter ‘a’).
Letter Name: The spoken label for the grapheme.
This connection between sound, symbol, and label forms the foundation of reading and writing.
The Complexity of English Sounds
Vowels and Consonants
Vowels: The five vowels (a, e, i, o, u) produce open, voiced sounds. For example, the sound /a/ in “cat” or /e/ in “meet.”
Consonants: The remaining letters (e.g., b, d, f) produce sounds by shaping or stopping airflow.
Digraphs and Letter Combinations
To represent extra sounds, letters are combined into digraphs where two letters identify and represent a new, distinct sound. Examples include:
Consonant Digraphs: th, sh, ch, wh, ng
Vowel Digraphs: oo (boot), ee (meet)
Short and Long Vowels
Short: /a/ as in “cat.”
Long: /ae/ as in “cake.”
While the short sounds are represented by just the letter, the long sounds often involve multiple spellings. Words like “weigh” and “way” use different letters to spell the same sound /ae/, which adds complexity for learners.
R-Controlled Vowels
/ar/ as in “car”
/er/ as in “her,” “girl,” or “turn”
/or/ as in “porch”
Additional Sounds
/oo/ as in “moon”
/uu/ as in “foot”
/oi/ as in “boil” or “boy”
/au/ as in “haul” or “awe”
/ou/ as in “out” or “wow”
The Challenges of Sound-Symbol Association
For emerging readers, associating sounds with their corresponding symbols can be a hurdle. The same sound may have multiple spellings, and the same letter combination can produce different sounds. For example, /th/ sounds different in “thin” versus “that.”
Additionally, individual learners face unique challenges. Some may struggle with auditory processing, making it difficult to distinguish sounds. Others may have trouble recalling letter names, shapes, or corresponding phonemes. These challenges highlight the importance of patience, creativity, and positive reinforcement in teaching.
Many struggling readers aren’t behind because of effort—they’re missing key reading skills.
At Colorado Reading Center, we rebuild these skills using structured, evidence-based instruction.
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/The-Colorado-Reading-Center.png4301500ColoradoReadinghttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngColoradoReading2024-12-23 12:48:132026-04-07 11:59:06The Building Blocks of Reading: Mastering the 44 English Phonemes
Identifying Dyslexia from Preschool to High School: Key Signs and Early Intervention
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences, affecting as many as 1 in 5 children in the United States. Since early intervention is crucial for helping individuals overcome reading and writing challenges, recognizing the signs of dyslexia at different stages of childhood can make a lasting difference. While dyslexia doesn’t go away, understanding its early markers helps children receive appropriate interventions to succeed academically and personally.
Signs at Every Stage
Many children with dyslexia go undiagnosed, especially if they are bright and develop coping strategies early on. This makes it essential for parents, educators, and healthcare providers to understand the signs of dyslexia and seek intervention early.
Dyslexia can affect children at all stages of their education, from preschool through high school, with different challenges emerging at each level. While every child is different, there are common signs to look out for. Recognizing these signs early allows for timely intervention, which can make a world of difference in a child’s academic and personal life.
Preschool (Ages 3–5): Early Language and Pre-Reading Skills
Dyslexia can begin to show as early as preschool. Although children at this stage are not yet reading, there are language and early literacy indicators that may suggest a child is at risk for dyslexia.
Signs to Look For:
Delayed speech development compared to peers
Difficulty learning new words or naming familiar objects
Trouble recognizing rhyming patterns (e.g., cat, hat, bat)
Challenges in remembering or learning the alphabet or letter names
Difficulty in understanding or following simple directions
Preschoolers with dyslexia might struggle with phonemic awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in words. This can result in difficulties with rhyming or segmenting words into syllables—skills that are fundamental for reading later on.
Elementary School (Ages 6–11): Learning to Read and Write
Elementary school is typically when dyslexia becomes more apparent because children are expected to begin reading, writing, and spelling with increasing proficiency. At this stage, children with dyslexia may begin to fall behind their peers in these areas.
Poor spelling, often with phonetic errors (e.g., writing “fot” instead of “foot”)
Difficulty learning high-frequency sight words (e.g., “the,” “and,” “said”)
Avoiding reading aloud or reading for pleasure
Trouble organizing thoughts for writing, especially at the sentence or paragraph level
Problems with handwriting or letter formation (dysgraphia may also co-occur)
Children in this age group may also struggle with reading fluency, reading comprehension, and retaining information they’ve read. Dyslexia at this stage can cause significant frustration, leading children to avoid reading and writing tasks.
Middle School (Ages 11–14): Increased Academic Demands
As children move into middle school, the academic demands increase, and the emphasis shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Students with dyslexia at this stage might struggle to keep up, especially in subjects that require extensive reading or written responses.
Signs to Look For:
Reading significantly below grade level
Difficulty understanding and summarizing text
Avoidance of reading assignments, particularly longer or more complex texts
Challenges with spelling and written composition
Trouble organizing essays or written responses
Slow reading speed, even for familiar texts
Difficulty with oral language tasks, like reading aloud in class
Middle school students with dyslexia may find it harder to manage the volume of reading across subjects like history, science, and English. They may also have trouble keeping up with written assignments, even if they understand the material orally.
High School (Ages 14–18): Advanced Reading and Writing Challenges
By high school, the demands for independent learning, advanced reading comprehension, and essay writing increase. Students with dyslexia often face significant challenges, especially if they haven’t received adequate intervention earlier in their schooling.
Signs to Look For:
Continuing difficulties with reading fluency and accuracy
Struggles with advanced reading comprehension and analyzing complex texts
Persistent spelling problems, particularly with less common or more complex words
Difficulty planning and organizing long written assignments, such as research papers
Avoidance of reading and writing tasks, leading to academic underachievement
Slow reading speed that impairs the ability to complete assignments on time
Low self-esteem or frustration due to academic struggles, despite putting in extra effort
At this stage, many high school students with dyslexia may have developed coping mechanisms, but these often break down as the workload increases. Without appropriate accommodations, such as extra time on tests, assistive technology, or structured literacy intervention, students may continue to struggle academically.
The Importance of Early Identification and Intervention
Early identification and intervention for dyslexia are critical for improving a child’s reading and writing skills, as well as their overall academic success. Research shows that the earlier dyslexia is identified, the more effective interventions can be in helping children close the achievement gap with their peers.
Individualized instruction: One-on-one tutoring tailored to the specific needs of the child can significantly improve reading skills.
Assistive technology: Tools such as text-to-speech software, audiobooks, and word processors with spell check can support students with dyslexia, particularly in middle and high school.
Schools, parents, and specialists can work together to ensure that students receive the support they need, whether through formal IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) or 504 Plans that provide necessary accommodations and interventions.
Conclusion
Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, but with proper support, children and adolescents with dyslexia can thrive academically and personally. Recognizing the signs early—whether in preschool, elementary, middle, or high school—empowers parents and educators to provide timely, targeted interventions that make a real difference in a child’s life.
International Dyslexia Association. “Dyslexia Basics.” IDA Website.
Understood.org. “Signs of Dyslexia at Different Ages.” Understood Website.
The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. “Dyslexia: What It Is, and Isn’t.” Yale Dyslexia.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). “What is Dyslexia?” NICHD Website.
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/ID-Dyslexia-Header-Compressed.png11812100ColoradoReadinghttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngColoradoReading2024-10-15 11:48:192025-09-25 10:42:30Early Detection and Signs of Dyslexia
There has been a long-lasting debate among academics regarding the most effective method in teaching students how to read. The dispute between believers in structured phonics verses those in support of the whole language approach began as early as the 1820’s and culminated in the United States in 1987 when the state of California, as part of the new language-arts curriculum, passed bills favoring the whole-language approach over basic decoding skills.
What are these two radically different approaches? Why did the two approaches create the “Reading War”? Read on for a deep dive into the conflict that helped define modern reading instruction.
Structured Phonics Instruction
Phonics instruction lays its foundation in teaching letter-sound relationships. In essence, phonetic-based reading attempts to break written language down into small and manageable components. Learners correlate certain letter symbols with their respective sounds allowing them to piece them together to create words, or in the case of reading, deconstruct a word into the various parts then weave the sounds together to form a pronounceable word (also known as decoding).
For example, a student will be taught that individual letters have a specific sound such as the letter ‘B’ saying ‘buh’ /b/ not its name “bee”. This will happen for the rest of the letters in the alphabet, so when a student is presented with the word “bat” – they will be able to break it down into its parts and sound it out correctly: “buh..aaa..tt – bat”
Later in the phonetic instruction process, students will learn that small groups of letters can be linked together in patterns which will always say the same sound such as “tch, dge, ng”.
Phonetic instruction is a methodical approach to analyze sounds, letters, and ultimately words.
Whole Language Instruction
Whole language instruction differs drastically by attempting to teach words and sentences as whole pieces of language – words are not systematically analyzed or pulled apart as they are in phonics instruction. Those that believe in whole language instruction argue that language should not be broken down into letters and decoded, but instead language is a complete system of meaning with words functioning in relation to each other in context. In other words, the most important focus should not be on sounds at all but primarily on the meaning and context.
The whole language approach was defended on rational grounds in the 1800’s in the Worcester primer: “It is not very important, perhaps, that a child should know the letters before it begins to read. It may learn first to read words by seeing them, hearing them pronounced, and having their meanings illustrated; and afterward it may learn to analyze them or name the letters of which they are composed.”
The three arguments used to promote whole language instruction are:
1) Reading time does not depend on word length; therefore, word recognition must not rest on the systematic breakdown of words. This, however, has been proven incorrect as our brain processes all letters simultaneously, not one at a time.
2) We are slightly faster at reading words in lowercase than in uppercase; thus, it is the contour of letters and the resulting contour-specific signature of each word which is most important in reading. The contour is lost in upper case letters, which are all the same size, so our reading speed is reduced. But this is incorrect understanding because if we actually used contour to identify letters, we would be unable to read the upper-case letters at all, let alone at a slower pace.
3) Typographical errors that respect the overall contour of a word is harder to detect than those that violate it. An example is in the word “test”, where an error of “tesf” is harder to identify than an error of “tesq” where the ascending letter “t” has been replaced by another ascending letter “f” and a descending letter “q” respectively. But this is merely due to the similarity between the “f” and the “t”, not a whole-word resemblance.
The Solution
The two approaches to teach reading skills differ dramatically in how learners are instructed to approach unfamiliar printed words. Phonics instructs a learner to try to analyze the word into parts and to sound it out. Whole-language encourages the learner to guess the word from the context of the story or accompanying pictures. Regarding the clues to understanding a word, phonics instruction believes they are found within the word itself, while whole language looks externally or outside the word.
At the end of the day, results matter above everything else. The National Reading Panel found that children who are taught phonics systematically and explicitly make greater progress in reading than those taught with any other type of instruction. This result is corroborated when California students’ test scores plummeted after instituting whole language instruction in 1987 and the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 3 out of every 4 students were below average for their age.
Phonics instruction is the better instruction method by a long shot. At the Colorado Reading Center, phonics is our focus to implement deep understanding of word decoding in our students. At the same time as phonics instruction, we apply some sight word reading with the most common words found in a particular reading level – this is important so that we get our students, who are generally behind their grade, quickly up to the level they should be to perform well in school.
Help and Resources
Developing the skill of reading is incredibly important for successful progress in school for all new learners. If you feel that a loved one or family friend could use a guide to become more proficient in understanding phonics, send them over to the professionals at the Colorado Reading Center for testing and learning resources. Our clinicians help students of any age and welcome all inquiries – take a look at our website or give us a call for more information!
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/book-read-white-reading-sight-black-533905-pxhere.com_.jpg16562500ColoradoReadinghttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngColoradoReading2022-06-08 20:30:002025-09-25 10:46:49What is Structured Phonics versus Whole Language?
Beginning the learning process of reading can be quite a difficult undertaking. When we think of new readers and how they learn, we usually picture children’s stories and the alphabet, but whether the beginner is a child or an adult that never acquired the necessary skills, the first step towards success is phonemic awareness.
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds (Yopp, 1992).
Phonemic versus Phonological Awareness
Many people have the incorrect understanding that phonemic awareness and phonological awareness are the same thing, or synonyms of one another. It is important to be clear that although they are similar, they are indeed unique, and this differentiation is key to understanding the development process.
Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is more specific and deals with the ability to identify individual sounds within words, called phonemes (“cat…/c/ /a/ /t/”), as well as manipulate them within a given word (“Change the /c/ to a /b/… now the word is bat”). Phonetic awareness is a broader term referring to the more developed ability of being able to hear, identify, and manipulate larger units of sounds such as onsets and syllables and recognition of rhyming words.
For beginning learners, and for the purpose of this blog, we will be focusing on phonemic awareness (the more specific term), as it will be the first skill that needs to be developed.
Why is Phonemic Awareness Important?
Phonemic awareness is critical for identifying reading development in new learners, and it is the most important pre-reading skill that can be developed being central to the role in learning to read and to spell. According to the National Reading Panel, “Teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phonemic awareness.”
It is well accepted that phonemic awareness is the best predictor of reading and writing success in young children. It helps learners to master sound-spelling relationships, thus improving this skill through structured education is critical for a higher chance of being able to read and write when literacy instruction begins.
Without phonemic awareness, learners will be unable to group words with similar and dissimilar sounds, blend and split syllables, blend sounds into words, break a word down into its sequence of sounds, nor detect and manipulate sounds within words. It is the foundation, so to speak, of a future reader and writer and without it fluency can never be achieved.
How Learners Develop Phonemic Awareness
The development of phonemic awareness is unique for every learner. Some are able to begin growing phonemic awareness naturally through rhyming stories (like Dr. Seuss), through singing and learning nursery rhymes, or even by listening and reading along with a parent or teacher. This can be a very fortunate start to the learning process for some students, but others may need systematic and specific phonemic awareness teaching to grow in their abilities in preparation for writing and reading. There are many online resources as well as professional institutions available for this type of instruction.
Levels of Phonemic Awareness
Marilyn Jager Adams, a specialist in cognition and education at Brown University, created a widely used definition of phonemic awareness in 1990, and developed a basic understanding of the skills leading to phonemic awareness in five distinct levels.
1) Ability to hear rhymes (“dog, fog”) and alliteration (repeated initial sounds in words, i.e “purple poster”).
2) Ability to identify similarities and differences in rhyme and alliteration across and between words.
3) Ability to blend and segment syllables (“rain-bow…rainbow”).
4) Ability to split a spoken word into phonemes (“bag…b-a-g”).
5) Ability to identify and manipulate the sounds in words (“Say ‘dog’. Now change the last sound to a /t/. What word do you have now?”)
Help Developing Phonemic Awareness
Developing the skill of phonemic awareness is incredibly important for the successful progress in reading and writing for all new learners. If you feel that a loved one or family friend could use a guide to become more proficient in phonemic awareness, send them over to the professionals at the Colorado Reading Center. Our clinicians help students of any age and welcome all inquiries – take a look at our website or give us a call for more information!
https://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/pexels-magda-ehlers-1337385.jpg16672500ColoradoReadinghttps://coloradoreading.com/wp-content/uploads/colorado-reading-center-logo-1.pngColoradoReading2022-06-06 19:20:002025-09-25 10:45:10What is Phonemic Awareness?
What Parents Should Know About 504 Plans and IEPs
/in Tips & Tools for Home /by ColoradoReadingAs a parent, you know your child best. If your child is struggling more than expected in school, you might be wondering what support is available. In Colorado, families have the right to ask their school district for a formal evaluation to see if their child qualifies for special education services through an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or accommodations under a 504 Plan.
The process often begins with a written request to your child’s school or the district’s Child Find office. From there, the school will gather information, conduct assessments (with your consent), and meet with you to discuss whether your child qualifies for extra supports.
Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming, but the good news is that Colorado offers clear procedures, resources, and parent supports to guide you every step of the way. Below are some key differences between each service and some help on how to get started.
Section 504 Plan
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Key Differences
What to Expect and What Parents Should Do
Getting Started / Eligibility
Development
Implementation and Monitoring
Why They Matter
Navigating the world of resources and services can be daunting. Feel free to reach out the the Colorado Reading Center if you have any questions about this process or would like to start with an academic assessment to get an accurate measure of you child’s reading skills.
What Is Visual Memory—Why It Matters for Reading and Learning
/in General /by Robert WWhat Is Visual Memory—Why It Matters for Reading and Learning
Visual memory is our ability to create and recall mental images. It lets us picture things in our mind—like a face, a place, or even a word. When a child remembers what a letter looks like, or can imagine the word “dog” and picture a furry friend, that’s visual memory at work.
The Power of the Pencil: Why Handwriting Still Matters
/in General /by Robert WThe Power of the Pencil: Why Handwriting Still Matters
In a digital world, it is easy to assume typing skills have replaced the need for handwriting. However, research tells a different story and demonstrates just how essential handwriting is for developing minds.
Recommended Games and Tools for Building Reading Skills
/in General /by Robert WAt Colorado Reading Center, we believe that building strong reading skills starts at home. The following games and tools are ones we regularly recommend to families because they support phonemic awareness, memory, sequencing, vocabulary, and cognitive flexibility in fun and engaging ways. These are great, fun ways to develop early literacy skills.
These are affiliate links, which means CRC may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through them. This comes at no extra cost to you and helps support our ongoing work with students. Shopping on Amazon? Use our link to support CRC at no extra cost!
Games for Building Literacy and Brain Power
Books That Boost Early Literacy
Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support our work at no additional cost to you.
The Importance of Vocabulary for Reading Comprehension
/in CRC Program, General, The Science of Reading, Tips & Tools for Home /by Robert WWhen it comes to reading comprehension, vocabulary knowledge is essential. Without a strong vocabulary, readers may struggle to make sense of the texts they encounter. But why is vocabulary so important, and how can parents and educators help build it effectively?
Vocabulary: The Key to Unlocking Meaning
Research shows that a rich vocabulary enhances both basic understanding and deeper comprehension. Readers use vocabulary to grasp the literal meaning of a text and to infer hidden messages. Both types of understanding depend on a reader’s knowledge of words.
Vocabulary, Mental Imagery, and Cognitive Development
Mental imagery strengthens the connection between vocabulary and comprehension. Descriptive words help readers create pictures in their minds, making the text more engaging and easier to remember. For instance, phrases like “lush forest” or “towering skyscraper” trigger vivid mental images, enhancing understanding and creating a richer reading experience.
Building Vocabulary: Strategies for Success
Here are some practical strategies to support vocabulary development:
Long-Term Benefits of a Strong Vocabulary
A strong vocabulary doesn’t just support reading comprehension—it’s a lifelong skill. From academic success to career readiness, vocabulary enables individuals to express themselves clearly, understand complex ideas, and engage with the world. It also enhances critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, which makes it a vital part of overall learning.
Final Thoughts
Building a strong vocabulary is an investment in a child’s success. By creating word-rich environments at home and in the classroom, parents and educators can empower young readers to thrive. Incorporating mental imagery techniques can make reading more vivid and memorable and turn every book into an adventure. The more words a child knows, the more opportunities they have—in books and in life.
If you or your child needs help with Reading Comprehension, we can help! Reach out to learn about our ReadingFish program for reading comprehension today!
The Building Blocks of Reading: Mastering the 44 English Phonemes
/in General, The Science of Reading /by ColoradoReadingThe English language is built on 44 distinct sounds, or phonemes, that form the foundation of how we read and speak. While this may seem like a manageable number, the combinations of these sounds create endless possibilities for words. For emerging readers, the journey begins with identifying, articulating, and blending these sounds to form words.
If your child is struggling with reading, gaps in these foundational skills are often the reason.
The good news—these skills can be strengthened with the right instruction.
Schedule a Reading Consultation
From Sounds to Symbols: The Basics of Reading
Step 1: Recognizing and Naming Sounds
From a young age, children naturally begin to recognize and produce the sounds that make up spoken language. They then connect these sounds to labels, such as recognizing that the letter ‘a’ says the sound /a/, like in “apple.” This process, known as phonemic awareness, sets the stage for reading.
Step 2: Linking Sounds to Symbols
The next challenge is associating each sound with a visual representation—a letter or group of letters. This process involves three essential components:
This connection between sound, symbol, and label forms the foundation of reading and writing.
The Complexity of English Sounds
Vowels and Consonants
Digraphs and Letter Combinations
To represent extra sounds, letters are combined into digraphs where two letters identify and represent a new, distinct sound. Examples include:
Short and Long Vowels
While the short sounds are represented by just the letter, the long sounds often involve multiple spellings. Words like “weigh” and “way” use different letters to spell the same sound /ae/, which adds complexity for learners.
R-Controlled Vowels
Additional Sounds
The Challenges of Sound-Symbol Association
For emerging readers, associating sounds with their corresponding symbols can be a hurdle. The same sound may have multiple spellings, and the same letter combination can produce different sounds. For example, /th/ sounds different in “thin” versus “that.”
Additionally, individual learners face unique challenges. Some may struggle with auditory processing, making it difficult to distinguish sounds. Others may have trouble recalling letter names, shapes, or corresponding phonemes. These challenges highlight the importance of patience, creativity, and positive reinforcement in teaching.
Many struggling readers aren’t behind because of effort—they’re missing key reading skills.
At Colorado Reading Center, we rebuild these skills using structured, evidence-based instruction.
Get Help for Your Reader
Tips for Supporting Emerging Readers
We work with students across the Denver area, both in-person and online.
Early support makes all the difference.
With the right approach, struggling readers can catch up—and gain confidence.
✔ One-on-one instruction
✔ Structured literacy approach
✔ Support for dyslexia and reading difficulties
Schedule a Consultation Today
Early Detection and Signs of Dyslexia
/in General /by ColoradoReadingIdentifying Dyslexia from Preschool to High School: Key Signs and Early Intervention
Dyslexia is one of the most common learning differences, affecting as many as 1 in 5 children in the United States. Since early intervention is crucial for helping individuals overcome reading and writing challenges, recognizing the signs of dyslexia at different stages of childhood can make a lasting difference. While dyslexia doesn’t go away, understanding its early markers helps children receive appropriate interventions to succeed academically and personally.
Signs at Every Stage
Many children with dyslexia go undiagnosed, especially if they are bright and develop coping strategies early on. This makes it essential for parents, educators, and healthcare providers to understand the signs of dyslexia and seek intervention early.
Dyslexia can affect children at all stages of their education, from preschool through high school, with different challenges emerging at each level. While every child is different, there are common signs to look out for. Recognizing these signs early allows for timely intervention, which can make a world of difference in a child’s academic and personal life.
Preschool (Ages 3–5): Early Language and Pre-Reading Skills
Dyslexia can begin to show as early as preschool. Although children at this stage are not yet reading, there are language and early literacy indicators that may suggest a child is at risk for dyslexia.
Signs to Look For:
Preschoolers with dyslexia might struggle with phonemic awareness, which is the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in words. This can result in difficulties with rhyming or segmenting words into syllables—skills that are fundamental for reading later on.
Elementary School (Ages 6–11): Learning to Read and Write
Elementary school is typically when dyslexia becomes more apparent because children are expected to begin reading, writing, and spelling with increasing proficiency. At this stage, children with dyslexia may begin to fall behind their peers in these areas.
Signs to Look For:
Children in this age group may also struggle with reading fluency, reading comprehension, and retaining information they’ve read. Dyslexia at this stage can cause significant frustration, leading children to avoid reading and writing tasks.
Middle School (Ages 11–14): Increased Academic Demands
As children move into middle school, the academic demands increase, and the emphasis shifts from learning to read to reading to learn. Students with dyslexia at this stage might struggle to keep up, especially in subjects that require extensive reading or written responses.
Signs to Look For:
Middle school students with dyslexia may find it harder to manage the volume of reading across subjects like history, science, and English. They may also have trouble keeping up with written assignments, even if they understand the material orally.
High School (Ages 14–18): Advanced Reading and Writing Challenges
By high school, the demands for independent learning, advanced reading comprehension, and essay writing increase. Students with dyslexia often face significant challenges, especially if they haven’t received adequate intervention earlier in their schooling.
Signs to Look For:
At this stage, many high school students with dyslexia may have developed coping mechanisms, but these often break down as the workload increases. Without appropriate accommodations, such as extra time on tests, assistive technology, or structured literacy intervention, students may continue to struggle academically.
The Importance of Early Identification and Intervention
Early identification and intervention for dyslexia are critical for improving a child’s reading and writing skills, as well as their overall academic success. Research shows that the earlier dyslexia is identified, the more effective interventions can be in helping children close the achievement gap with their peers.
Effective interventions for dyslexia include:
Schools, parents, and specialists can work together to ensure that students receive the support they need, whether through formal IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) or 504 Plans that provide necessary accommodations and interventions.
Conclusion
Dyslexia is a lifelong condition, but with proper support, children and adolescents with dyslexia can thrive academically and personally. Recognizing the signs early—whether in preschool, elementary, middle, or high school—empowers parents and educators to provide timely, targeted interventions that make a real difference in a child’s life.
Sources:
What is Multisensory Instruction?
/in The Science of Reading /by Robert WWhat is Structured Phonics versus Whole Language?
/in The Science of Reading /by ColoradoReadingWhat is Structured Phonics vs. Whole Language?
There has been a long-lasting debate among academics regarding the most effective method in teaching students how to read. The dispute between believers in structured phonics verses those in support of the whole language approach began as early as the 1820’s and culminated in the United States in 1987 when the state of California, as part of the new language-arts curriculum, passed bills favoring the whole-language approach over basic decoding skills.
What are these two radically different approaches? Why did the two approaches create the “Reading War”? Read on for a deep dive into the conflict that helped define modern reading instruction.
Structured Phonics Instruction
Phonics instruction lays its foundation in teaching letter-sound relationships. In essence, phonetic-based reading attempts to break written language down into small and manageable components. Learners correlate certain letter symbols with their respective sounds allowing them to piece them together to create words, or in the case of reading, deconstruct a word into the various parts then weave the sounds together to form a pronounceable word (also known as decoding).
For example, a student will be taught that individual letters have a specific sound such as the letter ‘B’ saying ‘buh’ /b/ not its name “bee”. This will happen for the rest of the letters in the alphabet, so when a student is presented with the word “bat” – they will be able to break it down into its parts and sound it out correctly: “buh..aaa..tt – bat”
Later in the phonetic instruction process, students will learn that small groups of letters can be linked together in patterns which will always say the same sound such as “tch, dge, ng”.
Phonetic instruction is a methodical approach to analyze sounds, letters, and ultimately words.
Whole Language Instruction
Whole language instruction differs drastically by attempting to teach words and sentences as whole pieces of language – words are not systematically analyzed or pulled apart as they are in phonics instruction. Those that believe in whole language instruction argue that language should not be broken down into letters and decoded, but instead language is a complete system of meaning with words functioning in relation to each other in context. In other words, the most important focus should not be on sounds at all but primarily on the meaning and context.
The whole language approach was defended on rational grounds in the 1800’s in the Worcester primer: “It is not very important, perhaps, that a child should know the letters before it begins to read. It may learn first to read words by seeing them, hearing them pronounced, and having their meanings illustrated; and afterward it may learn to analyze them or name the letters of which they are composed.”
The three arguments used to promote whole language instruction are:
1) Reading time does not depend on word length; therefore, word recognition must not rest on the systematic breakdown of words. This, however, has been proven incorrect as our brain processes all letters simultaneously, not one at a time.
2) We are slightly faster at reading words in lowercase than in uppercase; thus, it is the contour of letters and the resulting contour-specific signature of each word which is most important in reading. The contour is lost in upper case letters, which are all the same size, so our reading speed is reduced. But this is incorrect understanding because if we actually used contour to identify letters, we would be unable to read the upper-case letters at all, let alone at a slower pace.
3) Typographical errors that respect the overall contour of a word is harder to detect than those that violate it. An example is in the word “test”, where an error of “tesf” is harder to identify than an error of “tesq” where the ascending letter “t” has been replaced by another ascending letter “f” and a descending letter “q” respectively. But this is merely due to the similarity between the “f” and the “t”, not a whole-word resemblance.
The Solution
The two approaches to teach reading skills differ dramatically in how learners are instructed to approach unfamiliar printed words. Phonics instructs a learner to try to analyze the word into parts and to sound it out. Whole-language encourages the learner to guess the word from the context of the story or accompanying pictures. Regarding the clues to understanding a word, phonics instruction believes they are found within the word itself, while whole language looks externally or outside the word.
At the end of the day, results matter above everything else. The National Reading Panel found that children who are taught phonics systematically and explicitly make greater progress in reading than those taught with any other type of instruction. This result is corroborated when California students’ test scores plummeted after instituting whole language instruction in 1987 and the National Assessment of Educational Progress found that 3 out of every 4 students were below average for their age.
Phonics instruction is the better instruction method by a long shot. At the Colorado Reading Center, phonics is our focus to implement deep understanding of word decoding in our students. At the same time as phonics instruction, we apply some sight word reading with the most common words found in a particular reading level – this is important so that we get our students, who are generally behind their grade, quickly up to the level they should be to perform well in school.
Help and Resources
Developing the skill of reading is incredibly important for successful progress in school for all new learners. If you feel that a loved one or family friend could use a guide to become more proficient in understanding phonics, send them over to the professionals at the Colorado Reading Center for testing and learning resources. Our clinicians help students of any age and welcome all inquiries – take a look at our website or give us a call for more information!
What is Phonemic Awareness?
/in The Science of Reading /by ColoradoReadingWhat is Phonemic Awareness?
Beginning the learning process of reading can be quite a difficult undertaking. When we think of new readers and how they learn, we usually picture children’s stories and the alphabet, but whether the beginner is a child or an adult that never acquired the necessary skills, the first step towards success is phonemic awareness.
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate the sounds in spoken words and the understanding that spoken words and syllables are made up of sequences of speech sounds (Yopp, 1992).
Phonemic versus Phonological Awareness
Many people have the incorrect understanding that phonemic awareness and phonological awareness are the same thing, or synonyms of one another. It is important to be clear that although they are similar, they are indeed unique, and this differentiation is key to understanding the development process.
Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness. Phonemic awareness is more specific and deals with the ability to identify individual sounds within words, called phonemes (“cat…/c/ /a/ /t/”), as well as manipulate them within a given word (“Change the /c/ to a /b/… now the word is bat”). Phonetic awareness is a broader term referring to the more developed ability of being able to hear, identify, and manipulate larger units of sounds such as onsets and syllables and recognition of rhyming words.
For beginning learners, and for the purpose of this blog, we will be focusing on phonemic awareness (the more specific term), as it will be the first skill that needs to be developed.
Why is Phonemic Awareness Important?
Phonemic awareness is critical for identifying reading development in new learners, and it is the most important pre-reading skill that can be developed being central to the role in learning to read and to spell. According to the National Reading Panel, “Teaching phonemic awareness to children significantly improves their reading more than instruction that lacks any attention to phonemic awareness.”
It is well accepted that phonemic awareness is the best predictor of reading and writing success in young children. It helps learners to master sound-spelling relationships, thus improving this skill through structured education is critical for a higher chance of being able to read and write when literacy instruction begins.
Without phonemic awareness, learners will be unable to group words with similar and dissimilar sounds, blend and split syllables, blend sounds into words, break a word down into its sequence of sounds, nor detect and manipulate sounds within words. It is the foundation, so to speak, of a future reader and writer and without it fluency can never be achieved.
How Learners Develop Phonemic Awareness
The development of phonemic awareness is unique for every learner. Some are able to begin growing phonemic awareness naturally through rhyming stories (like Dr. Seuss), through singing and learning nursery rhymes, or even by listening and reading along with a parent or teacher. This can be a very fortunate start to the learning process for some students, but others may need systematic and specific phonemic awareness teaching to grow in their abilities in preparation for writing and reading. There are many online resources as well as professional institutions available for this type of instruction.
Levels of Phonemic Awareness
Marilyn Jager Adams, a specialist in cognition and education at Brown University, created a widely used definition of phonemic awareness in 1990, and developed a basic understanding of the skills leading to phonemic awareness in five distinct levels.
1) Ability to hear rhymes (“dog, fog”) and alliteration (repeated initial sounds in words, i.e “purple poster”).
2) Ability to identify similarities and differences in rhyme and alliteration across and between words.
3) Ability to blend and segment syllables (“rain-bow…rainbow”).
4) Ability to split a spoken word into phonemes (“bag…b-a-g”).
5) Ability to identify and manipulate the sounds in words (“Say ‘dog’. Now change the last sound to a /t/. What word do you have now?”)
Help Developing Phonemic Awareness
Developing the skill of phonemic awareness is incredibly important for the successful progress in reading and writing for all new learners. If you feel that a loved one or family friend could use a guide to become more proficient in phonemic awareness, send them over to the professionals at the Colorado Reading Center. Our clinicians help students of any age and welcome all inquiries – take a look at our website or give us a call for more information!