The efficacy of visual phonics on first and second grade students with reading deficits /by Holly Northcross.

Studies have demonstrated that phonological awareness is an essential skill for learning to read. Often students experience reading difficulties because they cannot differentiate between phonemes. This study investigates the efficacy of the reading intervention, Visual Phonics, for teaching phonological awareness. Visual Phonics is a program that teaches phonics with hand signs. Ten first grade students who received Visual Phonics in tandem with a direct instruction program (Reading Mastery) were compared to 10 first grade students who received Reading Mastery alone. The two groups??? scores from the Dynamic Indicator of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) were compared at three different time points. Results demonstrated there was no significant difference between the students who received Visual Phonics with Reading Mastery and the students who received Reading Mastery alone, but all children significantly improved regardless of which intervention they received