New Mexicans offered free reading tools

Retired teacher developed literacy training, support

I recently retired after 34 years as a special education teacher. After completing two masters in education, I still had no idea how to teach reading. In 1992, I did my Orton-Gillinham training at the Carroll School in Lincoln, Massachusetts. That’s where I learned what I needed to teach struggling readers. The Orton-Gillingham method is the basis of structured literacy. It helps students learn the structure of words in English — how sounds map to letters and how letters map to sounds.

After being trained, I decided to create my own reading programs with humorous text to keep kids’ attention. I created all my materials with the help and guidance of my mentor, Diana Hanbury King. She was a reading expert, par excellence, who started and ran two schools for dyslexics and won every award possible including Teacher of the Year.

I also spent about 13 years studying reading research and other Orton-based programs in order to improve my programs. My average annual student reading gain scores ranged from 1.3 to 2.32 and averaged 1.62 according to the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test – Revised. That’s more than one and a half years progress per year.

Up to the present time, thousands of teachers and parents bought and used my materials.

After I retired, I decided to find a way to give away my materials, training and support, starting with my home state of New Mexico.

The Morgan Dynamic Phonics Inc. company of Albuquerque is now offering free access to four research-based reading programs for beginning readers and struggling readers of all ages and all levels. As president of the company, I’m also offering free training workshops as well as free back-up support. Before COVID, I did many teacher-training workshops around New Mexico and across the country and presented at many national education conferences. These awardwinning programs were used successfully in Albuquerque Public Schools for over 20 years. I’ve worked to improve them and make them more effective and teacher friendly — fun and easy to use — for 25 years. They are designed for use with beginning readers or older students struggling to learn to read — disabilities, dyslexia, etc. There are programs for all levels and all ages. They can be used by classroom teachers, with principal permission; in private schools; in schools for dyslexics; by parents; by homeshoolers; in adult literacy centers; in prisons; by tutors; or by any reader who wants to teach a nonreader to read.

Because the programs contain many funny sentences, it makes it easier to use with students who have experienced failure in learning to read.

These materials and trainings are only offered free to New Mexican teachers and parents at this time. For more information, go to dynamicphonics.com. Click on the links to get your access to our free programs, training and back-up support.