An initiative of the Learning Disabilities Association of Pennsylvania (LDA) is incorporating everything from movement to sandboxes and balls to make reading fun and, in the process, bridge the literacy gap for low-income students, Public Source wrote in a recent report.

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The LDA’s reading intervention initiative is divided into two programs:

• Early literacy tutoring, which offers group learning for children who need help reading between kindergarten and second grade
• One-on-one reading intervention for students of any age

State and city statistics show that the LDA initiative is needed. Pennsylvania fourth graders who were kindergarteners at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic scored lower in reading than fourth graders in 2019, Public Source reported. And third-grade reading proficiency is at 46.2% – which is 1.6% lower than last year – in Pittsburgh Public Schools’ largest school district.

A Multi-sensory Approach

LDA’s reading programs use a multi-sensory approach that incorporates visual, auditory, and kinesthetic senses to aid reading, Public Source reported.

Students in Taylor Erickson’s class at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Hill District branch take part in “sky-writing.” They are encouraged to stand up, wiggle their bodies, and use their arms like pencils to trace letters.

For more information on the LDA initiative, which provides free tutoring for both reading programs, read Public Source’s story.