Multisensory Learning

My love for multisensory learning grew as a result of passion for teaching reading. I loved to teach because it was my READING teaching that taught me to love reading and transformed my comprehension. I knew from the relationship that I formed with that teacher, that I wanted to do the same for children.

In college, I felt the phonics courses were a little rushed. We did not spend much time learning how to teach it. I didn’t really think much of it then because I would figure it out once in MY actual classroom. I mean … other teachers before me had to do it right?

Do you think I figured it out? If you said no, you are right.

My Multisensory Classroom

Once I was in my own classroom, I struggled everyday and I went home frustrated each night. I was working at home every. single. night. trying to figure out how to make it work teaching children how to read.

To make sense of my reading block, I started buying books like “The Daily 5” . I also started pursuing my Masters in Literacy Instruction. I loved the program, but even after graduation with my Master’s, I didn’t have the tools for teaching reading successfully. Although I did see success in students, it was heartbreaking when the rest would struggle.

The Multisensory Journey Begins

After teaching Kindergarten and third , I took Orton-Gillingham Training. This is where my multisensory Journey began. At this time, I loved learning EVERYTHING.

I learned ALOT and I immediately started to brainstorm ways to implement it in my Kindergarten classroom the following year. It was lots of trial and error that year, but I stuck to it. I wanted to find a way to teach reading that worked.

Multisensory Becomes Structured Literacy

After deciding to take a year off and stay home, I started tutoring. I had no idea that Orton was a structured literacy program. I kept seeing that phrase every time I did research on Multisensory Learning. I designed resources and even started teaching my son at home. I decided that I wanted to share this Journey with the world. You may notice that earlier content on my Instagram page is centered around multisensory learning as a whole. When I found out the crisis in literacy and remembered the pain of not knowing that I felt as a reading teacher, I shifted my focus to multisensory reading techniques. Multisensory learning is one characteristic of structured literacy. When I find things that are effective, I will share them with you through blog post, tips, and most importantly multisensory activities and resources. Be on the lookout for more from me!

Thanks for Reading,

Ashley Cromwell