One size does not fit all when it comes to reading instruction. As Priscilla Vail, a learning specialist, once wrote, “ONE WAY is a good street sign. It is not a good platform for teaching reading.”

Why not?

“Research shows that about 40% of children learn to read fairly easily with any instructional approach. For another 30-40% of children, learning to read requires more effort. For the remaining 20-30%, reading may be one of the most difficult tasks they will have to master in their school years.” (G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D., Former Chief of Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health. Testimony before the Committee of Labor and Human Resources, U.S. Senate, 1998.)