Barton Reading & Spelling System

What is the Barton Reading & Spelling System?

Barton is a Structured Literacy program that incorporates the Orton–Gillingham approach to instruction. It is a multi-sensory, direct, explicit, structured, and sequential intense intervention that is research and evidence based.  The Barton System was created to help students with dyslexia.  It serves the needs of students with language, literacy-based reading challenges.

Who can teach the Barton Method?

When seeking a tutor who uses the Barton Method, ask if the tutor has been certified by Barton. Certification indicates professional training that goes beyond the instruction provided in the basic Barton program. Dr. Lopez is certified in the Barton Method.

Who will benefit from the Barton Method?

Barton’s highly structured approach was designed to be make it accessible to a wide range of teachers and students.  Like other programs based on Orton–Gillingham, Barton is “multisensory.” It uses all the senses to help students make connections between sounds and words.

Is the Barton Method only taught one-on-one or can it be taught in a small group?

Best practice is for Barton to be taught individually.  Small group instruction is possible.  Students should be at least five years old and have the ability to differentiate between sounds in English in order to best benefit from the program.

Is there a particular advantage to the Barton Method?

Barton is an excellent choice for students who continue to struggle with spelling. It provides students with an understanding of the structures of reading and spelling.  It incorporates both real and nonsense words to encourage students to utilize skills rather than guess, a habit that many struggling readers have developed.

Additionally, Barton expands far beyond the basic concepts of reading to include vocabulary building strategies that focus on morphology (prefixes, suffixes, and root words) with a variety of roots to include Greek and Latin, grammar, fluency, and comprehension.

What does a tutoring session that uses the Barton Method look like?

A typical session is one-on-one and lasts fifty-minutes. It will incorporate color-coded letter tiles, online or in person, to develop key phonemic awareness and phonics skills, and specific, structured routines.  When completed, students will have a strong ability to connect sounds with letters from very basic to extremely complex words as well as understand the concepts of syllabication and spelling.  They must demonstrate mastery to progress.  Assessments at each level are key.  A minimum of two sessions per week is needed to be successful in the Barton program.  Pacing is personalized to each student’s needs.