The impact of using Elkonin sound boxes for students who are at-risk for dyslexia

Dyslexia is a common, lifelong, language and brain-based learning disability that can affect language processing and may lead to difficulties with reading, spelling, and writing. Symptoms of dyslexia include problems with decoding or single word reading, poor reading fluency, and poor spelling (IDA, 2018a). The use of Elkonin Sound Boxes (ESBs) is a specific instructional method used primarily with early elementary students; ESBs help students build phonemic awareness by segmenting words into individual sounds or syllables (Durst & Joseph, 2016). Adding to the current literature on the importance of early screening, early identification, and early intervention related to students’ overall reading progression from the results of this study. Results indicate that ESBs is associated with an increase in identifying letter sounds and word identification of CVC words across all participants. Discussed are the implications of these findings and future steps for further research on ESBs intervention.