Let’s cut to the chase—reading intervention shouldn’t be random.
And yet, every day in classrooms and homes across the country, well-meaning teachers and parents are throwing activity after activity at struggling readers, hoping something sticks. Flashcards, guessing games, leveled books, sight word bingo—you name it.
But here's the truth: If the intervention isn’t based on how the brain learns to read, it’s just noise.
I’ve worked with students who were years behind in reading—kids who had lost all confidence, parents who were at their wits’ end, and teachers who were out of options. What turned it around wasn’t more practice. It was the right kind of practice.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through seven powerful, science-backed reading intervention activities that actually move the needle. These aren’t fluff. These are tools built on the Science of Reading and the Orton-Gillingham method—methods I trust enough to build into every inch of my curriculum.
What Makes a Reading Intervention Activity Actually Effective?
Before we dive into the list, let’s get one thing straight: not every activity labeled “intervention” is helping.
Effective reading intervention activities share three core features:
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They are explicit and systematic – No guessing, no discovery learning. Skills are taught directly and built logically.
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They are multisensory – Kids use their eyes, ears, hands, and voices to engage with words and sounds.
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They target specific gaps – You can’t throw a blanket over the problem. The activity must address the child’s exact need.
That’s the backbone of every single lesson in our Teach Me to Read with Orton-Gillingham Workbook. Nothing is left to chance, and every page builds real skills that stick.
Activity #1: Sound Boxes (Elkonin Boxes) for Phonemic Awareness
Phonemic awareness is the ability to hear and manipulate sounds in spoken words—before we even get to letters.
How it works:
Draw three or four empty boxes on paper. Say a word like “cat.” As your student says each sound (/k/, /a/, /t/), they move a token into a box. This helps them isolate and blend sounds.
Why it works:
It builds the auditory foundation needed for decoding. No letters needed—just ears and brains.
Activity #2: Say It, Tap It, Write It
This one’s a go-to in my classroom because it connects sound to print in a powerful way.
How it works:
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Say a word like “shop.”
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Tap each sound on your fingers (/sh/ /o/ /p/).
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Write each letter or grapheme as you say the sound again.
Why it works:
It’s multisensory, sequential, and perfect for mapping phonemes to graphemes. Kids see it, hear it, say it, and write it—all in one tight loop.
Activity #3: Word Sorts (By Sound or Pattern)
Not all word sorts are created equal. The ones that work are targeted and require thinking, not just memorization.
How it works:
Give students a pile of words and ask them to sort by feature—short a vs. short i, digraphs vs. blends, or bossy r patterns.
Why it works:
It helps kids internalize phonics rules and patterns by analyzing instead of guessing. It’s active—not passive—learning.
Activity #4: Decodable Reading with a Purpose
This is not the time for “just right” books or leveled readers. We need books that students can actually decode using the skills they’ve learned.
How it works:
Give your student a decodable story aligned to the phonics rule they just learned. Ask them to underline or highlight the target sounds while reading aloud.
Why it works:
Decodable texts match instruction with practice. They eliminate the guessing and build fluency with mastery.
That’s why our Decodable Coloring Book Stories are structured to match specific phonics skills on every page.
Activity #5: Word Building with Letter Tiles
Kids love this one—and it secretly builds strong orthographic mapping.
How it works:
Give students a small set of magnetic or paper tiles with letters. Say a word (e.g., “tap”) and have them build it. Then change one letter to make “top.” Then “hop.”
Why it works:
This builds phoneme manipulation and strengthens word families, digraphs, and vowel patterns in a hands-on, visual way.
Activity #6: Dictation with Built-in Review
Dictation gets a bad rap, but when used correctly, it’s one of the most powerful tools you have.
How it works:
Say 3-5 words that follow a phonics rule your student has learned (e.g., CVC words with short e). They write the words on paper, saying each sound as they write.
End the activity with a sentence that includes one or two of those words.
Why it works:
Dictation is targeted review, immediate application, and error correction all rolled into one.
Activity #7: Phonics Games That Aren’t Just Fluff
Games work—when they’re structured, intentional, and directly reinforce the target skill.
How it works:
Use board games, matching games, or bingo that focuses on decoding short vowels, vowel teams, or digraphs—not just recognizing them. Add a rule: you must say and spell the word to earn a point.
Why it works:
It combines motivation with repetition. It’s reading practice in disguise, and it gets results when aligned to instruction.
We created game pages inside every chapter of our Orton-Gillingham materials to make sure even playtime builds mastery.
What Doesn’t Work (And Why You Should Avoid It)
Let’s be clear—these are not interventions:
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❌ Guessing from pictures
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❌ Memorizing word lists with no decoding
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❌ Re-reading books that are too hard
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❌ Skipping phonemic awareness entirely
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❌ Giving “support” without explicit instruction
These may look like help, but they actually reinforce bad habits. If you want to truly close reading gaps, you need to teach to the root—not the symptoms.
Final Word: You Don’t Need More Time—You Need the Right Tools
You don’t need a longer school day, a second tutor, or a stack of Pinterest printables.
You need intervention activities that are structured, cumulative, multisensory, and aligned to how reading actually works.
That’s what we’ve built for you.
👉 Ready to finally see reading success? Try our Teach Me to Read with Orton-Gillingham Curriculum and start turning “I can’t read” into “I did it!”