Bolster The Imperfect but Predictable Relationship between Speech and Print: Essential Learning for Reading The most important knowledge a developing reader learns is that print represents speech imperfectly but predictably. Some learners intuit this knowledge from noticing the letter/sound relationships as they learn to read and write. Most, however, especially our students with dyslexia, need to be explicitly taught the relationships between letters and the sounds they represent. Although English has a complex orthography, with influences from many languages, students can access word identification much more quickly if they learn the most common letter/sound connections and when they need to flex the sound for a letter to arrive at a word they know. This presentation will explore the 103 letter/sound combinations that are over 90% reliable, as well as strategies students can employ in their reading and writing. Session Objectives Participants will understand the imperfect but predictable relationship between speech and print Participants will learn the 103 most reliable 103 letter/sound combinations Participants will gain strategies to help their developing and struggling readers notice and use the statistical regularity of English letter/sound combinations for reading and writing Alicia Roberts Frank Regional Administrator for Special Programs/Dyslexia Specialist/Equity Designer Rebecca Estock Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) program supervisor Capital Region ESD 113