
Using Guessing as a Strategy to Read Unknown Words: Why It Hurts More Than It Helps
When students encounter an unfamiliar word while reading, many fall back on a habit that seems helpful in the moment
Online dyslexia tutoring using the
Orton-Gillingham approach – designed
to help children overcome dyslexia
and other reading challenges.




We are so pleased with Lindsey. She has such passion dedicated to education for her students. She’s so patient and supportive to our sons needs and meets him exactly where he’s at academically. She has been a huge part of his reading success it’s truly a pleasure and blessing to have found Lindsey. We can’t wait to see his continued success and growth with the new and exciting tools he been given with Lindsey’s guidance.

Lindsey has made a dramatic difference in our 4th grade son’s life in only a few months of work. Our son’s struggles and dyslexia made him dread and completely avoid any kind of reading and writing. He hated school because “it was too hard and he couldn’t understand the work.” Lindsey identified his issues, tailored a learning plan to address them, and delivered outstanding results while maintaining a very personable style that keeps our son’s attention. In fact, our son genuinely enjoys his twice weekly sessions with Lindsey. Our son no longer hates school, reading, or writing which is 100% due to Lindsey’s work. We highly recommend Lindsey to anyone wanting to improve their child’s abilities, grow their confidence, and develop a love of reading. We are eternally grateful to have Lindsey in our son’s life.
Greg and Erin

Our son had the pleasure of working with Ms. Lindsey as his reading tutor. She is an amazing educator who is patient, encouraging, and truly cares about student progress. Ms. Lindsey kept us informed throughout the entire process, and the improvement in our son’s reading skills and confidence was incredible.

Lindsey is an amazing teacher! She is accurate, patient, extremely knowledgeable and helpful. She is always punctual and professional. I can’t say enough good things about Ms. Lindsey

I’m so thankful I found Lindsey! She worked wonders with my struggling reader. He struggled not only with reading, but confidence. She turned him around in both areas! He is now in 6th grade and on level and above. And he is confident! She has fun with the kids, but also does the hard work with them and it pays off! My son loved working with her. I highly recommend Lindsey!

We are blessed to have Lindsey in our daughter’s life! She has been nothing short of amazing to help her reach her fullest potential and build her confidence.

Lindsey is the best! My children are in second and fifth grade and they both get so much out of tutoring with her. Our family thinks she hung the moon, we are all so thankful to even know such an amazing person much less get to have her educate our little ones. Mary Poppins is what comes to all of our minds when we think of her, she is a dream come true!

I have had the pleasure of having Ms. Lindsey Norton as my daughter’s enrichment teacher for almost a year now, starting in Kindergarten. I pro-actively decided to get an enrichment teacher as a reinforcement to what my daughter was doing in class, not because she was behind etc., but to build her confidence and to try and have her one step ahead. Not only does my daughter look forward to her weekly or bi-weekly sessions, her academic confidence has increased! Ms. Norton adapts her lesson plans accordingly to what my daughter is doing in school at St. Raphael’s which has been a tremendous help. Her energy is calm, positive and motivating. She’s patient and compassionate, yet sets just the right boundaries for my daughter to stay on task, as well as makes the learning activities engaging and fun! She also leaves homework and ideas for us to use to reinforce what she’s working on even more. My husband and I have seen an such an increase in our daughter’s reading, reading comprehension and desire to grab a book and read which I credit Ms.Norton for! I recommend Ms. Lindsey Norton to anyone who wants extra enrichment and for anyone who’s child may be struggling. We will continue to have her as our daughter’s enrichment teacher as long as we can! I can’t thank Lindsey enough!

I learned about Lindsey from another parent/friend. My child was struggling with reading comprehension, getting D’s and F’s. After working with Lindsey, my son started getting A’s and B’s and reading seamlessly. He has been working with her for a little over a year. He enjoys working with her because she is patient, fun, and flexible. He says he likes working with her because “she makes him better about his academics and feels more confident at school”.
Ready to grow as a literacy tutor? Get personalized, 1:1 mentoring from an experienced structure literacy practitioner— sessions are designed to boost your confidence, refine your instruction, and help your students thrive.
Printable PDF version for in-person and at-home learning
When students encounter an unfamiliar word while reading, many fall back on a habit that seems helpful in the moment but causes long-term struggles: guessing. At Aligned Academics, we call this habit “The Guessing Monster.” It sneaks in when a…
Over the years, I’ve explored countless professional resources on writing instruction. While many have offered valuable insights, the books below have had the greatest impact on my teaching practice philosophy and instructional approach. More importantly, they are the resources that…
The phrase “Science of Reading” has become one of the biggest buzzwords in education — but it isn’t a program, trend, or teaching fad. The Science of Reading is a body of decades-long research from cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, psychology,…
Struggling reader support is one of the most important investments a family can make. When kids begin to fall behind, struggling reader support helps prevent frustration, low confidence, and widening achievement gaps. Many parents wonder where to start: classroom help,…
The term Orton-Gillingham (OG) appears everywhere in conversations about literacy — and for good reason. Orton-Gillingham is not a single curriculum or packaged program. Instead, it is a research-based approach to teaching reading, spelling, and writing, originally developed for students…
I’ve been looking forward to attending my third OGA - Orton-Gillingham Academy Conference. Tutoring and teaching life have been so busy lately that I haven’t had much time for professional development. I love teaching, but I love learning from others…

When students encounter an unfamiliar word while reading, many fall back on a habit that seems helpful in the moment

Over the years, I’ve explored countless professional resources on writing instruction. While many have offered valuable insights, the books below

The phrase “Science of Reading” has become one of the biggest buzzwords in education — but it isn’t a program,



Aligned Academics is a private reading and writing tutoring service that seeks to enable every student to reach their full potential.
Copyright © 2025 Aligned Academics
Privacy | Terms | Sitemap | Accessibility