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Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction to Support the Minnesota READ Act

Apr 15, 2026
 
 

Lindamood-Bell Approved for Minnesota READ Act Intervention List

The Minnesota Department of Education has approved Seeing Stars® and Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® (LiPS®) as evidence-based reading interventions aligned with the Minnesota READ Act.

These structured, multisensory programs accelerate foundational literacy skills and support educators in delivering high-impact instruction. Both programs address essential components of reading including phonemic awareness, phonics, orthographic processing, sight word vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension, helping districts meet READ Act requirements with confidence.

 

Supporting Minnesota’s Literacy Goals

The Minnesota READ Act emphasizes evidence-based instruction and effective intervention to ensure all students achieve reading proficiency. Lindamood-Bell aligns with these priorities through:

  • Explicit, systematic instruction for struggling readers
  • Multisensory approaches that strengthen language processing
  • Targeted intervention for persistent reading challenges
  • Job-embedded professional development that builds long-term capacity

Through Lindamood-Bell for Schools, districts gain both approved interventions and the implementation support needed for sustained results.

 

READ Act–Approved Interventions

Seeing Stars® Symbol Imagery for Phonological and Orthographic Processing in Reading and Spelling 

The Seeing Stars® program develops symbol imagery—the ability to visualize sounds and letters in words—as a basis for:

  • Orthographic mapping
  • Sight word recognition
  • Reading fluency
  • Spelling accuracy

Often a critical missing piece in reading and dyslexia interventions, symbol imagery is explicitly and systematically developed for orthographic mapping, fast word retrieval, fluency, and global reading skills. Seeing Stars aligns with all instructional principles and components of a structured literacy approach (SLA). However, unlike many SLA interventions that focus predominantly on or overemphasize phonemic awareness, Seeing Stars systematically integrates phonological and orthographic processing necessary for automaticity in word reading skills.

Download the Seeing Stars Fact Sheet

 

Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® for Reading, Spelling, and Speech (LiPS®)

The LiPS® program develops phonemic awareness, reading, spelling, and speech. Students discover the physical characteristics of each phoneme and use this kinesthetic feedback to verify sounds within words. Instruction using the LiPS program strengthens:

  • Phoneme identification and sequencing
  • Decoding and encoding
  • Speech-to-print connections
  • Reading accuracy and fluency

Download the LiPS Fact Sheet

 

To request a sample set of materials and a free program overview, call 800-233-1819.

 

Job-Embedded Professional Development

Educators can begin with a comprehensive workshop as a standalone learning experience or extend their learning through ongoing, job-embedded support.

After completing a workshop, educators can access our online professional learning community and take additional courses to expand and deepen their skills. For schools and districts seeking deeper implementation and sustained impact, Lindamood-Bell provides job-embedded coaching to support instructional fidelity and continuous improvement.

Our professional development options include:

  • Comprehensive teacher workshops
  • Access to an online professional learning community and additional coursework
  • Live, online coaching while working with students
  • Ongoing feedback and instructional support
  • Extended learning opportunities during the school year and summer

This flexible approach enables educators to build expertise while strengthening literacy instruction across classrooms and schools.

To get started, view our schedule of Teacher Workshops or contact us to discuss a group inservice and customized professional development options.

 

Evidence-Based 

Lindamood-Bell professional development features programs that are grounded in decades of research and implemented in thousands of schools nationwide. Research supporting LiPS and Seeing Stars includes:

  • A District-Wide Literacy Initiative demonstrating significant gains in reading skills through structured, phoneme-based instruction, as described in a Texas A&M University study

 Download the research summary

  • The Project of HOPE (Juvenile Ranch Facility) demonstrating measurable improvements in literacy outcomes with incarcerated youth receiving Lindamood-Bell instruction 

Download the research summary

Additional evidence for Seeing Stars includes:

Profiles of Success – See how one district focused on professional development to implement best practices based on the science of reading.  Watch Webinar

View More School Results

 

A Proven Partner for Schools

For 40 years, Lindamood-Bell has partnered with schools and districts to improve outcomes for struggling readers and students with learning challenges. Our approach combines evidence-based programs, intensive intervention, and professional development that builds internal capacity. Districts nationwide report gains in reading performance along with increased student confidence and engagement.

If your school is exploring READ Act–approved interventions, Lindamood-Bell can help design and implement an effective literacy plan. Contact Lindamood-Bell for Schools to learn how we can support your Minnesota READ Act implementation and help your students reach their full learning potential. Call 800-233-1819, or click here to schedule a brief consultation with a program expert to discuss your professional development needs.

Connect with us
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

📰 1999: Lindamood-Bell is featured in a Newsweek cover story on dyslexia.

The November 22, 1999, issue of Newsweek featured “Dyslexia and the New Science of Reading,” exploring how research was changing our understanding of dyslexia and reading difficulties. The article highlighted Lindamood-Bell’s unique sensory-cognitive approach to developing the underlying skills needed for reading and spelling.

This exciting milestone brought national attention to our work and new hope to students and families facing reading challenges.

Follow along as we celebrate 40 years of changing lives through learning. Learn more about Lindamood-Bell at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
What happens when phonics instruction has been tried, but reading is still difficult?

Join us for our free webinar, More Than Phonics: What Makes Lindamood-Bell Different, to learn why some students need more than decoding practice to become confident, independent readers.

We’ll explore why phonics alone may not address every student’s learning needs and how Lindamood-Bell develops the sensory-cognitive processes that underlie reading and comprehension.

📅 Thursday, October 15
🕙 10 a.m. PT | 1 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. BST

Can’t attend live? Register anyway, and we’ll send you the recording.

🔗 Register at the link in bio @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

📖 1998: The Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® (LiPS®) Program is published.

Lindamood-Bell co-founder and speech-language pathologist Patricia Lindamood and her daughter, Phyllis Lindamood, revised the Auditory Discrimination in Depth (ADD) program and published the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing® Program for Reading, Spelling, and Speech (LiPS®).

The LiPS® Program helps students develop phonemic awareness by teaching them to discover and label the mouth movements that produce speech sounds. Students learn to identify and sequence sounds in words, then apply those skills to reading, spelling, and speech.

Follow along as we celebrate 40 years of changing lives through learning.

Learn more about Lindamood-Bell at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
“He took off when he learned to read.”

Waseem struggled with reading throughout school. Then, through Kentwood Public Schools’ partnership with Lindamood-Bell, he received Seeing Stars® instruction from a teacher trained in the program.

Today, Waseem is a fourth-year medical student.

Hear Waseem share his journey and the impact learning to read had on his life.
▶️ Watch the full video at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

📚 1997: Two new programs become part of the Lindamood-Bell story.

Nanci Bell published Seeing Stars®, designed to develop symbol imagery, the ability to visualize letters and words for reading and spelling. Long overlooked in literacy instruction, symbol imagery addresses what is a missing piece for many struggling readers.

Nanci Bell and Kimberly Tuley also published On Cloud Nine® Math, designed to develop numerical imagery for number sense and mathematical reasoning.

Nearly 30 years later, both programs remain core to Lindamood-Bell instruction and our commitment to helping students learn to their potential.

Follow along as we celebrate 40 years of changing lives through learning.
Learn more about Lindamood-Bell and our instruction at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month 💙📚

For more than 40 years, Lindamood-Bell has helped students with dyslexia strengthen the skills needed for reading and learning.

Research shows what’s possible: with targeted, intensive instruction, students with dyslexia can make significant gains in reading, and studies have documented measurable changes in the brain systems that support reading.

Learn more about our approach, student outcomes, and the research behind our work. Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

Our next milestone takes us across the globe!

🌏 1996: Our first international Seasonal Learning Center opens in Sydney, Australia.

This milestone meant more students and families could experience Lindamood-Bell instruction, helping students strengthen their reading skills and learn to their potential.

Follow along as we celebrate 40 years of changing lives through learning and the milestones that brought us here.

Learn more about Lindamood-Bell at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

Our journey through 40 years of Lindamood-Bell continues with a milestone from 1993.

1993: The first Lindamood-Bell International Conference is held in Shell Beach, California.

In addition to program workshops, attendees had the opportunity to hear from professionals and scholars in the fields of learning, literacy, and cognition. Over the years, our International Conference has featured influential voices such as Allan Paivio, Jane Healy, and Temple Grandin, among many others.

Follow along as we continue celebrating 40 years of changing lives through learning and sharing the milestones that brought us here.

Learn more about Lindamood-Bell at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

Our look back at 40 years of Lindamood-Bell continues with another milestone from 1992.

🏢 In 1992, Lindamood-Bell partnered with Motorola on a workplace literacy project designed to strengthen reading and comprehension skills for manufacturing associates and engineers. The project brought our approach to adult learners in a new setting and reflected something we still believe today: learning can happen at any age.

Follow along as we continue celebrating 40 years of changing lives through learning and sharing the milestones that brought us here.

To learn more about Lindamood-Bell click the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
Attention Educators: Free Leaders in Literacy Webinar

Join Lindamood-Bell for Deeper than SoR: How One District Closed Gaps and Exited Students from Special Ed

📅 October 7, 2026 | 11 am PT / 2 pm ET / 7 pm BST

Hear how Madeira City Schools moved beyond scripted phonics instruction to build educator expertise, strengthen intervention, and improve outcomes for struggling readers and students receiving special education services.

Register now and bring practical insights back to your classroom, school, or district - Follow the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning

Our next milestone takes us to 1992!

📍 1992: First Learning Center outside of San Luis Obispo opens in Sacramento, California

Six years after Lindamood-Bell was founded, we expanded beyond our San Luis Obispo roots with the opening of a Learning Center in Sacramento.

It was an important step in our growth, bringing Lindamood-Bell’s one-to-one, individualized instruction to more students and families.

Follow @lindamoodbellofficial as we celebrate 40 years of changing lives through learning and revisit the milestones that shaped our story. ❤️

Learn more at the link in our bio.
🎥 Now Available On-Demand: Online Instruction That Actually Works

When you think of online learning, you might picture large virtual classrooms where it can be difficult for students to stay engaged. Lindamood-Bell online instruction is a different experience: live, one-to-one instruction with individualized support and active student engagement.

See what an online session actually looks like and learn about the research and results behind our reading instruction.

👉 Watch the recording at the link in our bio, @lindamoodbellofficial.
🎉 40 Years of Changing Lives Through Learning
As we continue looking back at the milestones that have shaped Lindamood-Bell, we’re returning to where it all began.

📖 1986: Nanci Bell publishes Visualizing and Verbalizing®

The same year Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes was founded, co-founder Nanci Bell published Visualizing and Verbalizing for Language Comprehension and Thinking®, introducing an approach designed to develop concept imagery, the ability to create an imaged gestalt from language.

The program grew from Nanci’s work with students who could read words but struggled to understand, remember, and think critically about what they read.
Today, Visualizing and Verbalizing® remains central to our approach to developing language comprehension and higher-order thinking skills.

Follow @lindamoodbellofficial as we celebrate 40 years of changing lives through learning. ❤️
Learn more at the link in our bio.
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