What can teachers do when a child can recognize letters and sounds but still struggles to read and understand a story?
Reading specialist and educator Victor A. Villanueva, known as Teacher Vic, will tackle this challenge in “From Sounds to Stories: Reading Remediation through Phonics, Comprehension, and Children’s Literature,” a special learning session by Lampara Books at the Manila International Book Fair (MIBF) 2026 on September 10, to be held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City.
The two-hour session will focus on one-on-one reading remediation for Key Stage 1 learners, showing teachers how foundational reading skills can be developed progressively, from working with sounds and words to understanding and engaging with stories.
Rather than treating phonics, comprehension, and children’s literature as separate parts of reading instruction, Villanueva’s session will demonstrate how these elements can work together in an intervention setting. He will walk participants through a practical approach using the Lampara Reading Package and genuine children’s literature, with emphasis on how teachers can select and use materials according to a learner’s specific reading needs.
The session continues and expands on Villanueva’s presentation at the 2nd International Literacy Conference, where he discussed reading remediation through phonics, comprehension, and children’s literature. At MIBF, the discussion will move from the broader principles of reading remediation to their practical application.
A key focus of the session is the progression from foundational skills to meaningful reading.
For children who are still developing their reading skills, learning to decode words is only one part of the process. They also need opportunities to build fluency, understand language, make meaning from text, and eventually use reading as a tool for learning.
Villanueva will demonstrate how teachers can approach this progression systematically when working with beginning readers, particularly those who require additional or targeted support.
The session is grounded in Villanueva’s work as a reading specialist and educator. Through the Center for Reading Assessment and Intervention, he assesses and supports children with significant reading difficulties and works with educators on reading assessment, intervention, instructional approaches, and materials development.
The author of Magbasa Tayo! (Marungko Approach) and coordinator of Let’s Read! (Systematic Phonics), Villanueva currently works with the Gokongwei Brothers Foundation in developing and facilitating professional development programs supporting the Department of Education’s ARAL Program. He is the founder and president of the Council of Reading Intervention Specialists.
His experience also includes teaching in the Reading Education Area of the University of the Philippines College of Education and serving two terms as president of the Reading Association of the Philippines. He is a member of the Philippine Board on Books for Young People and holds education degrees from the University of the Philippines and the University of Melbourne.
For Villanueva, the goal of reading intervention is not simply to help children get through individual reading exercises, but to help them become skilled, independent readers.
“From Sounds to Stories” highlights how reading intervention can help children progress from learning basic sounds and words to reading and understanding stories with greater confidence.
Teachers, educators, parents, and others interested in reading instruction are invited to attend the session on September 10, 2026, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the 2nd Floor, Function Hall, Meeting Room 9, SMX Convention Center, Pasay City.
Registration is available online, while walk-ins will also be accommodated on the day of the event.
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Original author: Lion's Den
