What is Orton-Gillingham?
The Orton-Gillingham approach is designed to help students master the sound/spelling linkages needed to crack the code of the English language! The goal is to become a more fluent and confident reader and a more accurate speller.
Systematic
Students will be explicitly taught a sound/spelling linkage and then asked to read/spell words that have those linkages. They won't have to "pick up on patterns" or play reading guessing games.Phonetic
Lessons focus on the sounds that make up words and connecting those sounds to letters/groups of letters.
Multisensory
Students use mirrors, pom-poms, whiteboards, slinkys and more! They can better engage with and retain new skills when they're using multiple senses to learn.Cumulative
In general, we will not move on to a new skill until your student has mastered the previous reading skill. Students will not have to become overwhelmed with applying lots of new information at once.
Using Fran Bowman’s “Orton-Gillingham Plus” program, a typical tutoring lesson contains:
Phonological awareness practiceReview known sound-spelling linkagesLearn and review irregular wordsLearn new sound-spelling linkageApply the new sound-spelling linkage to reading and spellingReading a passage for fluency
Before our first lesson, I will give each student an assessment to determine their strengths and needs and place them in the curriculum accordingly.