I’m digging into specific principles of the Orton-Gillingham approach. Three words are key to describing some of the principles that define Orton-Gillingham. Instruction is explicit, systematic, and sequential. While these principles are crucial for your students with dyslexia or learning challenges, they also constitute powerful teaching for most of your learners. What does explicit, systematic…
If you do an online search for reading interventions, your head will start to spin. The marketplace is full of products, programs and philosophies of reading. As an educator for over twenty years, I have used my fair share of different programs and products. Nothing compares to the success I have seen since I began…
Teaching to mastery is one of the most important considerations when teaching your students with dyslexia. Striving readers and writers very often find the class and instruction moving forward before they have had a chance to master new concepts. This results in learning gaps. When I encountered this in pupils at school, I would describe…
We are certainly living in challenging times right now. For our students with dyslexia, the specialized instruction they get through Orton-Gillingham lessons is extra important. Many students may not be getting the literacy support throughout their day that they would in a school setting. With a little creativity and flexibility, it is possible to deliver…
Schwa vowels can be puzzling to children and adults at first. Breaking down schwa sounds by groups can be helpful. Starting with schwa a sounds is one of the common unstressed syllables in the English language. With this “How to Teach Schwa Tutorial”, your students will be able to pick this unstressed syllable up rather…
Want to learn how to monitor your orton gillingham lessons? Here are some useful tips. The data-driven world of education can sometimes feel overwhelming. But with the tips I have for progress monitoring, the task isn’t going to feel so daunting. Is it important for you take some time to consider progress monitoring? Yes!…
As teachers of structured literacy, we soon discover that English is more logical than it appears at first, but that isn’t always the popular opinion out there. This article details several resources WHY English isn’t crazy.
One challenge that structured literacy practitioners face in their work is isolation and frustration with how to share their knowledge in a way that will be well received. While this is a bigger challenge for those working in a school setting, the issue may also arise for those in private practice when communicating with other…
7 techniques to build independence during the Orton-Gillingham lesson. By keeping your focus on promoting independence, it encourages the gradual release of responsibility. This is a developmentally appropriate way to teach. Building independence during the Orton-Gillingham lesson shows children they can have a sense of ownership and control over their work. This is meaningful for…
What’s the difference between a phoneme, a grapheme, a morpheme? The science of teaching reading can sound like a foreign language, especially when you are first learning about Orton-Gillingham or Structured Literacy instruction. While you will likely be talking about digraphs and trigraphs, and blends before you know it, some of the specialized vocabulary…
