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So, you’re heading to Orton-Gillingham training or just finished up. You sure know a lot about the Orton-Gillingham approach, but now what? Getting started with OG can be exciting and overwhelming. There are so many OG supplies and so much more to learn about structured literacy. Check out these Orton-Gillingham lesson-planning tips!
Tips for Teaching the FLOSS Spelling Generalization Some of the most powerful tools we teach our Orton Gillingham students are spelling generalizations to help them choose the correct spelling option. Most adults are not even aware of these “rules”, as with increased familiarity with the orthography of English, one develops an awareness of what “looks…
Decoding and encoding consonant blends is among the most important concepts you teach your beginning readers. This is a skill they will use across multiple syllable types, in both single syllable and multi-syllabic words and even in reading and writing Latin roots and Greek combining forms. Your students may come to you already confident…
Many teachers are familiar with decoding strategies that may emphasize the use of picture clues, meaning and self-monitoring. Sometimes these decoding activities are even given cute nicknames to help students remember. While we want students to monitor our students and their reading for accuracy to make sure it makes sense, often…
7 Tips for Getting Off to a Great Start with a New Student When parents come to me seeking help for their child, very often it is the child’s emotional well-being that has been the final catalyst to seek tutoring. Struggling readers often begin to think of themselves as “stupid” and their overall self-confidence and…
Explaining Orton-Gillingham to families isn’t always easy. It can be a challenge to avoid using a lot of technical language and jargon when talking about dyslexia and the parts of an Orton-Gillingham lesson. Many times, parents seeking tutoring services are told their child should receive Orton-Gillingham instruction or sometimes a specific O-G-based program. However, they’re…
Multisensory Teaching Strategies in the Classroom Part One: Using Multisensory Teaching Techniques Multisensory teaching is not just crucial for kids with dyslexia, or within Orton-Gillingham lesson plans, it is good solid teaching for ALL students. Incorporating multisensory learning tools into your classroom lessons will not replace intervention services, but it will make…
Do you find yourself scratching your head when thinking about how the heck to run an Orton-Gillingham lesson plan in small groups during a typical school week? Common problems which may arise: Timing could be off. You might only have a session about 30 minutes a day or a few days a week. A…
Tips for Sharing Orton-Gillingham Progress Reports with Parents Whether you are working in private practice as an Orton-Gillingham tutor or working with students in a classroom or school setting, sharing information about a student’s progress is an important part of our work. Orton-Gillingham progress reports are one way to do that. When it comes to…
Part of being a successful Orton-Gillingham teacher or tutor means being prescriptive. This means you tailor your Orton-Gillingham lesson plans to meet the specific needs of your struggling readers. Just as important as being prescriptive is being diagnostic. This means that based on a student’s performance within a particular task, you are able to make…