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One of the very first things students need to master happens to be one of the most difficult for many of them: the short vowel sounds. Short vowels are introduced very early in level one of an Orton-Gillingham lesson plan or with any reading intervention program for that matter. While every student is different, probably the most…
When a Student Finds It Hard to Blend Sounds Together: 6 Tips for Getting Over the Hump While very often, things go along quite swimmingly in the Orton-Gillingham lesson plan, from time to time we all have a student that has particular difficulty blending sounds together. They know their letters and can correctly…
(Contains an affiliate link.) Phonological Awareness contains a mixture of foundational literacy skills which are critical for reading success. It’s hard to argue against the need to provide a strong phonological awareness curriculum, particularly in the younger grades where we can identify and remediate early to avoid later reading failure. We want to…
Students with dyslexia frequently struggle to have legible and fluent handwriting. In a world surrounded by computers, it can be easy to let handwriting slip through the cracks or decide it is unimportant. However, there are several good reasons to spend some time on cursive handwriting practice, whether you are a classroom teacher, support teacher…
What Does an Orton-Gillingham Lesson Look Like? If you were to observe an Orton-Gillingham lesson such as Wilson, SPIRE or Barton, they would have similarities, but also plenty of differences. The same is true of a non-program-specific Orton-Gillingham lesson plan that follows the Orton-Gillingham approach. The exact lesson sequence may differ depending on where the teacher was…
Not too long ago, I shared 6 of my favorite read aloud books to promote phonological awareness. I promised that there would be even more to come. Here they are! Not only are these great books for building phonemic awareness, but several of them have sequels that have similar structures and can be…
The Top 6 Picture Books For Building Phonological Awareness (This post contains affiliate links.) building phonological awareness can happen anywhere at anytime. We know that beneath the umbrella term, phonological awareness, phonemic awareness is the most important skill to work on for early reading success. Struggling readers may have poor phonological awareness; therefore, it is…
Whether you are working in a mainstream classroom, in small groups, or in a one-on-one tutoring situation, you are bound to encounter the occasional challenging behaviors in Orton-Gillingham lessons. When choosing which techniques to best help a particular situation, I find it helpful to start with the ABCs of behavior. Getting to the root of…
It’s been a busy summer in the world of Orton-Gillingham this summer! I am always seeking new books, materials and lesson ideas for using the Orton-Gillingham approach, and today I am back to share some wonderful teaching tips for teaching spelling strategies. I apologize for the summer hiatus from blogging, but things are picking back…