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.

What is Orton-Gillingham?

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.

Systematic

Lessons focus on the sounds that make up words and connecting those sounds to letters/groups of letters.

Phonetic

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.

Multisensory

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.

Cumulative

Using Fran Bowman’s “Orton-Gillingham Plus” program, a typical tutoring lesson contains:

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Phonological awareness practice
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Review known sound-spelling linkages 
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Learn and review irregular words  
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Learn new sound-spelling linkage 
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Apply the new sound-spelling linkage to reading and spelling

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Reading a passage for fluency 
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A great resource to learn more about Orton-Gillingham: Orton-Gillingham Academy

Before our first lesson, I will give each student an assessment to determine their strengths and needs and place them in the curriculum accordingly.