Orton Gillingham (OG) is an educational approach, not a curriculum, for teaching the structure and code of the English language. The philosophy has been in use since the 1930s and progresses from phonological awareness and pre-reading skills to advanced language structure. Orton Gillingham is Structured Literacy.
The brainchild of Samuel Torrey Orton, a neuropsychiatrist and pathologist, and Anna Gillingham, an educator and psychologist, their philosophy is based on extensive studies of children with language processing difficulties like dyslexia. Together they developed a teaching approach to help these children and mentored teachers accordingly.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is appropriate for all ages and skill levels. By intellectualizing the language, rather than depending on rote memorization, students are able to make sense of English. It gives them the tools they need to decode language.
Step-by-step instruction helps each student master skills in a cumulative way, incorporating tactile and visual as well as auditory elements. This approach provides students with a solid foundation for building a thorough understanding of reading, writing, spelling, and vocabulary, ensuring that every student has the skills and the confidence to succeed in the classroom.