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.
The Orton Gillingham Approach Is:
Students learn patterns and generalizations about the English language and that English isn’t crazy. They learn to use logical, independent thinking about language and use reasoning to build skills.
The elements of the language are introduced systematically and in a logical sequence, going from most common and easiest to least common and more complex.
Practitioner is adapting the plan as needed based on verbal, non-verbal, and written responses which identify progress and difficulties.
Lesson plans are written for the next lesson based on information from the current lesson.
Practitioner is making decisions on a continuous basis before, during and after each lesson.
Material follows a logical sequence and builds step by step based on previously mastered material.
New information is deliberately tied to previously learned information to build a framework for understanding the language.
Concepts are directly taught using language that is clear and consistent.
Students aren’t encouraged to guess at a new concept or figure it out on their own.
Nothing is assumed about what a student already knows.
Immediate and continuous feedback is provided.
Teaching uses all pathways: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, tactile.
Tactile includes tracing words and sounds but also drawing attention to speech mechanics.
At all times integrates reading, writing, spelling, speaking.
Synthetic – how the parts work together to form a whole.
Analytic – how the whole is broken down into parts.
Lessons are tailored to the individual student by being diagnostic and prescriptive.
Maintains a high degree of success and positive reinforcement.
Provides an experience that is stress-free; promotes positive attitudes about learning; and builds motivation, self-confidence, and self-esteem.
Utilizes eliciting questions and metacognitive thinking for self-correction.
Understanding that:
letters have names and sounds
words are made up of sequences of sounds
letters go from left to right in the order in which they’re spoken
Without mastery, information is not accessible when needed.
Skills need to move to the back burner.