The Mastery Series
If we’re serious about changing the lives of struggling readers, then as OG Practitioners we must be lifelong learners and develop a deep understanding of current research, best practices, and practical applications.
We want to gather every month (virtually) to learn from each other and create a true Orton Gillingham Community. Please join us! Sign up for each Mastery Series topic below.
- Seminars, book studies, or workshops are held ONLINE on the 4th Thursday of the month, January through October, from 7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. CENTRAL. (No Mastery Series is presented in November or December)
- There is no cost for the Mastery Series, but you must purchase your own books and materials, where applicable.
- OGRS Professional Development hours are available for The Mastery Series.
- View the course syllabus here.
- Our next Mastery Series Book Study begins soon!
- Please join us – register below!
Upcoming Events
Starting January 2024
The Knowledge Gap, The hidden cause of America's broken education system, and how to fix it.
by Natalie Wexler
It was only after years within the education reform movement that Natalie Wexler stumbled across a hidden explanation for our country's frustrating lack of progress when it comes to providing every child with a quality education. The problem wasn't one of the usual scapegoats: lazy teachers, shoddy facilities, lack of accountability. It was something no one was talking about: the elementary school curriculum's intense focus on decontextualized reading comprehension "skills" at the expense of actual knowledge.
But The Knowledge Gap isn't just a story of what schools have gotten so wrong--it also follows innovative educators who are in the process of shedding their deeply ingrained habits, and describes the rewards that have come along: students who are not only excited to learn but are also acquiring the knowledge and vocabulary that will enable them to succeed. If we truly want to fix our education system and unlock the potential of our neediest children, we have no choice but to pay attention.
Starting July 2024
Dyslexia and Spelling - Making Sense of It All, by Kelli Sandman-Hurley
Written by an authority in the dyslexia field, this is the first accessible guide to the close interplay of spelling and dyslexia. Kelli Sandman-Hurley talks the teacher or parent through why kids with dyslexia find spelling so hard, and what we can learn from the spelling mistakes in their writing samples.
Introducing key terminology around morphemes (smallest unit of meaning in words) and phonemes (smallest contrastive units in language) in an accessible and clear way, Sandman-Hurley goes on to explain how we can identify, and learn from, kids' spelling miscues, and use them to further inform our teaching and instruction. Shedding much-needed light on an under-explored tool for classroom or home learning, Dyslexia and Spelling is essential reading for teachers and parents alike.
Starting September 2024
Why Johnny Can't Read and What You Can Do About It,
by Rudolph Flesch
Dr. Flesch has visited classrooms, talked to students, teachers and parents, worked his way through a mountain of books and articles and examined study materials. “Johnny can't read”, Dr. Flesch concludes, "for the simple reason that nobody ever showed him how." The American System of teaching children to read was no longer the traditional alphabetic-phonetic method.
Why Johnny Can't Read contains complete material and instructions for teaching children to read at home. Here are step-by-step directions, simple phonetic drills, which can be used for beginners or youngsters whose reading ability hasn't kept pace with their development in other fields. Parents who apply these wise and proven methods can give their children invaluable aid. It has 74 pages of phonetic lists, 9 charts of block and script letters.