What is Orton-Gillingham?
The Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach uses multisensory techniques to reinforce concepts for struggling readers (with or without dyslexia). Multisensory means using multiple pathways simultaneously to strengthen the working and long-term memory. These pathways, used together, are visual (sight), auditory (sound), and kinesthetic (movement/touch).
An OG lesson includes:
- review of the previous lesson
- review drills (visual and auditory)
- new grapheme-phoneme or concept
- reading appropriate text
- dictation of spelling concepts and sentences
How the Reading Brain Works
Decades ago, and becoming more precise since, scientists and researchers have found the pathways and parts of the brain that humans use to read, mainly the letterbox region located behind your left ear (in red, below). From these findings, methods have been explored as to how the brain best learns to read and have shown that explicit and systematic instruction is best for all students. These research-based methods and practices fall under the term “science of reading.”
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