What is Orton-Gillingham and Why Does it Work? Heidi Kroners attempt to explain it in everyday terms! Orton-Gillingham (OG) is an approach to teach Reading Spelling Writing With clear, straightforward instruction on the sound each letter of the alphabet makes and how those letters are combined to represent the sounds in printed text. The main trouble for those with dyslexia is the sound to letter symbol connection. Dyslexics have a much harder time associating and memorizing the sounds of our language to printed, two dimensional symbols such as the alphabet than non-dyslexics. Dyslexics need more straightforward, clear and detailed instruction on the relationship of spoken sounds to the written symbols than what is typically taught in school. An example is the sound /k/ The /k/ sound in English can be represented in printed-text three different ways: C, K and CK CK usually occurs at the end of one-syllable words, right after a short vowel…as in sock, thick, luck. However, when the one-syllable word has a vowel followed by another consonant as in dark or thank the c is dropped, and the word ends in just a k, most of the time. For non-dyslexics, we do not think much about this. But for many dyslexics, they pick up on these patterns subconsiously, and they need to know why and when to use a c, k or ck to represent the sound /k/. Again, dyslexics don’t lack intelligence in any way…this subconscious pattern recognition of the inconsistency with how the /k/ sound is written in English demonstrates their intelligence. They just need more direct instruction on how spoken sounds and letters represent themselves in the English language. So, the logic of the English language can get very confusing, UNLESS it is taught in a very Systematic Cumulative (building up in complexity) Multi-sensory way that is student-paced (the student does not move forward until they have mastered the lesson and each skill is automatic and done without prompting or correction). What is multi-sensory? The Orton-Gillingham approach is multi-sensory. Every concept is taught using a combination of: Sight Sound Touch Speaking Listening Writing Each lesson lasts an hour, and each concept is taught 10 consistent ways using sight, visual memory, sound, touch (tapping out the sounds of words using fingers), speaking the words and writing the words. By completing two hours of multi-sensory lessons a week, in a systematic way that slowly builds at the student’s pace, the brain physically builds pathways to read and associate sounds to symbols in the most effective manner. fMRI studies show that Orton-Gillingham instruction, taught as designed by a trained, certified instructor, will change the neuro-pathways in the brains of dyslexics so they actually read like non-dyslexics. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT that the instruction is given with fidelity – strict adherence to each of the 10 parts of the lesson and the explanations of spelling rules of the English language. When your child finishes with an Orton-Gillingham approach, they will have literally learned all the spelling rules of the English language, and be able to explain why things are spelled the way they are better than most American English teachers. Spelling is the window into how the brain is associating the sounds of language with the printed form of the language. Spelling and reading are weaved together and show an accurate picture of how your child is associating sounds and symbols. But ENGLISH is so irregular - can a dyslexic master the spelling of it? English is considered an opaque language. Opaque meaning cloudy, blurry or hazy. Our language is a hybrid of many languages including Latin, Greek, German, French and Spanish to name a few! The language has evolved over time, and many of words are not spelled phonetically anymore. They are spelled from tradition rather than an exact representation of the spoken sounds in the word. Examples of this are: of some dome come does people ENGLISH IS OPAQUE - SO READING AND SPELLING ARE HARDER The reading researcher, Stanislaw DeHaene, studied reading error rates in first graders across Europe and found the largest error rates occurred in the languages that were the most opaque, with first graders in English speaking countries having the highest reading error rates due to the complexity of how sounds are represented in printed text. readinginthebrain.pagesperso-orange.fr/img/small/Diapositive43.jpg Orton-Gillingham will help your dyslexic child learn the English alphabetic code, but there will always be words that they are more difficult to spell correctly because the sound / symbol correlation is not exact (does is a great example!). But, OG will train their brain to begin relating the sounds to the symbols, and allow them to “crack the code” of English reading, spelling and writing with a much higher degree of accuracy than is currently taught in our school systems.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 22:03:54 +0000
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