Orton-Gillingham
I have been trained in the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching basic reading skills. Orton-Gillingham is a method that has been proven to teach adults with dyslexia how to read. Orton-Gillingham is an explicit, multisensory, systematic, and cumulative method that reinforces phonics skills and spelling. The teaching involves all of the learning pathways (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic). Each new piece of information is connected to what is already learned, then the information is repeated through drills. Each new piece of information is explicitly taught and concepts are given guided practice. Students are taught finger spelling, in which they utilize their fingers to count the sounds in each word. Each sound has a finger and they keep the fingers up until they have spelled each work. Students are also taught “red words”, or words that cannot be sounded out because they do not follow our spelling patterns (of, the, to, what).
Students will be taught news sounds weekly in a small reading group. Their spelling words are based off of our phonics skills that we have practiced in group. The spelling concepts included in their spelling grade are sounds that we have been working on for at least a week.
Homework
Students will be provided reading logs weekly for homework. Students are expected to read 15 minutes each night (Monday-Thursday). Students have also been given individualized sight words to practice. Please practice these sight words each night for 5 minutes (this may count as part of the reading log!).
Students are given math homework each night that is a practice of the lesson taught that day. Each student is also given math facts to practice and memorize. Weekly, students track their mastery towards sight words and math facts and graph their progress.
Homework Tips
If your child has reading accommodations, you are more than welcome to read math, science, and social studies homework to them. Here are some tips I have found helpful:
- Emphasize with your child what they need to pack in order to complete their homework each night
- Have a routine for homework time and place for them to work
- Take breaks (2-3 minutes) to allow some moving around time between tasks
- Have them read their book to you and ask them engaging questions about the book
Classroom Dojo
I use Classroom Dojo during my resource room time. Students have the ability to earn or lose points based on their behavior and participation during lessons. If a student reaches 10 points throughout the week, they earn a Fun Friday where they can play educational games and enjoy a treat!