Orton-Gillingham (OG) is an approach to teaching the structure of language, from the sound/symbol awareness of consonants and vowels to reading comprehension and written expression.
OG is based on the fact that all learning is multisensory and that all instruction to students must be visual (eyes), auditory (ears), kinesthetic (muscles), and tactile (fingers).
OG is not a rigid program with a page-by-page script. The trained educator comes to understand that true instruction is diagnostic and prescriptive and is based on the needs of each student.
OG is based on the Language Continuum, which includes reading (decoding), spelling (encoding), listening, speaking, fluency, comprehension, and writing. Therefore, OG is the approach that should be used for every student in order to introduce and facilitate the natural growth of language.
OG is the Science of Reading because it is a structured literacy approach that includes the five tenets of language - Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition, Reading Fluency, Vocabulary and Oral Language Comprehension, and Text Comprehension and Written Expression. OG also incorporates orthographic mapping, the process that occurs when unfamiliar words become automatic sight words.
OG improves students' literacy skills in mainstream, resource and self-contained classrooms at all grade levels because it incorporates the best practices for literacy learning.
