There is a big myth out there: that the Orton Gillingham approach—and even the science of reading—are only about phonics. While explicit, systematic phonics is crucial, it is just one strand of the reading skills required for proficient reading. If you have ever played Wordle, the popular word-guessing game, you have unknowingly put Scarborough’s Reading…
Orton Gillingham Lesson Planning tips to save you time and stress! Welcome, teacher friend!Are you drowning in prep, exhausted before the year even starts, and wondering how to simplify your Orton Gillingham lesson planning? You’re not alone—and this post is for YOU. Let’s walk through six time-saving tips that will help you start the year…
Utilizing the Learning Space in an Orton Gillingham Lesson for Reading Mastery As educators dedicated to the Orton Gillingham approach, we understand that the journey from not knowing to knowing—the “learning space”—is often accompanied by frustration. Student errors in reading and spelling will occur in every lesson, and they can make the student feel overwhelmed….
Struggling to plan reading centers that are differentiated? This phonics game changes everything. 💡 The Center Struggle Is Real… Let’s be honest—managing reading centers can feel like herding squirrels hopped up on Skittles! You want to meet every student where they are, but prepping five different activities for five different skill levels? Nope. Not sustainable….
Let’s be real—parents want to help.But when it comes to supporting their child’s reading, many aren’t sure where to begin. What should they actually be doing at home? Flashcards? Memorizing sight words? Reading the same book over and over? As a teacher, you probably get asked these questions all the time: 👉 The truth is:…
How to Weave Tier 2 Words into your Orton Gillingham Lesson If you’re an Orton Gillingham tutor, reading specialist, or elementary teacher, you already know the power of phonics. But here’s the thing—phonics alone isn’t enough to create fluent, confident readers. The science of reading is about more than just decoding; it’s about comprehension, vocabulary,…
Reading comprehension is one of the most essential skills we teach our students, but it can also be one of the trickiest. Summarizing narrative texts—distilling a story’s key points into just a few sentences—often feels overwhelming for young readers. That’s why the SWBST (Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then) approach has become a go-to strategy for…
Decodable Texts vs. Leveled Readers? The latest NAEP scores have once again sparked conversations about how we teach reading. While the Science of Reading (SOR) movement has made significant strides in bringing explicit and systematic phonics instruction to classrooms, many educators are still wondering: What’s working? What isn’t? And how do we move forward to…
Readers’ Theater Are you looking for an all-in-one tool to improve your students’ reading fluency, decoding, prosody, and vocabulary? And what about one that keeps students actively engaged? If so then look no further than readers theater. This simple yet powerful activity combines the science of reading with the joy of performance. Not only will…
How to Boost Your Students’ Reading Fluency with Proven Strategies Reading fluency is more than reading quickly; it is reading with accuracy, appropriate speed, and expression, leading to stronger comprehension. As teachers, we know that fluent reading frees students to focus on the meaning of the text. But how can we effectively foster this skill…
Moving Beyond Comprehension for Empowerment As educators, we often hear that the primary goal of reading instruction is comprehension. After all, if a student can decode the text but fails to understand its meaning, what is the point? But I’d like to expand on this idea. I teach reading not just to have students comprehend…
Have you ever noticed your students skipping over small words like “the,” “and,” or “is” when reading aloud? It can be frustrating, especially when you know they’re capable of reading those words. You might even find yourself wondering, “Why do they keep skipping these simple words?” You’re not alone—this is a common problem, and it’s…