Orton - Gillingham

There are lots of OG programs available and they work with a large percentage of children. Perhaps the Wilson Reading Program is among the better ones for your grade level. You will need to be specially trained to use it.

Another program developed for older students is “Winning” from Sing, Spell, Read and Write. I think you’d be able to just pick up the manual and use it. You can type “Sing, Spell, Read and Write” in your address box and you should reach the site. The whole program has been bought by Pearson Learning so it’s in a state of transition.

Another good program is Project Read by Enfield and Green from Bloomington, MN. Again, just type in “Project Read” and you should get to their site. They offer classes throughout the nation, mostly in summer time but their schedule is on the site.

Another way to learn about OG programs is to get a copy of Romalda Spalding’s “The Writing Road to Reading.” Just following her suggestions will help you establish a good foundation. Enjoy the learning process. Grace

“Reading Reflex”, available for $16 from most bookstores. It’s not an Orton-Gillingham approach, but it tends to be very effective, it is very easy to use, and it does not require special training (although you can get certified in it if you wish).

There is an email group called ReadNOW at http://www.groups.yahoo.com. Many people on the list are tutors or teachers familiar with Phono-Graphix (the approach explained in Reading Reflex) as well as other reading approaches.

Mary

Orton Gillingham is not a program per se- but a set of procedures used to teach reading to LD students. The training takes about a year if you do the Practicum- probably three months if you just take the class. It was easily one of the most valuable things I have ever done. I wish I had known about it earler in my teaching…

However, as Grace said, there are a lot of OG based programs that are quite good and because they are programs- do not require the depth of training that being an OG practioner requires. I would still look for it however- it is more than worthwhile.

Robin

I too think the Wilson Program would be the most effective for students in both upper elementary and middle school. Our middle school uses it and feels that it has been very effective for the dyslexic students. I also think a non Orton program such as Corrective Reading (SRA), which is a Direct Instruction format is also effective for students who need a systematic, repetitious, multi-sensory phonics program. I have taken both direct instruction and Orton summer school classes for teachers, and have been teaching for over 15 years in L.D., and I think these two approaches have helped my students the most to learn to read. As you’ll learn, not every program will work with every type of learner, so it’s a good idea to have several options.

The International Dyslexia Association used to be the Orton Society — same Orton as in Orton-Gillingham. “Finding Help” on this site lists national and local branches.

I, too, got extensive training in Orton-Gililngham methods (a.k.a. “multisensory structured language”) when I was hired at a school that uses it extensively, and it’s invaluable. I developed a real appreciation for the very different ways different minds can work along with learning very effective ways of teaching reading.

There’s a “summary and reflections” that I wrote up for a homeschooling magazine at http://www.resourceroom.net/OGLists/MSSL.asp

Also check out “Reading” in LD IN Depth for information about MSSL programs; there may still be archives of a chat session with several experts in it, and there are other excellent articles about reading that will fill in some of the gaps “teacher prep” leaves.

Tammy:

I suggest you look at
www.rogerscenter.com

This is a CD ROM program (based on Orton Gillingham) that builds an association between symbols and sounds in the English language. It utilizes the close association of visual, auditory and kinesthetic elements to help students improve their language skills.
If you need further support, feel free to contact Noreen Rogers at the location provided within the Web Site.

Orton-Gillingham (OG) is a fantastic and worthy method of teaching reading-disabled kids to understand our system of sound symbols. I am not trained (more’s the pity) but my friend is—the training is quite extensive, when she took it many years ago, I think it was about 2 years’ worth of workshops. You might not be able to get the training in time to help this year’s students. I think Recipe for Reading is a good program too—it is based on sequentially and explicitly teaching the sound symbols, which is what OG is all about too. If you get the Recipe for Reading handbook (it’s by Nina Traub) you can teach yourself what to do. It’s very explicit about how to go about teaching the sounds. You have to spend some time making some materials, though—I did it while watching TV at home! It would be appropriate for your middle-school kids too. Good luck!