Part 1 Course Curriculum

Orton-Gillingham (OG)
Multi-sensory Structured Literacy Part 1
Online Course

The focus of this introductory course is the instruction of theoretical knowledge and practical skills that can be implemented directly into your therapeutic practice for individuals, small groups or classrooms.

Part 1 OG/Structured Literacy is now offered as a self-directed online course!

Due to requests from teachers all over the globe, inhabiting different time zones and following very different schedules, our course is now available in a self-directed format so that you can learn at your convenience. 

You progress at your own pace, in your own time.

The course has been expanded from 15 to 20 modules, each containing a instruction module with teaching videos, a self-assessment and manual notes for self-study and review. Once you have completed a module, the next module in the sequence will be available for study. The total time commitment for the course is approximately 60 hours, including optional 2-hour monthly Zoom seminars for Q & A. Each module takes ~1.5 hours depending on the trainees prior experience and knowledge base. A recommended reading list is provided at the end of each module. Self-assessments take ~30 minutes and may be taken multiple times. Manual notes and self-study take ~45 minutes.

You will receive a package of materials to start you on your OG teaching journey: an alphabet strip, with keyword pictures; two drill packs; set of blocks/tiles; basic affixes pack; Spark Plugs spelling rules card pack.

In this 60-hour course trainees learn:

  • Effective, research-based intervention strategies for teaching English to beginner learners in Kindergarten – Grade 1, ESL, ELL students
  • Diagnostic criteria for at-risk readers and spellers
  • Neurological underpinnings of dyslexia and students with Specific Language Disability (SLD)
  • Components of phonological awareness
  • Basic grapheme-phoneme correspondences
  • Teaching the alphabet
  • Teaching handwriting
  • Comprehension techniques
  • Fluency strategies
  • Spelling patterns, syllable types
  • Syllable division rules
  • Basic morphology
  • Spelling rules
  • The development of a comprehensive structured literacy lesson plan
  • Practical hands-on delivery of a multi-sensory language lesson
Teacher and student

Practicum

Classroom Educator
The practicum is necessary for certification. You can sign up for practicum separately once the course is completed or you can sign up for the course and practicum together. The Classroom Educator practicum consists of 50 hours of lesson supervision and 5 lesson observations submitted digitally.
 

Instructors

Evelyn Reiss

Evelyn Reiss

Evelyn Reiss is a visionary educator whose over 30 years in teaching have been guided by compassion, curiosity and innovation.
Read Evelyn’s Bio →

Q

Evelyn Reiss

Evelyn Reiss is a visionary educator whose over 30 years in teaching have been guided by compassion, curiosity and innovation.

She has founded the Claremont School for students with dyslexia, invented the Great Word House™ for teachers of English, and established the Canadian Dyslexia Society for Orton‑Gillingham practitioners.

“I have always had a fascination for language: the sound, the origin of idiom, the way some words capture meaning and communicate thought more precisely than others, from the hidden patterns and rules that govern language to its usage for different purposes. This fascination became a more rigorous exploration when I became a teacher and principal. Throughout my career I have attempted to address these questions:

  • How do you build a strong literacy foundation?
  • What are the best practices to support language acquisition?
  • How does curriculum build a continuum of skills?

The Great Word House™ is a repository of the expertise gained over a life-time of teaching and seeking the most effective way of teaching English to learners of different ages, abilities and backgrounds.”

Tammy Harris

Tammy Harris

Tammy decided to change careers in 2017 when she discovered the Orton Gillingham reading program and never looked back.
Read Tammy’s Bio →
Q

Tammy Harris

Tammy decided to change careers in 2017 when she discovered the Orton Gillingham reading program and never looked back. She felt that she wanted to do something where she could help children and make a significant difference in their lives.

Reading is an integral part of everyday life, and without the ability to read, children feel vulnerable and lack confidence.

Tammy enjoys working with children and making a difference in their lives by observing their whole personality change and grow in confidence once they are able to read.

Tammy easily forms meaningful connections with children, and through these connections, she encourages and motivates them to be successful readers. She has found it extremely rewarding to see the vast improvements that children make in their reading skills and how this positively impacts their lives.

To find out more, please email: [email protected]
Website: https://ogreading.ca/

Note: Your materials and the cost of shipping are included with the course. You are responsible for retrieving your package within the time frame given by Purolator if you are not home to retrieve your items. If your package is sent back to us because you were unable to pick it up, you will be required to pay 50% of the re-shipping costs.

Part 1 Scope and Sequence

Module 1

  • Introduction to Structured Literacy and the Orton-Gillingham Approach
  • Identifying Students with Reading and Writing Delays
  • The Nature of Dyslexia: definition and neurobiological underpinnings
  • Key Terminology

Module 2

  • Phonological Awareness
  • Auditory Discrimination
  • Basic Language Sounds: 44 Phonemes
  • Teaching Phonemic Awareness

Module 3

  • Teaching the Alphabet
  • Grapheme-Phoneme Correspondence
  • Alphabet Card Drill
  • Letter Formation

Module 4

  • Great Word House™ Scope and Sequence
  • Phonograms Taught Levels 1 – 12
  • Visual and Auditory Card Drill Practice by Level

Module 5

  • Blending Phonograms

Module 6

  • Reading Words In Isolation
  • Strategies for Teaching Automatic Word Recognition
  • Vocabulary Expansion

Module 7

  • Teaching Sight (Red) Words

Module 8

  • Sentence Reading
  • Sentence Structure

Module 9

  • Passage Reading: Fluency and Comprehension

Module 10

  • Simultaneous/Structured Oral Spelling (S.O.S.)
  • Structured Sentence Dictation

Module 11

  • Putting It All Together: The Orton-Gillingham Lesson Plan Elements

Module 12

  • 6 Syllable Types
  • Lesson Planning with 6 Syllable Types

Module 13

  • First Spelling Rules
  • FF-LL-SS-ZZ
  • Suffix -es Spelling Rules

Module 14

  • 111 + 211 Doubling Spelling Rules

Module 15

  • The 6 Jobs of Silent “e”
  • Drop “e” Spelling Rule

Module 16

  • Y to I Spelling Rule

Module 17 

  • Syllable Division Rules 
  • Syllable Division Procedures 

Module 18

  • History (Brief) of the English Language
  • Etymological Origins

Module 19

  • Teaching Morphology
  • Module 20
  • The Schwa
  • Teaching Tips
  • Overview

Note: Your materials and the cost of shipping are included with the course. You are responsible for retrieving your package within the time frame given by Purolator if you are not home to retrieve your items. If your package is sent back to us because you were unable to pick it up, you will be required to pay 50% of the re-shipping costs.