Seminars

What is Orton-Gillingham? Is it the same as Structured Literacy?

Introduction to Orton-Gillingham/Structured Literacy Pedagogy: What it is. Who will benefit. How it is Taught.

Date: TBD

Dyslexia Defined

What is Dyslexia? How is it identified.  Assessment tests used. Effective remediation.

Date: TBD

Phonological Awareness in the Classroom

What is Phonological Awareness. Why is it important? How does P.A. impact spelling and reading. How to teach Phonemic Awareness.

Date: TBD

Teaching the Alphabet GWH Scope and Sequence

Teaching Grapheme-Phoneme Associations using Multisensory Strategies; Introducing the Alphabet Principle; The Orton-Gillingham Alphabet Card Drill;  Teaching Letter Formation.

Date: TBD

First Words: Beginning to Reading

Learn blending strategies to teach reading of 1-syllable words with short vowels – from simple VC words to more complex CCVCC words with clusters and digraphs.

Date: TBD

Teaching Sight Words

What are Sight Words? What are High Frequency words? Learn which words to teach so your students attain reading and writing fluency. Learn to recognize them and how to teach them.

Date: TBD

Reading for Meaning: Teaching Beginning Readers

How to teach controlled vocabulary text. Learn strategies that promote fluency, prosody and comprehension.

Date: TBD

Miscue Analysis in an Orton-Gillingham Lesson

Learn to diagnosing minor and major miscues. How to take a running record. Several practice exercises are demonstrated.  The course shows how miscue analysis informs intervention and diagnosis.

Date: TBD

Structured Spelling Dictation

Simultaneous Oral Spelling (S.O.S) is a structured spelling methodology that builds on Phoneme-Grapheme associations and this step-by-step approach ensures student success.

Date: TBD

Sentence Dictation

The course shows how sentence dictation enhances auditory attention, verbal memory, oral sequential memory, letter formation, grammar, punctuation, and capitalization.

Date: TBD

The Orton-Gillingham Lesson Plan

Learn all the essential and optional elements of an Orton-Gillingham lesson plan. How the internal logic and structure of the lesson supports student reading and spelling skill acquisition. Learn how to incorporate multisensory strategies to make concepts memorable.

Date: TBD

Teaching Closed Syllables GWH S & S Levels 1 - 4

What is a Closed Syllable? Learn how to identify it. Participants will follow the GWH Scope and Sequence levels 1 – 4 which introduces this foundational syllable type. Teachers learn strategies to teach reading and spelling of 1- and 2-syllable words with short vowels.

Date: TBD

Teaching Basic Suffixes

The course focuses on teaching words with Closed Syllables and first essential common Anglo-Saxon inflectional suffixes.

Date: TBD

Spelling Rules: FF-LL-SS-ZZ “Floss”; 111 Doubling Rule; Drop e

Learn all the steps to ensure students can apply these important spelling rules independently.

Date: TBD

Y to I Spelling Rule

Why “Y to I” is a special rule, but it does not have to be difficult!

Date: TBD

Teaching Reading & Spelling Magic “e” Syllables Level 5

Learn to create OG/Structured Literacy  lesson plans with this syllable type which has a specific sequence of phonograms (VCe or VCCe): Vowel -Consonant – Silent “e”. Learn how the Silent “e” effects pronunciation of the preceding vowel, e.g. cake, bathe.

Date: TBD

Teaching Reading & Spelling R-controlled Syllables Level 6

Learn to create OG/Structured Literacy  lesson plans with this specific sequence of phonograms (Vr): Vowel – r . Learn how the “r” modifies the preceding vowel, e.g. corn.

Date: TBD

Teaching Reading & Spelling Vowel Team Syllables Level 6-7

Learn to create OG/Structured Literacy  lesson plans with vowel combinations (VV): Vowel -Vowel or Vowel – Consonant, e.g. feet, boat, saw

Date: TBD

Teaching Reading & Spelling Open Syllables Level 8

Learn to create OG/Structured Literacy  lesson plans and spell 1- and 2-syllable words with a single tense or “long” vowel (V) Open syllables end in a single vowel that is pronounced like the name of the vowel, e.g. “me“.

Date: TBD

Teaching Reading & Spelling 2-syllable words with -Cle (consonant-l-e)

Learn to create OG/Structured Literacy  lesson plans with this specific sequence of phonograms (Cle): Words ending in Consonant- l – e, e.g. table.

Date: TBD

Closing the Vocabulary Gap I: Teaching Reading and Spelling 2-syllable Words Using Syllable Analysis & Division Rules with 6 syllable types

This course teaches syllable classification, and how polysyllabic words can be decoded following a step-by-step procedure. Learn the steps for syllable division and show your students how they can read and spell longer words.

Date: TBD

Become a Word Detective: History of the English Language

From the study of Old English to Modern English, learn how etymology provides a window into the colourful history of the past.

Date: TBD

Models of Reading Skill Acquisition; Stages of Spelling and Writing Development; Research Implications for the Classroom

This course is an overview of current research in reading, writing and spelling skill acquisition and models of the processes involved. Implications for the classroom will be discussed.

Date: TBD

Intake Screening

Learn how to use criterion-reference tests and questionnaires to help assess the needs of new students. This course will provide tools to evaluate entry level skills used to develop appropriate and effective remedial intervention

Date: TBD

Assessment

This course demystifies and explains the terminology used in psycho- educational and neuro-psychological assessments. Cognitive and Academic standardized tests are discussed – with a smidgeon of statistical terminology explained.

Date: TBD

Advanced Syllable Types Levels 9 – 10

Create O.G. lesson plans with syllable types that are ambiguous: R-controlled  Magic “e” (Vre), e.g. “ire”; The “W” Effect; Unusual pronunciations of single O (O3)

Date: TBD

Advanced Syllable Types Levels 11 – 12

Teaching Silent Letters using the O.G. approach; Syllable types that are ambiguous: R-controlled Vowel Teams (VVr) e.g. “air”; Vowel Teams of Old French/Old Norman origin, e.g. “ou2”

Date: TBD

Spelling Rules Redux: -es, 111 Doubling Rule, Drop “e”, “Y” to “I”

This course reviews all spelling rules, including the 211 Spelling Rule; Teaching spelling rules and patterns and the Power of Sorting technique.

Date: TBD

Teaching Writing: Elementary

The course shows how teaching parts of speech supports sentence construction. Teachers will learn to identify and create a variety of sentence structures using formulae and conjunctions.

Date: TBD

Teaching Writing: Paragraph – Essay

Writing for a purpose: teachers will learn how to support their students build coherent well-connected text. Different templates of paragraph are provided

Date: TBD

Teaching Narrative

Using an innovative Semantic Category approach, narrative exposition is taught using strategies adaptable for early elementary to high school;

Date: TBD

Use of Concept Maps, Visual Note Taking, Pictures to Plan and Express Expository and Narrative Communication

Teachers will learn a variety of pre-writing steps that support the development of expository and narrative writing, such as note-taking and plot development.

Date: TBD

Closing the Vocabulary Gap II: Latin Derivations

Learn to spot words that are derived from Latin. Learn strategies that support your instruction of complex words. The course will demonstrate  that Latin derivations are easier to spell and read that Anglo-Saxon vocabulary. Learn how to network words to support a stronger, wider vocabulary in your classroom.

Date: TBD

Closing the Vocabulary Gap III: Greek Combining Forms: Advanced Morphology

Learn to identify words derived from early Greek: the language of science, medicine, mathematics, sport, zoology, botany.

Date: TBD

Best Practices for Teaching Vocabulary

Using current research and collective classroom wisdom, this course provides a comprehensive and effective toolbox for teaching vocabulary.

Date: TBD

Differentiation

Learn how to plan a differentiated literacy curriculum where diverse abilities, cultures, races and religions are considered and included.  Practice evaluating subject material for bias.

Date: TBD

Welcome to the GWH: A Structured Literacy Curriculum Kindergarten to High School Levels 1 - 15

This introductory video, explains the Scope and Sequence of linguistic concepts and skills taught to promote Fluency, Comprehension, and Spelling.

Date: TBD

Structured Literacy/O.G Lessons for Students (11 videos)

These lessons are for students.  Each one teaches a different phonogram and the terminology needed to read and spell first VC, CVC words in Level 1: a, o, c, d, f, g, l, m, n, p, t. The lessons follow a specific sequence and are cumulative in content.

Date: TBD

Introductory lessons – for students Level 2 (23 videos)

These lessons are for students.  Each one teaches a different phonogram, including digraphs and the terminology needed to read and spell 1-syllable words in Level 2: b, e, h, i, j, k, qu, r, s, u, v, w, x, y (consonant), z, and ch, sh, th,  and -ck. First suffixes “s” and “es” are introduced. The lessons follow a specific sequence and are cumulative in content.

Date: TBD

Spelling rules – for students

These lessons are for students.  Each one teaches a different spelling rule and the terminology needed:

  • FFLLSSZZ (Floss)
  • -es
  • 111 Doubling Rule
  • Drop e
  • Y to I

Date: TBD

Tour of all the “rooms” in GWH

  • How to Make a Lesson Plan
  • How to Make a Lesson with Suffixes
  • How to Make a Lesson with Clusters
  • How to Make a Customized Word List
  • How to Target Phonemic Awareness
  • How to Find Supporting Materials

Date: TBD