What to Expect From Orton-Gillingham Tutoring

Mar 10

Being diagnosed with dyslexia doesn’t mean a student is held back from succeeding. In fact, there are specific methods of tutoring that can be offered to families with students living with dyslexia that can be used to boost reading performance substantially.

The Orton-Gillingham tutoring approach is one of the most well-regarded teaching methods to try for students with dyslexia, and allows the teacher to tailor lessons to students’ strengths and weaknesses. Since dyslexia presents itself differently in each individual student, the Orton-Gillingham method’s individualistic approach is extremely effective.

Curious what your student’s tutoring session would look like and how these sessions will ultimately impact your student’s overall progress to graduation? Let us walk you through what to expect.

What Is The Orton-Gillingham Approach?

This approach to teaching works by functioning as a multisensory and direct process to teaching literacy. Instead of a student learning to read in a traditional way, the Orton-Gillingham approach encourages students to learn through various methods.

For example, say that your student is working on reading the letter “A.” The tutor may show the letter to the student, have the student say the letter’s name, and sound it out while writing it. Multiple tactile methods might be used to encourage memorization, maybe even having the student write the letter in sand or shaving foam.

The principal element is that students are taught the “why” and “how” behind reading. The student might think about why “act” and “ace” sound different, despite starting with the same two letters. Reviewing similarities helps students remember, which ultimately helps them learn to read on their own.

What Are The Goals of a Session?

Ultimately, a tutoring session’s goal using the Orton-Gillingham approach should be for students to feel confident in their own reading and language skills. Rather than simply hoping a student memorizes words and rules, the tutor focuses on the student’s ultimate growth as a learner and helps them feel confident in taking on reading challenges independently.

What is Multisensory Instruction?

Multisensory Instruction is a technique used by tutors who take the Orton-Gillingham approach. There are three primary ways in which students learn: by visual, auditory, and tactile/kinesthetic methods.

Basically, students learn by seeing, hearing, and feeling. By engaging with all three of these approaches, students can understand language challenges better. This is why you may see a tutor using this approach encourage students to say a word while looking at it or to write a letter in sand while saying it out loud. By doing these exercises, students are engaging with all three forms of learning.

What Does A Typical Session Look Like?

As you may have guessed, the typical tutoring session using the Orton-Gillingham approach may not be so typical day-to-day. However, each session aims to use similar techniques to encourage student understanding and reading independence.

Usually, sessions begin with the most basic skills, including phonemic awareness. This might be done by using a deck of sounds and letters, where students look at the characters and sound them out, write them down, and get comfortable with them. Using these sorts of multisensory drills are used daily to ensure student understanding and engagement.

Then, usually, tutors will move on to a new topic. Every time a new idea is introduced, more spelling and reading practice exercises happen. Finally, the session usually ends with practicing learned words that don’t follow typical spelling rules to help students recognize the English language’s complexity.

What Challenges Come With Orton-Gillingham Tutoring?

Some challenges come with this method of learning. Students are taught one-on-one or in small groups, so direct instruction can be prioritized. For some kids, being in small group settings can be stressful, especially if they aren’t getting the individualized attention they need. That’s why many tutors use the method in one-on-one settings primarily.

Another potential challenge is that tutors and teachers who wish to use the Orton-Gillingham method need to complete at least 30 hours of training with the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. This certification proves that your student is in good hands academically but can be challenging for teachers to obtain without their institution’s support.

Interested In Tutoring?

Are you interested in getting your student the one-on-one help that they need? Beginning in September of 2021, We will be offering Orton-Gillingham tutoring to help your student through any reading difficulties they may face.

Sunrise Reading Solutions can help your struggling reader achieve academic success without so much pressure and stress on you as the parent. Our customized approach is sure to help your student achieve great things, regardless of any difficulties they are currently facing when learning how to read.

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