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Methods in Reading Literacy

Reading is a complex skill that requires phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

The Orton-Gillingham Approach

The Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach is a structured, sequential, and multisensory method designed to help students develop strong reading, spelling, and writing skills. Originally developed by Dr. Samuel Orton and Anna Gillingham, OG has been widely recognized as one of the most effective interventions for students with dyslexia (Henry, 2010).

Emphasis on Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Phonemic awareness—the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds—is key predictor of reading success. OG instruction strengthens phonemic awareness through structured phonics instruction, blending, segmenting, and decoding practice (International Dyslexia Association, 2019).

Teaching Language Structure

Phonology: How sounds work in words.

Morphology: Prefixes, suffixes, roots, and how they influence meaning.
Syntax: Grammar and sentence structure.
Semantics: Understanding word meanings in context.

Structures, Sequential, and Cumulative Instruction

The OG approach follows a logical and systematic progression, starting with basic concepts (like phonemic awareness and simple letter-sound relationships) and progress to more complex skills (such as multisyllabic word decoding and advanced spelling rules). Students do not move forward until they have mastered the previous step. This ensures a strong foundation in phonics and decoding (Gillingham & Stillman, 1997).

We emphasize accuracy over speed, ensuring that students master one skill before moving to the next.
Each new skill builds on previously learned material, with regular reviews to ensure retention.
Frequent repetition and practice help solidify learning.

Diagnostic and Prescriptive Teaching

Each lesson is customized based on ongoing assessments through observations and informal assessments. If a student struggles with a concept, we adjust instruction to meet their needs, ensuring mastery before moving forward (Moats, 2020).

- For example: If a student struggles with vowel sounds, lessons may focus more on vowel patterns. If spelling errors occur, targeted practice on morphology or rules is added.

Multisensory Learning

Multisensory approaches helps reinforce learning by activating different areas of the brain, making reading instruction more effective (Shaywitz, 2020). OG instruction engages multiple senses:

Visual: Showing letters or words on a board, flashcards, or digital tools.
Auditory: Encouraging students to say sounds, words, or spelling rules aloud.
Kinesthetic: Using body movements, like air writing letters or tapping out syllables.
Tactile: Having students trace letters in sand, shaving cream, or on textured surfaces while verbalizing sounds.

Explicit and Direct Instruction

Many struggling readers require clear, direct, and repetitive instruction to master literacy skills. In OG, students are taught every phoneme, spelling rule, and syllable pattern explicitly, eliminating guesswork and frustration.

Clear instructions: Each concept, such as letter-sound relationships or syllable types, is taught directly, leaving no room for inference.
Modeling: Teachers demonstrate how to decode words, spell using phonics rules, or divide words into syllables.

Why Orton-Gillingham is Effective for Struggling Readers

The Orton-Gillingham approach is particularly effective for children who struggle with dyslexia, reading fluency, spelling difficulties, and decoding. Here’s why:

Targets the root of reading difficulties
Many struggling readers lack phonemic awareness and decoding skills. OG breaks reading down into manageable, structured steps that build confidence and success (Henry, 2010).
Uses research-backed, brain-based learning techniques
Studies show that multisensory teaching helps struggling readers activate neural pathways for reading and improves word recognition and retention (Shaywitz, 2020).
Individualized and adaptable to each learner
Each child’s reading needs are different. OG allows for customized instruction to address specific weaknesses.

Methods for Intermediate and Advanced Readers

Once decoding skills are established, we shift focus to developing fluency and deepening comprehension. These skills become essential for tackling more complex texts across different content areas. Instruction is tailored to build automaticity, expression, and critical thinking.

Repeated Reading

We use repeated readings to enhance word recognition, rate, and expression. Research by Rasinski (2010) highlights that repeated oral reading with feedback significantly improves fluency, especially when texts are at the student’s independent or instructional level. Students revisit short passages or texts multiple times, gaining confidence and increasing reading speed and accuracy.

Guided Oral Reading & Prosody Practice

Reading aloud with guided support helps students develop natural phrasing and expressive reading, which contributes directly to better comprehension. By modeling and practicing prosody—intonation, rhythm, and emphasis—students learn to interpret punctuation and tone, which supports deeper understanding (Kuhn & Stahl, 2003).

Graphic Organizers

Graphic organizers such as story maps, cause-effect charts, and Venn diagrams help students visually structure information. These tools support metacognition and are especially effective in helping readers identify main ideas, summarize texts, and analyze story elements (National Reading Panel, 2000). For nonfiction texts, we use text structure organizers (e.g., sequence, problem/solution) to help students navigate and synthesize informational content.

Reciprocal Teaching Techniques

For group or paired instruction, we use reciprocal teaching strategies—predicting, questioning, clarifying, and summarizing—which have been shown to significantly improve reading comprehension when explicitly taught and practiced (Palincsar & Brown, 1984). Students take turns leading discussions, fostering collaboration and a deeper understanding of the text.

Accountable Talk and Discussion

Advanced readers benefit from engaging in academic conversations around texts. Through scaffolded discussions and accountable talk, students explain reasoning, build on others' ideas, and justify responses with text evidence. These practices support comprehension, vocabulary development, and critical thinking.

Close Reading & Text Dependent Questions

Advanced readers benefit from close reading techniques that require multiple readings of a text for different purposes. We scaffold how to examine vocabulary, infer meaning, and evaluate author’s purpose. Text-dependent questions promote deep thinking and textual analysis, encouraging readers to return to the text for evidence.

References

Gillingham, A., & Stillman, B. W. (1997). The Gillingham Manual. Educators Publishing Service.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2012). Text-dependent questions. International Reading Association.
Henry, M. K. (2010). Unlocking Literacy. Brookes Publishing.
International Dyslexia Association. (2019). Structured Literacy Overview.
Kuhn, M. R., & Stahl, S. A. (2003). Fluency: A review of developmental and remedial practices. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.95.1.3
Michaels, S., O'Connor, C., & Resnick, L. B. (2008). Deliberative discourse idealized and realized: Accountable talk in the classroom and in civic life. Studies in Philosophy and Education, 27(4), 283–297. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-007-9071-1
National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.
Rasinski, T. V. (2010). The fluent reader: Oral reading strategies for building word recognition, fluency, and comprehension. Scholastic.
Palincsar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and comprehension-monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1(2), 117–175. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532690xci0102_
Shaywitz, S. (2020). Overcoming Dyslexia. Knopf.

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