Orton-Gillingham Phonics: Teaching Order, Levels & Lesson Plans
Orton-Gillingham (OG) is a research-based, multisensory method for teaching reading and phonics. Unlike rigid curricula, OG is flexible and systematic, allowing educators to tailor instruction based on student needs, program choice (IMSE, Wilson, Sonday, Fundations), and instructional goals.
Some sequences emphasize easy-to-pronounce sounds, high-frequency words, or handwriting-friendly letters first. This ensures that students build a strong foundation as they progress through increasingly complex phonics patterns.
Below, you’ll find a complete teaching guide for Orton-Gillingham phonics, including levels, lesson plan templates, and teaching tips.
Table of Contents
1. Teaching Order
Consonants & Short Vowels
Start with the most common letters and sounds. Follow this order:
m, s, a, t, b, c, i, f, n, o, h, d, g, l, e, p, r, u, j, k, w, y, x, q, z, v
Focus on CVC words: cat, mop, fin
Digraphs & Blends
Digraphs: sh, ch, th (hard/soft), wh, ck, ng, nk
Blends (initial & final): bl, cl, fl, gl, pl, sl, br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr, sc, sk, sm, sn, sp, st, sw, tw, nd, nt, mp, ft, st, lt, lk, pt
Long Vowels & Silent E
VCe patterns: a_e, i_e, o_e, u_e, e_e (e.g., make, kite, rope, cube, these)
Vowel Teams & Diphthongs
Long vowel teams: ai, ay, ee, ea, oa, oe, ie, igh, ui
Diphthongs/variant vowels: oi, oy, ou, ow, au, aw, ew
R-Controlled Vowels
ar, or, er, ir, ur
Advanced Patterns
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Consonant-le endings: -ble, -cle, -dle, -gle, -kle, -tle, -zle
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Prefixes & suffixes: un-, re-, dis-, pre-, mis-, -ed, -ing, -s, -es
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Schwa: unstressed vowels in unaccented syllables (about, pencil)
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Multisyllabic words & syllable division rules
2. Orton-Gillingham Teaching Tips
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Teach letter name, sound, and formation together
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Practice daily with drills, dictation, and reading
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Always review before introducing new material
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Use multisensory tools: sand trays, skywriting, tapping
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Create stories with Project Read Story Generator
3. Orton-Gillingham Lesson Plan Template
1. Review (5-10 minutes)
Purpose: Reinforce previously taught material
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Sound drill: Use flashcards of letters—the student says the sound
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Blending drill: Use consonant/vowel/consonant tiles to build and blend words
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Sight word review: Read and spell previously learned sight words
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Syllable types or rules (if applicable): Quick review
2. New Concept Introduction (10–15 minutes)
Purpose: Explicitly teach one new concept
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Name of concept (e.g., short “u,” digraph “ch,” silent “e”)
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Use multisensory input:
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Visual: Show letter/pattern
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Auditory: Say sound(s)
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Kinesthetic: Skywriting, sand tray, tapping out sounds
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Tactile: Write in sand, use magnetic letters
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3. Guided Practice with Reading (10–15 minutes)
Purpose: Build decoding and fluency with the new concept
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Word reading: Read a list of words with the target pattern
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Sentence reading: Use sentences that include several practice words
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Controlled text reading: A short passage or story that matches the skill. TIP: This website generates stories based on the letters and words you input.
4. Spelling/Writing (10–15 minutes)
Purpose: Reinforce mapping and encoding
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Dictation of words: Teacher says a word, and the student taps sounds and writes it
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Dictation of sentence: Include one or more target words
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Word sorting or syllable marking (if applicable)
5. Sight Word Instruction (if needed)
Purpose: Map irregular/high-frequency words
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Teach through orthographic mapping:
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Discuss the irregular part
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Practice reading/writing it using multisensory methods
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Use it in a sentence
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6. Wrap-Up & Independent Practice (5 minutes)
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Review what was learned
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Assign a practice word list or sentence
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Optionally provide a take-home activity
Orton-Gillingham Levels
Level One: Alphabet & Short Vowels
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Phonograms: a-apple, b-boy, c-cat, etc.
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Reading: Closed syllable words, CVC blends, silent e words
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Concepts: Syllable, vowel, consonant, digraphs, closed & silent e syllables
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Spelling: Closed syllable, consonant blends, FLOSS rule, /k/ spelled with c at the start
Level Two: Vowel Teams & Diphthongs
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Phonograms: ay, ee, igh, oa, ea, y, ow, th, er, ir, ur
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Reading: Two-syllable words, family patterns, suffixes
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Concepts: Diphthong syllables, R-controlled syllables, open syllables, plural/singular, base words
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Spelling: Ck/tch rules, suffixes, vowel team generalizations
Level Three: Advanced Patterns
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Phonograms: ph, ough, wr, kn, gn, mb, au, ew, ei, ey, dge, ti, ci, ie, ture, sure, ear, our, ould
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Reading: Compound words, multisyllabic words, learned words from previous levels
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Concepts: Open syllables, consonant-le, syllable division, homophones, prefixes, suffixes, root words
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Spelling: e-drop, consonant doubling, homophones, silent letters, Greek/Latin roots
4. Level One
Alphabet
- Say in sequence
- Name vowels
- Arrange letters in sequence
- Name all lowercase letters presented visually
Phonograms
- b-boy, c-cat, d-dog, f-fish, g-goat, h-hat, j-jam, k-kite
- l-lamp, m-man, n-nut, p-pan, r-rat, s-snake, t-top
- v-van, x-box, w-wind, y-yo-yo, z-zebra
- a-apple, i-igloo/itchy, o-octopus, u-umbrella/up, e-Eddie (elephant)
- sh-ship, th-this, ch-chin, wh-whale, qu-queen, ck – (reading only)
Long vowel phonograms:
- a-e safe, i-e five, o-e home, u-e cube, e-e Pete
Reading
- Closed syllable words with the above phonograms
- Closed syllable words with initial and/or final consonant blends
- Silent e syllable words
- Two-syllable words with division between two consonants (ban/dit)
- Learned words: the, a, said, was, are, were, to, do, of, I
Concepts
Understand and define:
- syllable
- vowel
- consonant
- consonant digraphs
- consonant blends
- learned words/sight words
- closed syllable
- silent e syllable
Spelling
- Closed syllable words with the above phonograms
- Closed syllable words with initial/final consonant blends
- Silent e syllable words
- Two-syllable words with division between unlike consonants (ban/dit)
- FF, LL, SS spelling rule (FLOSS)
- /k/ is spelled with “c” at the beginning of a word
Orton
5. Level Two
Phonograms
- tch-catch, ck-black (reading), ay-play, ee-feet, igh-night, oa-boat, ea-eat
- y-my, y-candy, ow-snow, ow-plow, th-thumb, oe-toe, oo-food, oo-book, er-her
er/ir/ur make the exact same sound. Her turn first. Her bird burps.
- ir-bird, ur-burn, ai-rain, ar-car, or-corn, ie-pie, ou-ouch, aw-saw
Reading
- Words with Levels I & II phonograms
- Two-syllable words divided between 2+ consonants (nap/kin, ath/lete)
- Family patterns: all, old, ild, ost, ind, ing, ang, ong, ung, ink, ank, onk, unk
- Common suffixes: s (plural), ing, er, est, ly, y, ed
- Learned words: one, two, does, done, goes, gone, once, come, some, they, from
Concepts
- Diphthong (vowel team) syllable
- “R-controlled” syllable (Bossy R)
- Open syllables in one-syllable words (he, go)
- Plural & singular
- Base word
- Suffix
- Past tense
Spelling
- Words with Levels I & II phonograms
- Words with no ambiguous spellings (one way to spell each sound)
- Avoid vowel teams unless there’s a rule/generalization
- Ck or K at the end of a one-syllable word (sock, take)
- Tch or ch generalization (e.g., catch, rich)
- Y = /i/ at the end of a one-syllable word (my)
- Y = /e/ at the end of a polysyllabic word (candy)
- Ay = long A at the end of a word (play)
- Family patterns: all, old, ink, etc.
- Plural S
- Two-syllable words with a division between unlike consonants
- Suffixes: -ing, -ed, -er, -est, -ly, -y (no spelling change to base word)
- Learned spelling words: the, do, to, are, of, said, was, were
6. Level Three
Phonograms
- ph-phone, ough-thought, ought-bought
- wr-write, kn-knife, gn-gnat, mb-lamb, ed (3 sounds)
- au-August, ew-new, ei-vein, ey-they, eigh-eight
- dge-fudge, ti-nation, si-tension, ci-special
- ie-chief, ei-seize, ey-key
- ture-nature, sure-pressure
- ear-early, our-journal, ould-could (I teach “o-u-lucky-duck” for ould.)
Reading
- Words with Levels I–III phonograms
- Compound words
- Two-syllable words divided before a single consonant (o/pen)
- Words with learned words from previous levels
Concepts
- Open syllables
- Consonant-le syllables
- Vowel digraph syllables
- Syllable division patterns: V/CV (ti/ger), VC/V (lem/on)
- Homophones
- Suffix spelling rules (e-drop, doubling)
- Root words
- Prefixes
- Suffixes
- Word parts
- Word origin (Greek, Latin, Anglo-Saxon)
Spelling
- Words with Levels I–III phonograms
- Words with suffixes requiring e-drop or consonant doubling
- Words with prefixes and suffixes attached to base words
- Homophones (there/their/they’re, etc.)
- Words with silent letters (kn, wr, etc.)
- Multi-syllable words broken using correct division patterns
- Greek/Latin roots (e.g., phon, spect, dict)
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Orton-Gillingham 13-Book Series – Start with short-vowel CVC words and progress to compound and multisyllabic words. Perfect for parents and teachers.
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