Orton Gillingham Basics

Orton-Gillingham Skill Sequence

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

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
  • 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 end of one-syllable word (sock, take)
  • Tch or ch generalization (e.g., catch, rich)
  • Y = /i/ at end of one-syllable word (my)
  • Y = /e/ at end of polysyllabic word (candy)
  • Ay = long A at end of word (play)
  • Family patterns: all, old, ink, etc.
  • Plural S
  • Two-syllable words with 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

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

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)

 

06/01/25

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