What Is the Orton-Gillingham Approach?
The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a research-based method for helping kids learn to read. It’s especially effective for students who struggle with traditional approaches, including those with dyslexia.
Developed in the early 20th century, the Orton-Gillingham approach is a multisensory phonics method used for remedial reading instruction. It is taught in a direct, explicit, cognitive, and cumulative way that engages multiple senses to support learning.
This structured literacy approach is built on the idea that no two students are alike, and instruction is individualized to meet each learner’s needs.
It engages the senses such as sight, hearing, and touch to help the brain make meaningful connections.
There’s a clear step-by-step structure that moves from easy to more challenging concepts, making sure students fully grasp each skill before moving on.
As students move through the alphabetic principle, learning sounds and blending them to read words, they build confidence and begin to think about language more clearly and meaningfully.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is widely recognized in the education field, especially among those who support struggling readers. While training is recommended, it can cost between $3,000 and $5,000 or even more, depending on the certification level. This makes the methodology out of reach for many teachers. Another way to learn about how to teach the Orton-Gillingham approach is to consult the original source: The Gillingham Manual: Remedial Training for Students with Specific Disability in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship by Anna Gillingham and Bessie W. Stillman.
The manual is based on the work of Dr. Samuel Orton, a neuropsychiatrist who studied kids with language processing challenges. Anna Gillingham worked closely with him and, with Stillman’s help, took all of his ideas and organized them into this manual, hence the term structure. It gave teachers like me something we could actually use in real classrooms. This manual is the OG of OG.
Let’s get straight to the practical side of what the OG method actually is and how we’ve built those principles into Viva Phonics, which is, in many ways, an Orton-Gillingham curriculum for today’s learners.
The Orton-Gillingham method often seems more complex than it actually is. However, it is a simple, systematic method that’s easy to follow once you understand it. But there’s a reason the training is expensive. You can’t just wing it.
Key Principles/ Features of Orton-Gillingham
1. Multisensory:
A saying that resonates well is: A good teacher who knows what to teach and how to teach it could use a stick in the sand to teach reading. Author Unknown
You don’t need a big budget or fancy Orton Gillingham materials. A pencil, a whiteboard, and the right method can go a long way. All you need is a way to see, hear, speak, or move, and maybe just some paper and a pencil. That’s really all it takes.
Multisensory in this context means using more than one sense at the same time to make learning stick.
- The symbol or letter is the visual part: b
- The sound is the auditory part: /b/
- The movement of the mouth when saying the sound or the motion of writing the letter is the kinesthetic part.
What it’s not: Multisensory does not have to mean messy, elaborate, or crafty.
- It’s not about gluing pasta to letters.
- It’s not about jumping on trampolines while spelling words.
- It’s not about asking kids to do random movements. This isn’t P.E. Every movement is intentional.
The power of Orton-Gillingham is in its simplicity, clarity, and structure, not in overwhelming, confusing, or expensive activities.
2. Structured and Sequential
What it is: Letters, sounds, words, sentences, and stories…everything builds from basic to complex.
Start with cat before you teach camp, and only then move on to more complex patterns like champ.
What it’s not: It’s not random.
Every letter, word, and decodable text is chosen with intention. It’s not about reading leveled books filled with words like balloon or party just because there’s a picture to help figure it out
Just because a child can guess the word balloon or cake from a picture doesn’t mean they can actually read a word like trip or swift. These are words that require real decoding, not guessing.
3. Cumulative
The Orton-Gillingham approach is cumulative—every lesson builds on the last, and we review, review, review. That’s how the brain learns to read.
English isn’t a “teach it once and move on” kind of language. Is anything?
We use the same words and patterns over and over again, which means students need to see those phonics patterns repeatedly until reading them becomes so automatic they can’t not recognize them.
One of the first games included in our structured literacy lessons was Tic Tac Toe. The kids loved it, and they didn’t ask for anything else. But it was necessary to include more variety in the way we practiced the focus phonics patterns.. That’s when we started creating new games built around the same concept: activities that kept kids motivated, challenged their thinking, and pushed them to read faster.
Think of it like high-intensity interval training for the brain. It’s constantly varied, intentionally structured, and designed to build real strength over time. HIIT workouts keep people motivated because they are not doing the same exact thing every day. The variety keeps me engaged, and that’s exactly what helps students stay motivated to learn.
So cumulative is not:
- It’s not “teach it once and move on.”
- It’s not getting frustrated when a student forgets a pattern after one or two exposures.
- It’s definitely not assuming that just because it was “taught,” it was learned.
Kids who benefit from this approach often need multiple exposures and tons of practice.
Repetition, patience, and consistent review are key.
4. Explicit
The definition of explicit is: stated clearly and in detail, leaving no room for confusion or doubt.
That’s exactly how phonics instruction should be.
Tell the student what the sound is. Tell them the name of the letter. Show them how to write it.
Explain when to use the phonics pattern in spelling—for example: ck comes after a short vowel sound, and ai is used for long a, but not typically at the end of a word.
Orton-Gillingham phonics instruction ensures that students learn spelling patterns clearly, step-by-step, without confusion.
No guessing or trying to figure it out. Just clear, direct instruction.
What it’s not: Imagine someone asked you to come up with the correct sound for a symbol. There is only one right answer, but you have to guess it from an infinite number of possibilities.
Picture this:
靣 ← What sound does that make?
You have no idea because no one ever taught you. You might guess /b/, /sh/, or /z/, but you’d just be guessing.
Now imagine asking a child to guess the sound of a letter they’ve barely noticed before. That’s what we do when we expect kids to “figure it out” without clear, direct instruction.
Explicit teaching: We tell them what it is, show them how it works, and give them time to practice it until it sticks.
5. Diagnostic and Prescriptive
Okay, let’s go ahead and define these words too:
- Diagnostic: focused on identifying a problem or need.
- Prescriptive: focused on choosing the right method or response based on what was diagnosed.
We figure out what’s going on, and then we use the right approach to help fix it.
This part of the Orton-Gillingham approach is about being responsive. Instruction is based on what each student actually needs, and that can change from day to day.
We work with a lot of kids who come to us with a dyslexia diagnosis or other learning challenges. Many families come to us after trying other dyslexia reading programs that didn’t quite work.
For these students, it’s never as simple as finishing a lesson and moving on. Some of them need to see the same phonics pattern 20, 40, even more than 100 times before it sticks. And that’s okay because we give them that time.
One student needed months to master simple CVC words like dot, Ned, and pin. Those words were reviewed in isolation, through games, in phrases, and in any format that could help the learning stick. Eventually, it clicked. Had the instruction moved on too soon to more complex rules, reading might never have felt manageable or rewarding for her.
Diagnostic and Prescriptive means using tools like screenings, pre-tests, explicit instruction, progress monitoring, and post-tests to help us track what a student needs and whether what we’re doing is working.
Who Can Benefit from Orton-Gillingham?
The Orton-Gillingham Approach was developed for students with dyslexia, but it can work for any child who is on a learning to read journey.
- Children with diagnosed learning differences
- Struggling readers
- Students who have tried other traditional methods with no success
- Emerging readers who need a strong phonics foundation
Orton-Gillingham vs. Other Reading Programs
Other reading programs often rely heavily on having young children memorize whole words, commonly known as sight words. They also organize their libraries using leveled readers, labeled A through Z. These strategies have been common practice in many classrooms. In contrast, the Orton-Gillingham approach teaches students to sound out words and read decodable text that uses phonics patterns they’ve been explicitly taught.
We work with a lot of kids who come to us with a dyslexia diagnosis or other learning challenges. Many families come to us after trying other dyslexia reading programs that didn’t quite work.
For these students, it’s never as simple as finishing a lesson and moving on. Some of them need to see the same phonics pattern 20, 40, even more than 100 times before it sticks. And that’s okay because we give them that time.
I remember one student who needed months to master CVC words like dot, Ned, and pin. We reviewed them in isolation, in games, in phrases, and anything I could think of to help the learning stick. Eventually, it clicked. If I had rushed ahead to more complicated rules before she was ready, I never would have made reading feel easier for her. Diagnostic and Prescriptive means using tools like screenings, pre-tests, explicit instruction, progress monitoring, and post-tests to help us track what a student needs and whether what we’re doing is working.
How Viva Phonics Incorporates Orton-Gillingham Principles
Viva Phonics isn’t a licensed Orton-Gillingham reading program, but it’s built on the same structured, sequential foundation that makes OG so effective, enhanced with the most recent research in reading science.
We invested a lot of time into creating learning materials that were simple, engaging, and most importantly, effective. True expertise can grow from time, focus, and dedication to mastering a craft and that’s exactly what Viva Phonics has done.
Remember, a good teacher who knows what to teach and how to teach it could use a stick in the sand to teach reading. Because at its core, the Orton-Gillingham approach doesn’t require fancy materials. It just takes a clear method and a teacher who knows what they’re doing.
Built from the ground up, it’s designed around proven methods and tailored to meet the needs of struggling readers.
Designed with struggling readers in mind, Viva Phonics is a comprehensive reading program for dyslexia rooted in proven, evidence-based strategies.
We curated original resources and tested them, following the core OG principles carefully. At the same time, we elevated the instruction with engaging games, interactive activities, illustrations, creative decodable stories, and built-in systems to ensure everything was working.
Viva Phonics has brought the core principles of Orton-Gillingham to life with simplified routines, engaging content, and lots of flexibility.
The Viva Phonics structured literacy program builds on proven methods with a modern, practical approach. It’s designed to meet students where they are in today’s world where being simple isn’t always enough. You also have to keep their attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Orton-Gillingham Approach used for?
This approach is used to help students, especially those with dyslexia, learn to read through a structured, multisensory, and cumulative system.
Is Orton-Gillingham only for dyslexia?
No. While it was designed originally for students who struggled with reading, it can benefit any young child who is learning to read or experiencing reading challenges.
What makes Orton-Gillingham different from other programs?
It’s an individualized method of teaching reading that allows learners to master concepts step by step, moving from simple to more complex skills at their own pace.reading, allowing learners to master simple to complex concepts one step at a time.
Can I teach Orton-Gillingham without certification?
While formal training is recommended, teachers can apply Orton-Gillingham principles effectively by learning from trusted resources and using a literacy that is structured and designed for students.
How long does Orton-Gillingham take to work?
It depends on the student, but consistency is key. Some students need more practice and repeated exposure to phonics patterns and words before it sticks, and that’s okay! They’re given the time they need to truly master each concept.
