Parts of an Orton-Gillingham Lesson

One of the hardest parts of planning Orton-Gillingham lessons is figuring out what actually belongs in the lesson.

How much review is enough?
How many activities should be included?
What parts should happen every lesson?
And what can rotate in and out depending on the student?

The truth is, lessons can look very different depending on:

• age
• pacing
• group size
• attention span
• the concept being taught
• how much review a student needs

A younger student’s lesson may look very different than an older student’s lesson, and a one-on-one tutoring session may flow differently than a small group lesson.

Looking for a full breakdown of lesson planning and lesson flow? Read the complete guide: A Simple System for Planning Orton-Gillingham Lessons

For this article, let’s focus more on the actual pieces that can be included inside a lesson.

Review Concepts

Review is usually woven throughout the lesson rather than isolated into one single section.

This may include:

• drill cards
• blending practice
• spelling patterns
• syllable types
• previously taught concepts
• decoding practice

Sometimes review moves quickly. Other times the review becomes the lesson because the student still needs more repetition before moving on.

Phonological Awareness Activities

Phonological awareness activities help students hear and manipulate sounds in spoken language.

Activities may include:

• segmenting sounds
• blending sounds
• tapping sounds
• syllable counting
• manipulating phonemes
• listening for vowels
• identifying sound positions

These activities are especially important for beginning and struggling readers.

Syllable Types and Division

Syllable work becomes increasingly important as students begin reading longer words. Activities may include:

• clapping syllables
• identifying syllable types
• dividing words
• labeling syllables
• reading multi-syllable words
• sorting words by syllable type

This is often where students begin understanding why words are divided the way they are.

Letter Formation

Some lessons may include handwriting practice or letter formation.

Many OG teachers use cursive because the continuous motion can help reduce reversals and improve flow for some students. Letter formation may include:

• tracing
• sky writing
• dictation
• cursive practice
• writing sounds or patterns

Learned Words

Learned words may include:

• sight words
• high-frequency words
• irregular words
• homonyms
• auditory pattern groups
• commonly used spelling patterns

Some teachers organize these into categories such as:

• red words
• yellow words
• green words

These categories help students think about how words are learned and stored. The SOS Technique is good for teaching learned words.

New Concepts

Some lessons introduce a completely new concept, while others spend more time strengthening previously taught skills.

New concepts may include:

• spelling rules
• vowel teams
• suffixes
• prefixes
• syllable division
• morphology
• phonics patterns

This section may also include:

• sorting activities
• word brainstorming
• concept cards
• movement activities
• reading practice connected to the new skill

Dictation

Dictation is one of the most flexible parts of a lesson because it can be adjusted so many different ways.

Dictation may include:

• sounds
• syllables
• words
• phrases
• nonsense words
• sentences

This is also a natural place to incorporate:

• grammar
• punctuation
• capitalization
• editing
• sentence structure

One important habit is having students read back what they wrote. This often leads to self-correction and stronger awareness of errors.

Oral Reading

Oral reading may include:

• word lists
• phrases
• sentences
• decodable passages
• fluency practice
• stories connected to taught concepts

This is also a good opportunity to:

• listen for errors
• monitor fluency
• ask comprehension questions
• revisit difficult patterns

Writing and Grammar

Grammar and writing do not always need to be taught as completely separate parts of a lesson.

Often they fit naturally into:

• dictation
• sentence writing
• editing
• reading activities

Writing activities may include:

• brainstorming
• outlining
• sentence expansion
• paragraph writing
• editing for spelling and punctuation

Error Notes and Observations

One of the most helpful parts of lesson planning is simply paying attention during the lesson.

Sometimes a student:

• loses attention during certain activities
• struggles retrieving sounds quickly
• confuses spelling patterns
• reads accurately but spells poorly
• needs additional movement or repetition

Those observations help shape future lessons.

Lessons Do Not Need Every Part Every Time

One thing that can overwhelm teachers and tutors is feeling like every lesson has to include every possible component.

It doesn’t.

Some lessons focus heavily on review.
Some focus on introducing a new concept.
Some lean more into reading.
Others may focus more on spelling or syllable work.

The lesson should adjust to the student, not force the student into a rigid plan.

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