An Orton-Gillingham Approach to
Teaching Spelling
Eileen Tresansky, MS Ed.
Fellow, AOGPE
January 23, 2015
1
2




Helps students become better writers and readers
Research has shown that learning to spell and learning
to read rely on much of the same underlying knowledge
Proficiency in spelling actually supports reading
Accurate spelling reflects more advanced linguistic
knowledge because it requires the integration of
knowledge in:
 Phonology
 Orthography
 Morphology
(Moats, 2005/2006)
3
4
I like hores. Hores have
other hores frinds. Hores like
carots. You woudn’t think they
coud but they can put thir legs
strait up. Hores make you feel
good. My dad wants a hores but
my mom says no. When I am.
16 or 20 I will buy my own
hores.
5



Spelling opens a remarkable window to a
child’s mind
Anything that is going to cause trouble in
child’s reading will show up dramatically in
child’s spelling and writing
Good spellers are not born; they are taught
(Moats, 2005/2006)
6

26 letters

44 phonemes

250 different spellings

BUT teaching reading
and spelling together
can be mutually
beneficial because it
creates additional
opportunities to
practice applying
common patterns
7



Nearly 90% of English words can be spelled if
you know the basic patterns, principles, and
rules of spelling
50% of words are predictable based on soundletter correspondences alone (slap, pitch, boy)
37% of more common words are almost
predictable except for one sound (knit, boat)
(IDA Fact Sheet, 2014)
8
9



Children gradually develop insights into how
words are represented with letters
Instruction that is systematic, explicit, and
structured will enhance this learning
Evaluating spelling errors help map the
developmental sequence of skills
10
11
12

Make it easier to recognize the nature and
quality of errors

Demonstrate that spelling needs to be a
thinking subject

Rules = have some exceptions

Generalizations = are a matter of choice of
the different ways to spell a sound
13
14


Spelling instruction that explores word
structure, word origin, and word meaning is
most effective
Types of instruction include:




Whole word
Phonetics, Phonology, & Phonics
Syllable patterns
Morphemic spelling
15

Grades K-5
Identify common root words (begins at grade 1)
Use common prefixes and compound words (begins at
grade 2)
Decode words with common Latin suffixes (begins at
grade 3)
Know and use common Greek and Latin roots (begins at
grade 4)

Grades 6-12
Clarify meaning of unknown or multiple meaning words
by…analyzing word parts (begins at grade 6)
Use common grade appropriate Greek and Latin affixes
(begins at grade 6)
Demonstrate independence in gathering vocabulary
knowledge (begins at grade 9)
16
Whole Word Spelling
17
18



These are words that must be approached as
wholes rather than by sound blending
Some but not all high frequency words are
“irregular” words
All high frequency words should be
recognized as sight words even though some
of them are spelled regularly
19

Dependent on good
phonological skills


Possess an orthographic
memory


Know how a word should
look

Draw support from
syntax, morphology, &
semantics
Often are good readers


Have difficulties recalling
letter sequences
Have difficulty dealing
with several layers of
language simultaneously
Have a limited knowledge
of spelling rules
Can be “free-spirited”
Often have difficulty
with reading too
20




Trace – Trace the word 3 times saying the
letters as you write them.
Copy – Copy the word 3 times looking at the
model.
Cover – Write the word 3 times without a
written prompt.
Closed – Write the word 3 times with eyes
averted or closed.
21






L-A-U-G-H
Long And Ugly Goat Hair
S-A-I-D
She Answered I Do!
S.W.E.L.L. Sight Words Easily Learned by Letters by Carol K.
Radis, 2009
Teaching Spelling Cards by Diana Hanbury King, Kildonan
School Publication
22
23
24
Phonetics, Phonology, &
Phonics
25

Knowledge of phonetics heightens teacher’s
awareness of speech sounds
◦ Helps to provide correct models for students

Knowledge of phonology gives teachers
insight into why a student has difficulty
segmenting words
(Carreker, 2005)
26
27






Tutor says the word.
Student repeats the word.
Student segments phonemes in word.
Student says each phoneme naming the
letters.
Student writes each phoneme naming each
letter as he writes it on paper.
Student reads the entire word he has written.
28

Buzz Off Miss Pill!
◦ Floss Rule
◦ If word has only one vowel and ends in f, l, s, or z,
then double the final consonant

Longer Spelling Right After Short Vowel
◦ LSRASV
◦ Use –ck, -tch, -dge right after a short vowel
29
30
Unscramble the words that end in zz, ff, ss, ll.
lil ___________
tsfaf ____________
sasp _________
fisft ____________
fifts __________
azjz ____________
zifz __________
ldil ____________
fnsif _________
hlesl __________
lefl __________
hsis __________
srags ________
glirl ___________
isms _________
sems __________
fufh _________
illsk ___________
flifc _________
fwifh __________
sums ________
rsdes __________
fupf _________
slelp __________
When do you use zz, ff, ss, ll?
31
Add –ck, -tch, -dge.
ca____
clo___
blo___
ha___
we___
e___
pi___
stre___
bri___
scra___
che___
smu___
ske___
la___
du___
do___
bu___
ju___
**This is not an activity to use f---.
Be careful what you are asking for.
32
Syllable Patterns
6
33
34
Sort these under the correct heading.
lo
den
com
bur
so
mail
plete
box
C
L
O
V
E
-ble
sta
R
35
Generalizations
 Are
guidelines for spelling sounds that have
more than one grapheme
 Ways of spelling /oi/: Oil that toy
 Ways of spelling /ou/: Loud cow!
 ou used in beginning or middle of
word/syllable
 ow used at end of word/syllable
 Also, before a single l or n (brown owl), el and er (vowel
power)
36

The 3 main syllable divisions
 Rabbit
 Tiger
 Camel

VC.CV
V.CV
VC.V
rab.bit
ti.ger
cam.el
Student relies less on reading and spelling
sound-by-sound as he learns to divide
polysyllabic words into syllables and choose
the correct vowel sounds
37
38

Spelling patterns
◦ Also called spelling rules
◦ Include the 3 great spelling rules
 Doubling Rule
 Sneaky E + Suffix Rule
 Final Y + Suffix Rule

Initially, the most common Anglo-Saxon
suffixes are used (e.g., -s, -es, -ing, -less,
-ful, -ed)

A shift in thinking evolves as student begins
to learn about word structure
◦ Basewords and suffixes
39
Can be vowel suffixes or consonant suffixes
-ly
-ness
-ing
-able
-est
-ty
-ful
-ment
-ous
-age
-ed
-s
-less
-er
-en
-al

Vowel Suffixes
Consonant Suffixes
40

Doubling rule (1 syllable words)
◦ CVC (in 1-syllable word) + vowel suffix -- double the final
consonant
 tap +ing = tapping; rest + ing = resting; red + ness = redness

Sneaky E + suffix rule
◦ Drop it or Keep it
 Drop e before a vowel suffix: like + ed = liked
 Keep it before a consonant suffix: like + ness = likeness

Final Y + suffix rule
◦ Keep it or change it
 Vowel y -- keep the y: joy + ful = joyful; play + ed = played
 Consonant y -- change y to i: rely + ed = relied
 Unless the suffix begins with i: rely + ing = relying
41
**Never double the final letters w, x, and y.
big + er = _____________
mad + ness = __________
clap + ing = ___________
tall + est = __________
strut + ing = _________
shim + er = ___________
snob + ish = ___________
flat + en = ____________
snow + ing = ____________
42
Words ending in Sneaky ‘E' + vowel suffix
 love - loving, lover, loved, lovable (or loveable)
E
make - making, maker
use - using, usable, user, used
have - having
adore- adorable
care - cared, caring, cares
move - movable, moving, mover
Exceptions - words ending in 'ce' or 'ge'
Keep the 'e' before -ous and -able (because it softens the 'g', 'c'
sound)
 manage - manageable (BUT drop the 'e' with -ing, -ed, -er er
managing, managed, manager)
 notice - noticeable (BUT drop the 'e' with –ing for noticing,
noticed)

courage - courageous service - serviceable
43
Keep it or Change it!


Vowel + Final Y + any suffix = Keep the Y !
play + -ed = played
obey + -s = obeys
delay + -ing = delaying
Consonant + Final Y + any suffix = Y changes to i!
carry + -ed = carried
supply + -er = supplier
worry + -ed = worried
*If the suffix begins with i, then keep the y and add -ing.
worrying modifying supplying
44
lower + -ing
smile + -ed
salvage + -able
betray + -ed
happen + -ing
tax + -ed
labor + -er
nine + -ty
argue + -ment
peace + -able
bag + -y =
pain + -ful =
pity + -ful =
couple + -ing =
hug + -ed =
bar + -ed =
mud + -y =
quiz + -ed =
empty + -ed =
crazy + -est =
fury + -ous =
likely + -hood =
apply + -ance =
company + -on =
deny + -ed =
remove + -al =
45




Henry, Marcia K. (2010). Unlocking Literacy. Boston,
MA: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
Johnson, K. & Bayrd, P. (2002). Megawords 2.
Cambridge, MA: EPS, Inc.
Rudginsky, Laura T. & Haskell, Elizabeth C. (1984).
How to Teach Spelling. Cambridge, MA: EPS, Inc.
Steere, A., Peck, C.Z., & Kahn, L. Solving Language
Difficulties. (1998). Cambridge, MA: EPS, Inc.
46
Morphology
47

Morphemes : the smallest unit of meaning
◦ SOMETIMES morphemes can change their spelling
◦ talking, reopened, tourists, hunters, reactivate*

Different types of morphemes
◦ Free morphemes: stand by themselves
◦ Bound morphemes: must be attached to another
morpheme
 ALL affixes are bound morphemes
48


A second cognitive shift occurs when
studying suffixes
Student begins to think beyond soundsymbol correspondences
◦ Begins to understand morphological units
◦ Learns to recognize the suffix rather than rely
solely on sound-symbol correspondences
49
50

Before reading and spelling a word, must
consider if an affix has been added to a
baseword
◦ If yes, the next step is to consider what
affect the prefix or suffix has on the
word’s
 Meaning
 Spelling
 Function (part of speech)
51

Begins to learn many Latin roots and affixes,
and Greek combining forms

Begins to discover and appreciate the logic
and regularity of English

Can understand that to eliminate the letter g
in sign is to lose the meaningful relationship
with its companion words signal and
signature

Recognizes that health is spelled with an a
because health comes from the verb to heal
52

Simple and frequently used prefixes are
taught 1st
◦ Those that negate the baseword (un- or in-)
◦ Or indicate its number (uni- or bi-)

Later, learns that some prefixes are spelled
differently when they join a Latin root -
assimilated or chameleon prefixes
◦ Under certain circumstances, the last letter of a
prefix changes in order to make a word easier to
pronounce - the principle of least effort
 e.g., the prefix in- changes to il- in illegal, and the
prefix con- changes to com- before b, m, p
 e.g., combine is easier to say than conbine
53
Prefix
# Words with prefix
un782
re401
in, im-, ir- il (not)
313
dis
216
en-, em132
non126
in-, im- (in or into)
105
over- (too much)
98
mis83
White, Sowell, and Yanagihara (1989) contends that only these 9 need to be systematically taught
The American Heritage Word Frequency Book, Carrol et al. 1971
54












scrib, script- ...................write
spect, spec-.....................see, watch
mit, mis- .........................send
tend, tens, tant-..............stretch, strain
ten, tant, tain-.................have, hold
plic, ply-..........................fold
fer-..................................bring, bear, yield
duc, duce, duct-..............to lead
fac, fact, fi, fec-...............make or do
cept, cap, ceive, ceit-......take, seize, receive
pos, pon, pose-................put, place, set
sist, sta, stat-...................stand, endure
55
investments
dislocate
interactive
performed
uninterrupted
(3)
in vest ments
(3)
dis lo cate
(4)
in ter ac tive
(2)
per formed
(5)
un in ter rup ted
56
investments
4 morphemes
in- (in) + vest (clothing) + -ment (an act) + -s
(used to form plurals)
dislocate
3 morphemes
dis- (apart) + loc (to place) + -ate (verb)
interactive
3 morphemes
inter- (with or on each other) + act (to behave, to
function) + -ive (a tendency to)
57
performed
3 morphemes
per- (through, completely) + form (to
shape, form) + -ed (past tense)
uninterrupted
4 morphemes
un - (not) +inter- (among, between) + rupt (to
break) + ed (past tense)
58
Suffixes are taught for decoding and spelling
 -cian = /shǝn/
◦ -cian used for word denoting person’s profession

 musician, physician, electrician
ous and -us = /ǝs/

 nervous - virus
-al and -el = /ǝl/
◦ -ous used for adjectives and -us for nouns
◦ -al for adjectives and -el for nouns
 additional - shovel
59

Latin words are studied first

Prefixes usually show direction or location


Roots are usually verbs


con = together, with
duct = to lead
FSS change the part of speech and are
regular for spelling

tion = noun
60

Finally, Greek words are studied
◦ ph = /f/; ch = /k/; y = /ī/, /ĭ/, /ē/
◦ Connective -o- is common
 photosynthesis
 chromosome

Students will also need to study words of
French origin for decoding and spelling
◦ ch = /sh/, ee = /ā/, ou = /oo/
 chevron, matinee, rouge
61
Games and Activities
62
63
64
65
66
67

Spelling is an interactive process that involves
phonological and orthographic knowledge

Spelling instruction enhances this knowledge
through
◦ Synthetic teaching (sounds to whole words) –
systematically builds awareness of sound-letter
correspondences
◦ Analytic teaching (whole words to sounds) –
provides for foundation of orthographic knowledge
and reinforcement of phonological knowledge
Effective lesson planning employs both strategies!
68


Baseword Search: Ask students to search their
reading and writing for words with endings then
sort according to rule used. Do we always do the
same thing? Finish by sorting the common
pattern of the words.
Arm Stretch: Stretch out non-writing arm.
Starting from the shoulder, the students says the
word, then forms each letter with his index finger
of his writing hand as if writing on his arm
stating each letter as he spells it. Once finished,
he sweeps down his arm saying the word again.
69

Baseball (or Run the Bases): Form 2 teams.
One will be the writers up at bat; the other
will pitch the words. Provide writers with a
whiteboard. The pitchers reads a word card.
The batter says the word and spells it aloud
on their board showing the word he has
written when finished. If correct, he gets a hit
and moves to 1st base. If incorrect, he gets 2
more tries before striking out. 3 outs and
then switch teams.
70

Take Your Best Shot: Dictate a word. Have a
student write it using the SOS strategy on his
whiteboard. If correct, he gets to take a shot
using a yarn ball or a small hand size
basketball. Boys especially love this game!
71

Ball in the Bucket: Yes, the game you once loved
gets a new twist! Dictate a word or select a ping
pong ball that has words written on them.
Have a student write the word using the SOS
strategy on his whiteboard. If correct, he gets
to take a shot.
72

Minute to Win It!: Dictate one word. Using a
minute timer, each player writes the word on
his whiteboard. When done, he turns his
board over so no one else can see his word.
When the timer goes off, each player shows
his board at the same time. Every correct
answer gets a point. First one to get 10
points is the winner!
73

How Much Is It Worth?: Each player receives ten
dollars worth of play money to start. Each player
begins by placing his bet on the table. Next,
dictate one word. Using a minute timer, each
player writes the word on his whiteboard. When
done, he turns his board over so no one else can
see his word. When the timer goes off, check
each player’s answer. Every correct answer wins
the same amount of money. Each incorrect
answer loses his money. Students are responsible
for keeping track of their winnings. On game day,
they get to trade in $100 earned for a homework
pass. Middle schoolers love this!
74


Students will need many opportunities to write words
accurately and with supervision before they can remember
them
Immediate correction of misspellings leads to better
outcomes

Building printed words with letter tiles greatly assists

Have these students keep a list for quick reference

Will aid in mastery of those challenging words
75
I have a spelling checker.
It came with my Pea Sea.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea.
Eye ran this poem threw it,
Your sure lee glad two no.
Its vary polished in it’s weigh.
My checker tolled me sew.
76



Unless a student has already achieved basic
spelling skill at about a fifth-grade level
Unless a student receives other proofreading
help
Spellcheckers do not identify all errors and
are not a substitute for explicit spelling
instruction
77
“Spelling can be improved through
◦ Explicit instruction in several areas (phoneme-grapheme
correspondences, phonemic patterns in letter sequences or
syllables, rules for joining syllables or adding morphemes,
elements of morpheme preservation in word formation, and
strategies for encoding irregular words)
◦ Careful selection of spelling words that capitalize on
developing word knowledge of underlying structures of
words
◦ Repeated and cumulative practice in coordinating
phonemic, orthographic, and morphemic knowledge”
(Reed, 2012)
78
79
Beck, Isabel, et al. (2002). Bringing Words to Life:
Robust Vocabulary Instruction. Guilford Press.
Birsh, Judith R. (2005). Multisensory Teaching of
Basic Language Skills. Boston, MA: Paul H.
Brookes Publishing Co.
Gillingham, A. and B. Stillman. (1997). The
Gillingham Manual (8th ed.). Cambridge, MA:
Educators Publishing Service.
Henry, Marcia K. (2010). Unlocking Literacy. Boston,
MA: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
King, D.H. (2000). English Isn’t Crazy. Austin, TX:
Pro-Ed.
80