Orton-Gillingham Letter Order

The Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach is a well-established method for teaching children with dyslexia and other reading difficulties. This multisensory, structured, and sequential approach to reading instruction focuses on breaking down the English language into its most basic components. One key element of Orton-Gillingham is the order in which letters and sounds are introduced to learners.

This letter order is carefully designed to ensure that students master phonemic awareness and phonics systematically, building a strong foundation for reading and spelling. In this article, we’ll explore the Orton-Gillingham letter order, why it’s important, and how it supports struggling readers.

Table of Contents

What Is the Orton-Gillingham Approach?

The Orton-Gillingham approach was developed in the 1930s by neuropsychiatrist Dr. Samuel Orton and educator Anna Gillingham. It is widely used to teach individuals with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties, although it benefits all learners due to its structured, explicit, and multisensory nature.

The approach is based on the following principles:

Multisensory Instruction: Students learn through visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways, which helps reinforce learning and improve memory.
Structured and Sequential: Skills are introduced in a specific order, from simple to complex, ensuring that students build on what they know without becoming overwhelmed by more advanced concepts.

Explicit Phonics Instruction: Phonics skills are taught in a direct and systematic manner, starting with basic letter-sound relationships and progressing to more complex patterns.
Cumulative Learning: Each new concept builds on previously learned material, reinforcing older skills while introducing new ones.

Why Is Letter Order Important?

In the Orton-Gillingham approach, the order in which letters and sounds are introduced is critical. The sequence is designed to:

Introduce high-frequency letters and sounds first, ensuring students can quickly start reading simple words.
Focus on letters with regular sounds before moving on to irregular or complex phonetic patterns.
Avoid introducing letters that are easily confused (such as “b” and “d”) too closely together, reducing the likelihood of letter reversals—a common challenge for dyslexic learners.

The goal is to help students build a strong foundation in phonics by mastering basic letter-sound relationships before moving on to more complex rules and patterns.

The Orton-Gillingham Letter Order

Unlike traditional alphabetical or random approaches, Orton-Gillingham introduces letters and sounds in a specific order that makes it easier for students to quickly begin blending sounds and reading simple words. The exact sequence may vary slightly depending on the specific program or educator, but the general approach remains the same.

Example of Orton-Gillingham Letter Order

First Set of Letters:

c, a, t, s, m, p, n, r, i
These letters are chosen because they are high-frequency and easily decodable. They allow students to immediately form simple consonant-vowel-consonant (CVC) words like “cat,” “sat,” “mat,” and “pin.”

Second Set of Letters:

b, f, g, h, o
These letters are introduced next because they continue to expand students’ ability to form CVC words (e.g., “bag,” “hot,” “fog”). The letter “o” introduces another vowel sound, expanding the range of words students can decode.

Third Set of Letters:

d, l, e, k, u
The letter “e” introduces the short /e/ sound, allowing for words like “bed” and “leg.” The letters “d” and “b” are introduced with intentional spacing to reduce confusion between the two visually similar letters.

Fourth Set of Letters:

v, w, j, y, z, x
These letters are less frequent in the English language but are still important for building fluency. At this point, students can decode a wide variety of CVC words and should be gaining confidence in their reading ability.

Digraphs and Blends:

After mastering individual letters and their basic sounds, students are introduced to digraphs (two letters that make one sound), such as sh, ch, th, wh, and ck.
Consonant blends (two or more consonants that appear together but retain their individual sounds) are also taught, such as bl, st, fr, tr.

Vowel Teams and R-Controlled Vowels:

As students progress, they learn vowel teams (e.g., ea as in “team,” ai as in “rain”) and r-controlled vowels (e.g., ar as in “car,” er as in “her”).

Advanced Concepts:

Eventually, more complex patterns such as silent e (e.g., “cake,” “bike”) and suffixes and prefixes are introduced, giving students the tools to tackle multisyllabic words.

Why This Order Works

The Orton-Gillingham letter order works because it:

Allows students to start reading quickly by focusing on the most common and simple sounds first.
Builds confidence by enabling students to read real words early in the process.

Provides a systematic progression from simple to complex, ensuring students don’t become overwhelmed by phonetic rules they’re not ready for.
Reduces the likelihood of confusion by spacing out letters and sounds that are easily mixed up (like “b” and “d,” or “m” and “n”).

How Multisensory Learning Reinforces Letter Order

One of the key elements of the Orton-Gillingham approach is multisensory learning. This means that while students are learning letters and sounds, they are engaging multiple senses—sight, hearing, touch, and movement—to reinforce the material.

Examples of Multisensory Techniques:

Visual: Students look at letters and words as they read and write them.
Auditory: Students say each sound aloud as they write the corresponding letter.
Kinesthetic: Students trace letters in the air or on a textured surface to reinforce letter formation and sound connections.

Tactile: Students might use materials like sand trays or textured surfaces to feel the shape of letters while saying the sounds.

By engaging multiple senses, this approach helps reinforce the correct letter-sound relationships in the brain, making it easier for students to retain what they’ve learned and apply it to their reading and spelling.

The Role of Cumulative Review

One of the strengths of the Orton-Gillingham approach is its emphasis on cumulative review. Every time a new letter or sound is introduced, it is practiced alongside previously learned material. This ensures that students solidify their knowledge before moving on to more complex concepts.

For example, if a student has mastered the letters “c,” “a,” and “t,” they will continue to practice forming words with these letters even as new letters like “s” and “m” are introduced. This constant review helps reinforce learning and prevent gaps in knowledge.

Conclusion

The Orton-Gillingham letter order is a carefully structured and sequential approach designed to help students, particularly those with dyslexia, build a strong foundation in reading. By introducing letters and sounds in a way that is systematic, cumulative, and multisensory, the Orton-Gillingham method ensures that students can develop essential phonics skills while feeling confident and supported.

Whether used in a classroom setting or in one-on-one tutoring, this approach is highly effective for helping struggling readers master the fundamentals of reading. By focusing on explicit instruction and cumulative review, the Orton-Gillingham approach gives students the tools and confidence they need to become successful, independent readers.