Understanding Orton-Gillingham and Language Focus Areas

Louise Freese, Director of the Garside Institute for Teacher Training, and Erin Wyman, Middle School Language Department Head, spoke to parents about understanding Orton-Gillingham tutorials and Carroll's Language Focus Area lessons. Louise began her presentation with a fundamental discussion about the five areas of reading instruction beginning with phonemic awareness--the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words. Before children learn to read print, they need to become aware of how sounds in words work. Louise continued by reviewing the principal components of Orton-Gillingham which include instruction in phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension of the English language.

Erin spoke about the Language Focus Areas, the third Language period in Carroll's Middle School. The LFA lessons focus on the specific language area(s) where students need the most instruction, remediation and support. Some of the areas supported are comprehension and vocabulary, paragraph and essay writing, grammar and revision skills, and organizational strategies and study skills.

To learn more about these presentations, click on the links below:
Orton-Gillingham Presentation
Language Focus Area Presentation