LiteraSee Concepts Illustrated

an Orton-Gillingham based reading intervention PROGRAM

What is Orton-Gillingham?

Orton-Gillingham is a research based reading and spelling methodology of teaching that has effectively helped children with dyslexia since the 1930s. It is phonics-based and teaches word structure rather than whole word meanings. Teaching with an O-G approach utilizes visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities to increase the number of neural pathways in the brain. It is a program that is structured yet flexible to accommodate the needs of students with dyslexia.

Find out more about orton-Gillingham and dyslexia




LiteraSee uses memorable visuals, interesting kinesthetic tools, and spoken sounds to teach. While seeing your finger write on a textured surface and saying the sound out loud, your brain will have increased neural activity and learning.


Phonemic Awareness


Children with dyslexia struggle to identify beginning, middle, and ending sounds of the spoken word. LiteraSee uses isolation, blending, substitution, and deletion activities to strengthen phonemic awareness.


Phonics lessons


With pictured phoneme cards, the student learns letter names and sounds. Blending letters into nonsense words is a critical skill that needs regular practice when learning how to read.



LiteraSee teaches specific spelling rules, generalizations, syllable types and division, vowel teams, the Bossy R vowel sound, and English language origins. With this knowledge, students can break down the code of how words work. 


Orton-Gillingham leveled lesson plans

 Lessons start from the most common and widely used words to the most rare. Start all students at level one regardless of age as most of these concepts are not taught in traditional school settings. 



LiteraSee introduces students to sentence structure, nouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and articles. To practice grammar, we include the best online resources for free, grade appropriate worksheets.



Prefixes and suffixes are taught alongside the history of the English language and English language origins. The historic influences on our language begin with the explanation of why we have so many sight words and ends with Latin and Greek roots in the upper levels.  



LiteraSee lessons follow a consistent format, so following a script is unnecessary. At the end of each lesson, read together, review with games, practice phonemic awareness, or do fluency exercises as time permits. While the format is structured, teaching is at the pace and level of the student.  



Through Socratic questioning, students learn to make connections that are critical for understanding. Their answers give insights about which concepts need to be retaught and or practiced. After each lesson, write notes and plan for the next session.



The times listed for each section are based on a one-hour session, which includes 20 minutes of reading at the end of the lesson. Include phonemic awareness and fluency drills as needed.

For many students, getting through all the words listed could be a challenge in the time allotted. Teach at the child’s pace. Be flexible; repeat, skip, or, jump ahead lessons as needed.

Use errors and unused words or sentences for a review lesson if needed.

Follow the order of the lesson plans, not the numbers on the LiteraSee cards. 

Post the LiteraSee cards on a wall or board for continuous review until no longer needed.

Organize the cards on the board by categories, such as vowel teams, r-controlled, prefixes, and suffixes.


I. PHONOGRAM DRILL: 2 min. Start each lesson with this quick warm-up of letters and sounds the student has learned using the phonogram card deck. For advanced levels, cut out flashcards from the phonogram drill card download; these will be blends, r-controlled vowels, vowel teams, prefixes, and suffixes.

1. Show the card; the student says the letter name, the keyword (if needed), and sound.

2. Ask questions to review the concepts learned.  Some examples:

   a. Is it a vowel or consonant?

   b. When does s sound like z?

   c. Is that a digraph or blend?

   d. Is ck found at the beginning or end of a word?

   e. What is the meaning of the prefix un?

3. Make piles for the blending drill – vowels/vowel teams in the middle. See Teaching Tools

4. Give the student the Floss cards as a reminder to add them to a “word” that ends in z, f, l, or s.

5. If the student needs help, show or give the keyword. 

6. If an error is made, the student will write the letter three times while saying the letter & sound. 

7. Retest errors by placing missed cards in the back of the deck. 


1. The student will read the nonsense words. 

2. The student points to each card while saying the sound, then reads the “word.” 

3. Ask the student to find the spelling error if the “word” breaks a spelling rule. 

4. Test learned concepts by: 

a. Adding the magic e at the end or make the word plural 

b. Covering parts of the word to make an open syllable

c. Making blends with the cards

5. Error correction: write while saying the sounds of the letters 3 times.

lll. REVIEW: 2 min.  

1. Ask a question about the previous lesson to assess what needs to be reviewed.

2. Ask questions about previous lessons that may have a connection with the new lesson.

Ask questions about similar sounds or spellings, syllable division or types,  

or a similar rule or generalization.

IV. INTRODUCE A NEW LESSON  5 Min. An explanation of the concept is found at the top of the lesson.

Four Types of New Lessons - See below: STRATEGIES OF TEACHING 4 TYPES OF NEW LESSONS. 

1. A New Letter 

2. New Ways of Spelling Sounds or Spelling Generalizations and Rules. 

3. New Division Rule

4. New suffix or prefix 



1. The student should underline the new concept in all the words before reading.

2. The student may need to place a dot over each vowel or vowel team, then divide the word into syllables before reading the whole word.

3. For errors: the student writes the error 3 times while saying the SOUND of each letter.

4. The student will REREAD the entire word list or sentences when finished each section to increase fluency.


Vl. WRITING SOUNDS: How many ways can you spell...? 4 min. Writing: The Sound to Letter(s) connection.

1. You would say, for example, "Spell, ī ?" 

2. The student should say all the ways he/she has been taught to spell that sound

3. The student would say and write simultaneously: "i-e says i, i says i, y says i" 

4. A check-off sheet, found in the Notes on the Concepts download, is used to keep track of learned spellings of each sound.


Vll. WRITING WORDS 5 min.  Spelling new and reviewed concepts. 

Use the S.O.S spelling prompt card with each word or syllable: 

1. Say the word; the student will then repeat it. 

2. Work on one syllable at a time if necessary.

3. The student will TAP out each sound heard in the word or a syllable.

4. The student will SPELL the word out loud. If there is an alternate way of spelling the sound, simply ask him or her to think   about another way to spell that sound.

5. The student will WRITE the word while saying the letters aloud. 

6. The student will READ the word he or she has written.

7. REREAD all the words when the list is completed to increase fluency. 

8. For upper levels, Use the S.P.E.L.L. prompt to help the student think about spelling principles.

Vlll. WRITING SENTENCES: 5 min.  Note: the student is not responsible for underlined words. 

 Words with multiple ways of spelling a sound will be marked with an asterisk.  

1. Read the sentence to the student. 

2. The student repeats the sentence.

3. The student writes the sentence.

4. The student self-edits his or her work using the COPS card and checks off the boxes as each is completed.

5. Help the student find and correct any errors, then check off the box. 

6. REREAD each sentence after the corrections are made.

lX. READING BOOKS: 20 min. 

1. Read along with the student. Watch for misread, inserted or deleted words.

2. The student should point to each word or use a ruler for better fluency.

3. The student is responsible for words that contain concepts taught. If an unknown word arises, the student should use the context of the sentence as clues. Give the student words he or she would not be expected to know.

4. Check for comprehension with what, when, where, why, who, and how questions.  

5. REREAD sentences for fluency, or clarification. This will increase confidence! 

X. WRAP UP: 1 min. 

1. Turn over the LiteraSee card and ask the student, “What have you learned today”?

2. The student writes the concept on a piece of paper or an Exit ticket from memory.

3. Encourage the student to tell a parent, sibling, or friend about what he has learned to increase the memory of that concept further.


XI. DIAGNOSE AND PLAN: At the end of every lesson, note what the student needs to review and then plan for your next lesson.





NOTE: Start to teach sight words at the end of Level One.

1. Show the small black & white phonogram card. Keep this card visible throughout the lesson, then add it to the deck of known letters.

2. Auditory: Say the letter name, sound, and keyword. Have the student repeat it.

3. Ask if he/she thinks it is a vowel or consonant. See Pre-Lesson.

4. Visual: Show how to make the letter on a large piece of paper. Instruct how to form the letter. 

5. Kinesthetic: The student traces over the letter with a finger while saying the letter and the sound, 3 times.

6. The student then copies the letter (while saying the letter’s name, sound, and keyword) on a textured surface three times.

7. Next, the student writes the letter from memory without seeing the letter. Again, while saying the letter’s name, sound, and keyword three times.

2. NEW SOUND OR SPELLING CONCEPT: (digraphs, vowel teams, r-controlled, spelling rules): 

1. Start by making a connection to a previously learned concept. E.g., When teaching suffix -s, say, “You know that |s| sounds like /z/ between two vowels, well, there is another time that |s| can sound like /z/. Listen to these words...” 

2. Auditory: Giving 2-3 examples of easier words from the reading list, ask,  

“What is the same sound that you hear in all these words”? 

Have the student repeat the words to make sure he or she heard it correctly.

3. Visual: Write the words and then ask, “Which letter (or letters) do you think is making the sound ___? Or what do you notice about these words?

4. Show the LiteraSee card and explain the concept. Keep the visual card in sight throughout the lesson, then post it on the wall or trifold board for review.

5. Kinesthetic: The student writes and says the new sound three times in three different textured surfaces. (Nine times total) See Teaching Tools for multisensory ideas.



a. Auditory: 

1. How many syllables do you hear in these words? Choose 2-3 words from the reading list.

2. How many vowel sounds do you hear in each word?

b. Visual: Write on a whiteboard or use letter blocks or cards to divide manually.

1. Write the words and then ask the student to underline the vowel(s) that make one sound. 

2. Have the student locate the vowels between the consonants. Teach the division and type located at the top of the lesson plan.

3. Notice the vowel sounds and how they are affected by the division.

4. Review the syllable types made once the word is divided.

5. Show the LiteraSee card with an explanation of the concept. Keep the card in sight throughout the lesson, then post it on the wall for review

c. Kinesthetic: Using the new words list, the student will divide words into syllables with lettered tiles, your phoneme cards or divide directly on the lesson plan. Remember to locate the vowels first. 


1. Auditory: 

a. Give three words with the affix. Have the student repeat the words.

b. Ask what he hears the same in each word.

2. Visual: Write the words on a board. 

3. Kinesthetic: The student will underline the affix and tell what the base or root word is.

4. Give sentences with the word in it and ask how the affix has changed the word.

5. Show the LiteraSee card and give the meaning of the affix.

6. The student writes the affix three times in or on three different surfaces, spelling out loud & giving its meaning.