**This is a third semester course. Only learners who have completed the first two semesters will be able to enroll. Please contact me if you have questions. All students not meeting this criteria will be withdrawn from the course.**

This class is built on the Orton-Gillingham approach to instruction. It combines decades of the best reading science with strong practice and routines so students gain confidence and practice in a hands-on, integrated, and fun way. Each week, learners will focus on a new set of affixes or Greek and Latin Roots, practice new vocabulary, build reading fluency and comprehension, and practice new grammar and writing skills. Please see the detailed timeline below. While Orton-Gillingham instruction is beneficial for all learners, it is particularly helpful for learners with dyslexia.

Students will continue to develop, use, and maintain an interactive notebook as a reference for all parts of the class. Resources will be provided and also created with students so that this notebook becomes a living document representing what they know and have learned about the English language.

Classes will include games, slides, video clips, discussion, and interaction among learners. 

Classes will generally follow the following format, though there may be flexibility within each week, depending on the specific content.

Day 1: Review previously learned morphemes, learn new affixes or bases, and introduction of necessary spelling rules. This will be done through consistent, detailed review, manipulation of learned morphemes, introduction of new morphemes through exploration and analysis, and hands-on practice with writing, spelling, and creating words using these morphemes.

Day 2: Vocabulary, Fluency and Comprehension through the use of a quality text, rereading, and analyzing. Vocabulary from an appropriate text will be previewed to assist in vocabulary building and comprehension. Texts will be read and reread using a variety of activities designed to increase fluency. Texts will be from a variety of genres and selected to enhance previously learned skills. Finally, we will analyze and discuss the text using a variety of methods to help students improve retelling, sequencing, clarifying, making inferences, and other important comprehension skills. Each week the emphasis may be on a different element of these facets of reading, as each element works together to reinforce the others. 

Day 3: Writing: A new writing skill will be introduced and practiced. In addition, we will see a writing project develop over six weeks.  

New morphemes for each week, vocabulary strategy, grammar, and writing skills are outlined below:

Week 1: 
Morphemes: -ness
Comprehension Skill: Finding Evidence in Text
Writing Skill: Because…but…so
Writing Project: Brainstorm

Week 2:
Morphemes: en-
Fluency Skill—phrase scooping
Writing Skill: Sentence Types
Writing Project: Plan

Week 3:
Morphemes: Number prefixes
Vocabulary Skill: Prefix riddles
Writing Skill: Appositives
Writing Project: Draft

Week 4:
Morphemes: sec(t)
Comprehension skill: Poetry
Writing Skill: Scrambled sentences
Writing Project: Revise

Week 5:
Morphemes: ven(t), ven(i)
Vocab Skill: Antonym scales
Writing Skill: Combining sentences
Writing Project: Edit

Week 6: 
Morphemes: biblio, chrono
Vocabulary Skill: Structured Word Inquiry
Writing Project: Sharing our writing