The Gillingham Manual

Remedial Training for Students with Specific Disability

in Reading, Spelling, and Penmanship

Anna Gillingham and Bessie W. Stillman

T
This classic in the field of specific language disability symbols used in the manual provide further assis-
has now been completely revised and updated. While tance. This edition of the manual conforms to the sys-
the principles and techniques of the Gillingham tem of pronunciation symbols used in the tenth edi-
method remain unchanged, the manual is now more tion of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.
readable and easier to use. It is also more appropriate
for older students and adults as well as for younger
children.
Contents
The Gillingham method may be used with individuals
or small groups. In this multisensory phonics tech- Preface to This Edition
nique, students first learn the sounds of letters, and Preface
then build these letter-sounds into words. Students 1. Preliminary Considerations
use visual, auditory, and kinesthetic associations to 2. Reading and Spelling with Phonetic Words
help themselves remember the concepts in three differ-
3. Words Phonetic for Reading but Not for Spelling
ent ways: for example, if their visual memory of a let-
ter is weak, the feel of writing the letter or saying it 4. Remedial Training for High School Students
and Adults
aloud can assist their recall.
5. Acquiring Familiarity with Sound Symbols
The manual covers reading and spelling (including a 6. Expressing Ideas in Writing
history of the English language that helps explain
7. Spelling Situations and Patterns
some of the curious spellings and pronunciations),
training for older students, acquiring familiarity with 8. Generalizations
sound symbols (letters and letter combinations), 9. Handwriting
spelling patterns and generalizations, handwriting, 10. Dictionary Technique
and dictionary technique. Throughout, the language Appendix
of the book has been updated while retaining the Glossary
important components of the Gillingham method.
Index
The Appendix has been greatly expanded. While the Guide to Pronunciation Symbols
original activities for auditory training and sound-
symbol association remain, the Appendix now
includes many helpful resources for the teacher. Tests
How the Gillingham Method Evolved
for assessing reading and spelling ability and phone-
mic awareness, a list of phonograms and their key Approximately one child in ten fails to learn to read,
words, letter formation charts, and a list of further write, or spell satisfactorily. The failure is often not
reading are some of the contents of the new Appendix. due to lack of intelligence or effort on the child’s part,
but to a specific language disability. Children with this
The index has been fully revised and updated to
disability frequently become confused and frustrated
make locating information easier. A glossary of
when taught by traditional methods.
Orton-Gillingham terms and a guide to pronunciation
Dr. Samuel Orton, a neurologist and researcher in the taught through a multisensory process of visual, audi-
field of language function, extensively studied the tory, and kinesthetic associations. As the visual stimu-
learning problems of children with reading disabilities. lus for an oral response, the phonogram is learned by
Working closely with Dr. Orton, Anna Gillingham the pronunciation of the key word to initiate the
developed and tested remedial techniques to use with sound. The word and the sound symbol of the phono-
these children. After careful evaluation, she described gram are printed on the back of the card. The phono-
her method and teaching techniques along with gram (with or without a picture of the key word) is
appropriate resource information in what has become printed on the front of the card. The student learns to
known as the Gillingham Manual. write the phonogram first by tracing, then by copying,
and finally by writing it from memory. With these
How the Gillingham Method Is Used cards, the student is able to build a word that he or
For many years, the Gillingham method has been used she has learned by repeating its series of sound units.
in language clinics associated with schools, universi- To aid in spelling, the teacher uses a sequence of yel-
ties, and hospitals throughout the country. Reading low cards, each of which has the sound symbol print-
specialists and remedial teachers have used the pro- ed on the front. The teacher pronounces the sound,
gram in special classes and for individual tutoring. and the student names the letter or letters that spell
The method has also been adapted for the classroom the sound. The response and key word are found on
to prevent reading disabilities from developing. It has the back of the card.
also been used successfully with illiterate adults.

The Technique of the Gillingham Method

This is a simple approach to phonics (alpha-phonetic).
The Gillingham technique is to teach the letters and
then build these letter-sounds into words. This tech-
nique is based on the close association of visual, audi-
tory, and kinesthetic elements, forming what is some-
times called the “language triangle.”

Grade Levels for Using the Manual

The techniques in the manual are organized with two
types of students in mind: first, remedial students who
boy \b\
have been attempting to read and failing for several
years; second, prereaders with the characteristics of
potential disability. The latter group forms the preven-
tive program.
The procedures in the manual are detailed for grades
three to six. Earlier grades can be taught by adapting
these techniques. Special programs for reteaching
older students and adults are given more attention in
this revised edition. The method is similar to that used
with younger students, but proceeds faster and is
more comprehensive.

Supplementary Materials
Phonics Drill Cards: The Phonics Drill Cards are organ- rescue \yü\
ized into three sets of separately numbered cards, each
set designated by a color: white indicates consonant
phonograms; salmon indicates vowel phonograms;
and yellow indicates sound symbols for spelling.
The consonant and vowel phonograms are introduced
in a structured order that follows the Gillingham
Manual’s teaching sequence. Each phonogram is Phonics Drill Cards (with pictures) : actual size is 3 x 5 inches
One pack of Drill Cards is recommended for each stu- Group I: Single consonants, long and short vowel
dent. sounds.
There are now two sets of Drill Cards: Group II: Consonant blends added.
• one set with pictures of the key words; Group III: Silent final E added.
• one set without pictures.
Group IV: Hard and soft C and G and diphthongs
The majority of the non-picture cards are unchanged, added.
though some of the key words have been revised and
updated to follow the new manual.
Teachers who already have a set of the 7th edition 1 1st group
cards may order a group of just those cards that have
new key words, which they may then insert into their
7th edition card decks, discarding the cards with old
key words. This will enable them to have the current
key words without having to buy a brand-new pack of
at 11 1st group
cards. This group of 26 cards is the Phonics Drill Cards
Update Deck.
Phonetic Word Cards: Basic to the Gillingham method is
the 565-card “Jewel Case” (as a student affectionately
named it), containing 43 groups of phonic sounds. The
hat
Jewel Case remains unchanged. Single words and
detached syllables are used to exemplify the important
patterns and generalizations found in reading and
spelling. The groups can be classified into six cate-
gories, each designated by a color. 184 z

Buff: One-syllable words of vowel-consonant-vowel

combinations, initial and final blends, and vowel-silent
E combinations.
Pink: Three-letter detached syllables to be learned as
zig zag
an aid to pronouncing difficult words that contain
186 z
these syllables.
Blue: Syllabified words to exemplify pronunciation
and spelling rules.
Buff: One-syllable words containing a vowel followed
by two consonants to emphasize pronunciation of the
jazz
long vowel sound.
Blue: Syllabified words to illustrate the common end-
ings.
Pink: Detached syllables containing blends to be Phonetic Word Cards: actual size is 2 3/4 x 4 inches
learned as an aid to pronouncing difficult words.
Selections from the stories are also printed in the
One box of Phonetic Word Cards is recommended for
Gillingham Manual. Nonphonetic words that the stu-
each student.
dent is not expected to know are underlined; the
Little Stories: This material consists of a series of pho- teacher should explain them before the student
netic stories that the student can begin reading as soon attempts to read the story.
as he or she has mastered a few basic principles. The
The Tea Cup Whale is also available.
stories are divided into four groups, each successive
group containing both previously learned and new
material.