What Does S.O.S Mean and Why is it Important?

What does S.O.S mean and why is it important? 

S.O.S stands for simultaneous oral spelling and is a crucial part of the Orton-Gillingham lesson. It is a multi-sensory approach to spelling. 

How to S.O.S: When you come to the spelling portion of your lesson, you will dictate a word to the student and the student will dictate it back to you. Then the student will tap out the sounds either on their fingers (traditional), the desk, by hitting the wrist to the palm, or on the arm. There are many different ways to tap out the sounds. Figure out which way your student likes best! Most older students prefer to tap the sounds out on their leg under a desk. After pronouncing the sounds of the word, then the student will say the letters and write the word on paper. If spelling a multi-syllable word, S.O.S the first syllable first and then the second syllable. If spelling a word with a suffix, separate the base word from the suffix and spell it first. Then add your suffix.

Without S.O.S many of my students would have a more difficult time spelling and would have more mistakes. After teaching them the S.O.S strategy through tutorial that was diagnostic, structured, and systematic their spelling dramatically improved! 

You can do S.O.S at home! If you are a parent, you can reinforce the S.O.S strategy at home!

Don't forget about those non phonetic words that we call red words! These words cannot be sounded out using S.O.S and have to be practiced in a different manner! I will post about red words shortly! 

Grab these S.O.S and C.O.P.S posters in my TpT store!