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Orthographic Mapping Strategies

Strategies to help students develop a strong understanding of the relationship between sounds and letters.

Orthographic Mapping Strategies

Strategy Explanation

Example
Select high-frequency words for vocabulary instruction (mostly Tier 2)

Tier 2 words appear frequently in texts across all content areas and are commonly used in oral language.

Consider words that students may already have some level of schema for - do students have access to words they would need in order to understand the new word?  

Mortal - deadly
Fortunate - lucky
Benevolent - Kind

Select vocabulary words that offer opportunities to explore common roots & affixes

The more students explore common roots and affixes, the more likely they will be to apply that knowledge to learning new words.

Mortal: 

  • -Mort- = Death

  • -al = having characteristics of

Fortunate:

  • -fortune- = luck

  • -ate = adjective formation

Benevolent:

  • -Bene- = Good

  • -vol- = to wish or will

  • -ent = adjective formation

Teach common syllables

 Recognizing commonly-used syllables supports word recognition and increases reading fluency.

Mortal - mort/al

Fortunate - for/tun/ate

Benevolent - be/ne/vo/lent

Explore this resource for ideas.

Highlight letters that can make multiple sounds

There are very few “hard” rules for how letters are pronounced in the English language; some letters represent multiple sounds and some letters can be silent in a word.

During instruction, select words that might present challenges to orthographic mapping and explicitly teach this skill using a think-aloud.

The letter C

  • May sound like a “K”

    • Cake

    • Car

  • May sound like an “S”

    • Mince

    • Cinch

  • May make BOTH sounds in one word

    • Circle

    • Cycle

  • May be silent!

    • Scissors

    • Ascend

Engage with “Word Ladders” 

Making time to allow students to “play” with words helps them explore the orthographical mapping required to develop word knowledge.

Word: Mortal

  1. Remove one letter to make a word that means “principles of ‘right and wrong’” or “a lesson that teaches right from wrong.” (Moral)

  2. Replace one letter to form a word that means “small marine animals that form reefs.” (Coral)

  3. Add a letter to form a word that means “Sung or spoken in unison.” (Choral)

  4. Remove two letters to form a word that means “a group of musical notes played at the same time.” (Chord)

  5. Replace one letter with a new letter to form a word that means “A routine task; especially one done at home.” (Chore)

Now form a sentence that uses our original word and our final word. (There may be mortal consequences if I do not complete my chores today; my mom gets pretty angry when I don’t pick up my room.)

 

References

This guide is based on the following resources:

Beers, G. K. (2003b). When Kids Can’t Read, what Teachers Can Do: A Guide for Teachers, 6-12. Heinemann Educational Books.

Carreker, S., 1999, Gillingham and Stillman, Sakiey, L., 1980, & Martin, L., 1980. (n.d.). Syllabication activities. In Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades (pp. 191–199). https://www.readingrockets.org/sites/default/files/migrated/content/pdfs/syllabication.pdf

Rasinski, T. R. (2025). The Art and Science of Teaching Word Recognition (Phonics). Learning A-Z. Retrieved March 24, 2025, from https://www.learninga-z.com/site/resources/breakroom-blog/dr-rasinski-art-and-science-of-word-recognition-phonics