Build your understanding of reading foundational skills through this seven-part professional learning mini-course. Delve into the components of foundational skills: (print concepts, phonological awareness, phonics and word recognition, and fluency) and identify concrete moves to support student learning and practice.

Certificates verifying professional learning credit hours are available for those who access the “on-demand” version of each module.

Module 1: Foundational Nuts and Bolts

• Identify the components of foundational skills.
• Distinguish key areas of focus by grade level.
• Understand the structure and content of the Foundational Skills Mini-Course.

Module 2: Phonological Awareness:

• Define and explain phonological and phonemic awareness.
• Identify and explain the purpose of tasks and games meant to build phonemic awareness.
• Identify the relationship between phonemic awareness and reading proficiency.

Module 3: Phonics Part 1

• Identify how phonemic awareness connects to phonics instruction.
• Distinguish how and why phonics patterns must be addressed sequentially.

Module 4: Phonics Part 2

• Identify concrete instructional moves to support phonics instruction in the classroom.
• Connect phonics instruction to students’ writing and spelling.

Module 5: Early Reading

• Identify how decodable readers support phonics skills acquisition.
• Identify instructional recommendations for use, including the protocol for use of decodable readers.

Module 6: Practice, Practice, Practice

• Explain why and how practice is essential to student skill development.
• Distinguish between strong and weak practice opportunities for students.
• Identify ways to support fluency instruction from K-2 and beyond.

Module 7: Assessment

• Explain why assessment is critical to then teaching of foundational skills.
• Identify ways to assess daily and weekly that are swift and easy to implement in the classroom.