Foundational Skills

  • Description
  • Files

This pilot course dives into the content of literacy foundational skills, with an emphasis on phonological awareness, phonics, and how these connect to early reading.  Instructional guidelines and concrete recommendations for teacher practice are also explored.

Course Details

Start Date:10/06/2020 
End Date: 11/16/2020 
Duration: 6 weeks 
Cost: free/pilot
Primary Audience: K-2 ELA/Literacy Teachers  who have not already taken our 7-part mini-course
Certificate: A certificate showing 12 hours of professional learning is available up course completion. Please reach out to your school district to ensure they will accept it. 


Register here.

 See the accordion below to review the requirements, pacing, and syllabus. 

  • Course Goals
    • Learn how to define and explain phonological and phonemic awareness.
    • Learn concrete instructional moves to support phonics instruction.
    • Learn how to leverage decodable readers to support phonics skills acquisition. 
    • Learn how to distinguish between strong and weak practice opportunities for students. 
  • Course Requirements

    To successfully complete this course and earn your certificate showing 12 hours of professional learning, you must complete the following: 

    • Take the pre-survey
    • Watch all videos
    • Complete all embedded interactive activities
    • Submit all assignments
    • Participate in all the discussion boards 
    • Take the post-survey
  • Course Pacing

    Because this is a self-paced course, you have the freedom to complete the course within a few days or within the six weeks timeframe. However, our recommended pacing is that you spend approximately three hours on each of the four modules over the span of four weeks. 

  • Course Syllabus

    Module 1: Phonological Awareness

    By the end of the unit, you will be able to:

    • Identify the components of foundational skills.
    • Distinguish key areas of focus by grade level.
    • 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 2: Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, and Student Writing

    By the end of the unit, you will be able to:

    • Identify how phonemic awareness connects to phonics instruction.
    • Distinguish how and why phonics patterns must be addressed sequentially.
    • Identify concrete instructional moves to support phonics instruction in the classroom.
    • Connect phonics instruction to students’ writing and spelling.

     Module 3: The Reading Process and Decodable Texts

    By the end of the unit, you will be able to:

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

     Module 4: How Practice and Assessment Can Support the Development of Skilled Reading

    By the end of the unit, you will be able to:

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