Science of Reading

PREREQUISITE

Phonics First® Primary, Phonics First® Level I OR Structures Level I

COURSE HOURS

12 hours

APPROPRIATE AUDIENCE

Kindergarten through 12th grade: General Education, Special Education, intervention, resource

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This class complements instructional practices learned in Phonics First® Level I, Phonics First® Primary or Structures® Level I courses, with an in-depth focus on the science of teaching reading to all students. This research and knowledge enhances a teacher's ability to meet a broad range of student needs with added focus on struggling, at-risk readers, and students with dyslexia and learning differences. Teachers leave with a deeper understanding of how the brain learns to read and how to use that knowledge to implement effective teaching methods for decoding, language comprehension, and reading comprehension.

Throughout the two days, participants see components modeled and then practice with colleagues. This allows them to integrate this new learning with what they have already learned in the Phonics First®, Phonics First® Primary, and Structures®,courses.

Arkansas Educators This course, in conjunction with Phonics First® Level I or Structures® Level I, completes the Arkansas Science of Reading Requirements. Phonics First® Primary and Phonics First® Kindergarten do not meet the state requirements. Teachers who have taken Phonics First® Primary can complete the Level I course by taking the Phonics First® Completion Course (12 hours).

Participants learn the research & practical application of
  • Theoretical models of reading research and their impact on reading instruction
  • Simple View of Reading
  • Four-Part Mental Processor
  • Scarborough’s Rope
  • Chall’s Stages of Reading Development
  • Broader phonological and phonemic awareness development models
  • Phonological awareness screening tests
  • Permanent word storage within the brain and the impact for classroom instructional practices
  • Sound walls vs. traditional word walls
  • Orthographic Mapping and how to promote this essential skill
  • Fluency in the sub-skills of phonemic awareness and phonics
  • Expanded components of oral reading fluency instruction: accuracy, rate and prosody within the Phonics First® and Structures curriculum.
  • Building student’s background knowledge within the classroom
  • Lesson format to teach vocabulary
  • Strategies to teach the structure of the English Language
  • Instructional design to promote students' verbal reasoning and literacy knowledge