In module 2, you will learn the whys and the hows behind helping students develop phonemic proficiency. We’ll unpack five common misunderstandings that can get in the way of effective phonemic awareness instruction. You’ll learn which phonemic awareness tasks are most important to teach. We’ll also help you bridge the science into practice with seven high-leverage instructional routines you can rely on immediately. From studying a phonemic awareness progression to practicing a full range of essential exercises for beginning readers, this module will boost your expertise and confidence in phonemic awareness instruction.

In Module 3 we explore what “explicit and systematic phonics” really means. We’ll begin by clearing up five of the many misunderstandings about how to teach the alphabetic code that is our English language. You will come away understanding the relationship between the way you teach phonics and the way children organize phonetic information in their brains. You will learn a progression of phonics acquisition and how to pair this progression with formative assessment to inform instruction that leads to mastery. Finally, you’ll learn simple but high-leverage instructional routines that position you to plan targeted, effective, and engaging instruction.

Get ready to rethink everything you thought you knew about teaching sight words! This module will challenge you to rethink sight word instruction from the inside out! You will ultimately learn to depend on a magical (and science-informed) word learning strategy that maximizes the brain’s four-part processing system. Module 4 introduces the concepts of orthographic mapping and lexical quality, and shows you X practical ways to leverage these powerful insights into the reading brain to make learning any words easier for children. We feel confident you’ll leave this module equipped with new understandings and excited to rethink high-frequency word instruction.

Push-back against the three-cueing systems centers around how we teach and prompt students to respond at the point of difficulty when reading. In Module 5, we’ll take an honest look at what can (and has) gone wrong when we teach children to rely on picture cues, language structures, or contextual guessing rather than relying on print as a primary source of information. Then we’ll suggest a reinvention of our prompting priorities to align with what science suggests beginning readers need from us. You’ll leave this module with a fresh appreciation for maximizing orthographic processing opportunities for beginning readers.

In this final module, all of the learning from the previous modules comes together to support the critical task of text selection and its connection to foundational skills. We’ll examine the strengths and weaknesses of both patterned and decodable texts and show you how aligned texts can become the missing link between instruction and the application of beginning reading skills. In the high-leverage routines, you will learn X instructional moves that will help you find and use the best texts for the readers in front of you. In this final module,  we’ll also support you in synthesizing your learning from across all six shifts, putting it together into a cohesive plan of action that is aligned with science and keeps joyful instruction at the center.