Powerful Interventions to Guide Struggling Readers
(Grades K-3) / Flex Course
PDI Course Number: 122T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC40389
Course Description
Are you wondering what the phrase the “Big Five” means and how it relates to your students’ literacy development? Perhaps you’ve heard the term before but are unaware of all that it entails? This online course for teachers is designed to take K-3 educators through an intensive step-by-step approach to reading interventions as they pertain to the five areas of literacy. This course begins by discussing why students may struggle with reading and then goes right into the basics of intervention as well as tiers of intervention. Next, teachers are introduced to the role that phonemic awareness plays as a foundation for students’ later literacy skills. As teachers progress through the course, they will take a deep dive into each of the five areas of literacy and will learn specific intervention strategies for addressing student deficits in the areas of phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Teachers will learn how to effectively implement each of the discussed strategies within their own literacy programs, and they will learn how to successfully implement and use assessment to diagnose students’ reading deficits, as well as how to set data-driven goals for student success. By the end of this continuing education course, teachers will feel more confident and successful in their quest to implement research-based reading interventions into their own teaching practices. This online professional development course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from University of California San Diego (UCSD) Division of Extended Studies. For detailed information on receiving university credit for your PDI professional development course, visit our credit page.
Need help? Kimya Nabavi, PDI Program Coordinator, is ready to assist.
"I thought this course was excellent. I learned more from these resources than I did from my Master's class resources." - Sherri Smith
This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units or 5 quarter units of graduate-level credit from UCSD.
You have up to one year from the date you are enrolled to complete a flex course.
View the online course syllabus.
Print our customized course approval form to share with your school district.
TOPICAL OUTLINE
UCSD Course Number: EDUC40389
Unit One
- Why Students Struggle
- Tiers of Intervention
- Why Interventions Work
- Assignment #1: Write an autobiography
- Test #1
Unit Two
- Stages of Phonemic Awareness
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Phonemic Awareness
- Interventions for Common Phonemic Awareness Challenges
- Assignment #2: Article reflection
- Test #2
Unit Three
- Understanding Sound-Symbol Relationships
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Phonics
- Interventions for Common Phonics Challenges
- Assignment #3: Share your expertise
- Test #3
Unit Four
- Three Tiers of Words
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Vocabulary
- Interventions for Common Vocabulary Challenges
- Test #4
Unit Five
- The Importance of Fluency in Literacy
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Fluency
- Interventions for Common Fluency Challenges
- Test #5
Unit Six
- Levels of Comprehension
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Comprehension
- Interventions for Common Comprehension Challenges
- Assignment #4: Create Big Five lesson plans
- Assignment #5: Course Reflection
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