Reading and writing are crucial skills, not just within the confines of a classroom, but in life. The ability to read helps children communicate, comprehend their course curricula, become independent learners, and have access to career opportunities.

Strong literacy instruction starts with effective leadership. Principals and administrators play a key role in aligning instruction with the Science of Reading and fostering student success. This professional development equips school leaders with the tools to evaluate, improve, and sustain evidence-based literacy programs.

3 Literacy CEUs
This course helps teachers meet the standards North Carolina State Board of Education related to Literacy including evidence-based assessment, diagnosis, and intervention strategies for students not demonstrating reading proficiency, grounded in the Science of Reading, as defined in G.S. 115C-83.3.

Assessment is a key aspect of teaching methodologies. It helps teachers monitor their students’ progress over time, identify the strengths and weaknesses in their understanding and skills, evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching practices and curriculum materials, and inform important educational decisions. It is not without its challenges: time constraints and the need to avoid biases in student evaluations and align them with standards can make it difficult for teachers to properly assess their students. The new research on the Science of Reading (SoR) is shaping literacy education across the country. As teachers start using these approaches to instruction, we need assessments that align to those approaches. This course introduces reading assessments in all areas of the Science of Reading.

Mastery of instructional practices in reading provides teachers with the necessary tools to deliver high-quality instruction. New research on the Science of Reading (SoR) is shaping how schools are approaching literacy education. Emphasis on explicit and systematic teaching methods is now a core aspect of teaching students to read. By understanding these methodologies and strategies, teachers create engaging and effective lessons that cater to the diverse needs of all students. Proficiency in reading is also foundational to academic success across all subjects. When teachers hone their evidence-based structured literacy practices, they can better support students in developing essential literacy skills, which are fundamental for comprehension, critical thinking, and communication.

Content area reading and writing enables students to engage with subject-specific materials effectively. By developing strong reading comprehension and writing skills, children can better understand complex concepts and theories, and think critically about the information they encounter. The new research on the Science of Reading (SoR) is shaping how we teach students to understand content across subject areas. This course is a spotlight on reading comprehension and vocabulary instruction across subjects.

Reading is a crucial life skill: it equips children with the ability to communicate, think critically, navigate the world independently, access information, and acquire knowledge from multiple sources. Effective reading instruction is based on a range of needs, the complexity of language, developmental variation among students, continual assessment and adjustment. In this course, educators learn to implement evidence-based structured literacy practices that can transform students into master readers. The course provides an overall understanding of Science of Reading (SoR) and how it influences the classroom with a focus on systematic and phonetic reading instruction.