Powerful Interventions to Guide Struggling Readers
(Grades K-3) / Flex Course
PDI Course Number: 122T02 / UCSD Course Number: EDUC40389
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 is designed to take K-3 teachers through an intensive step-by-step approach to reading interventions as they pertain to the five areas of literacy. This course begins by introducing teachers 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 as a means to diagnose students’ reading deficits, as well as how to set data-driven goals for student success. By the end of this course, teachers will feel more confident and successful in their quest to implement research-based reading interventions into their own teaching practices. This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units/5 quarter units (50 hours of training) from UC San Diego Extension. For detailed information on university credit, click here.
"I thought this course was excellent. I learned more from these resources than I did from my Master's class resources." - Sherri Smith
Only $127 with the discount
Course with Credit from UCSD Extension
Only $323 with the discount
This course is worth 3 ⅓ semester units or 5 quarter units of graduate-level credit from UC San Diego.
You have up to one year from the date you are enrolled to complete a flex course.
Print our customized course approval form to share with your school district.
Required Resource Book
This course has a modestly-priced required resource book (available in both new and used versions) that can be purchased through Amazon using the following link. Note that you can begin and participate in your course before the book arrives.
Teaching Word Recognition: Effective Strategies for Students with Learning Difficulties by Rollanda E. O’Connor
If you are registering for multiple courses, use the following link to access the book list for all PDI courses with direct purchase links through Amazon. PDI Course Resource Book List
- Why Students Struggle
- Tiers of Intervention
- Why Interventions Work
- Assignment #1: Write an autobiography
- Test #1
- 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
- Understanding Sound-Symbol Relationships
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Phonics
- Interventions for Common Phonics Challenges
- Assignment #3: Share your expertise
- Test #3
- Three Tiers of Words
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Vocabulary
- Interventions for Common Vocabulary Challenges
- Test #4
- The Importance of Fluency in Literacy
- Using Assessment as a Diagnostic Tool for Fluency
- Interventions for Common Fluency Challenges
- Test #5
- 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: Reading/Learning Log (Based on required resource book)
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