Course 2: Phonics for Paraprofessionals
Course 2: Phonics for Paraprofessionals
Until students can read, every word is a coded puzzle. Teachers help students crack the code through phonics instruction — that is, direct and explicit teaching of how the letters of the alphabet represent the sounds of language.
This phonics course offers expert strategies, videos, and explanations to help you put students on the path to skilled reading!
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Course Type
Free and Self-Paced
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Grade Level
K-3 Paraprofessionals
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Duration
3 Hours
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Certificate
Available upon successful completion for registered users
A Sneak Peak
Instructional coach Carla Miller models and practices with her students the step-by-step process for blending sounds into words.
This course includes lots of model teaching videos — like this one — for you to learn from.
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Carla Miller: Okay, friends. So today what we're going to do is we're going to start by drilling our deck. So what you need to do is take out your tracers. Okay. So we're going to go ahead and drill the card. Ready?
Ms. Miller and students: 's', snakes, /s/
Narrator: Today instructional coach Carla Miller will be working on blending sounds with her kindergartners. She begins the phonics lesson with a warm-up, running through flashcards with keyword pictures. This daily practice helps ensure children master the sound of each letter.
Ms. Miller and students: 'i', itch, /ĭ/
Ms. Miller: Who can raise their hand and tell me why is this a different color? Why is this a different color, Hadley?
Hadley: Because it's a vowel.
Ms. Miller: Tell me about a vowel. What's a vowel?
Hadley: It's something that has to be in a word.
Ms. Miller: Very good, very good. Let's keep going.
Ms. Miller and students: 'o', octopus, /ŏ/
Ms. Miller: I love those octopus arms.
Ms. Miller and students: 'm', man, /m/
Ms. Miller: Okay, you guys did that so well that we are going to try it with my itty-bitty baby deck. Okay? And this time there are no pictures. So we're just going to say the name of the letter and the sound. Are you ready?
Students: Yes.
Ms. Miller and students: 'z', /z/
Narrator: Next, she uses flashcards with no pictures to ensure the children can read the sound automatically in isolation.
Ms. Miller: Good.
Students: 'a', /ă/, 't', /t/, 'c', /c/
Narrator: Ms. Miller provides quick, direct, explicit instruction to correct errors.
Students: 'b' ...
Ms. Miller: Oh, let's look again. It says straight back, big belly, 'b'. Let's do it together.
Ms. Miller and students: 'b', /b/
Ms. Miller: Very good.
Ms. Miller and students: 'm', /m/
Ms. Miller: So what we're going to do today is we're going to have some fun making words. Are you ready to make words?
Students: Yes.
Ms. Miller: Okay, here we go. Some of the words are going to be real words, and some might be nonsense words. Who knows what a nonsense word is? Tell me, Ilia.
Iia: They're words that are not real.
Ms. Miller: Words that are not real. They do not make any sense. Avery already told us that our blue letters are different. What's different about the blue letters, Shane?
Shane: The vowels.
Ms. Miller: They're vowels. Very good. Okay, we're going to start by just reading a word. Okay. We're going to say each sound in the word, and then I'm going to move them a little bit closer together, and then we're going to say the sounds and then I'm going to move 'em a little closer together, but we're not going to read it until they are touching and I say "catch it." Are you ready?
Students: Yes.
Ms. Miller: Okay. So I want to hear everybody's voice. Let's do it.
Students: /s/, /ă/, /t/
Students: /s/, /ă/, /t/
Ms. Miller: [whispering] Listen for the word. Are you guys ready? We're going to catch it this time. They're touching.
Students: /s/, /ă/, /t/ ... sat.
Ms. Miller: Good. Okay. What word was that?
Students: Sat.
Ms. Miller: Sat. Okay. I want everybody to pay attention. I might ask you to read this same word. Okay. Ready? So what word was this one more time, Avery.
Avery: Sat.
Ms. Miller: Sat. What did I just do?
Ilia: Cat.
Ms. Miller: Good. What word did she read?
Hadley: Cat.
Ms. Miller: Good. What did I just do?
Narrator: Ms. Miller models and practices the step-by-step process for blending sounds into words. All the words she chooses for blending contain the sounds the children just practiced with their flashcards. Each child has an opportunity to do the work of blending sounds.
Ilia: /n/, /ĭ/, nip.
Ms. Miller: I love how you tapped that word out. Excellent. What word did she just read?
Students: nip ... nap ...
Ms. Miller: Well, let's tap it together.
Ms. Miller and students: /n/, /ĭ/, nip.
Ms. Miller: Excellent. What did I just do?
Avery: /d/, /ĭ/, /p/ ... dip.
Ms. Miller: Excellent. I'm moving over here to you. What word did he read?
Hadley: Dip.
Ms. Miller: What word do we have now?
Hadley: Hip.
Ms. Miller: Excellent. What word is this?
Shane: Hip.
Ms. Miller: Hip. Good. I'm going to change my vowel in the middle again. Are you ready?
Shane: Hop.
Ms. Miller: Hop. Excellent. We're going ...
Narrator: Children work at their own pace. Some do the work of tapping and blending aloud. Some do it in their heads.
Ms. Miller: Ilia, what word?
Ilia: Bop.
Ms. Miller: Okay. What's this word?
Ilia: /m/, /ŏp/ ... /m/, /ŏp/, ... /m/, mop.
Ms. Miller: Excellent. I love how you pulled it together at the end. Let's go ahead as a group. Can everybody see my words?
Students: Yeah.
Ms. Miller: Okay. We might run into some crazy nonsense words. Okay? Silly words that don't make sense while I do this, but let's do it. We're going to tap and read.
Ms. Miller and students: /m/, / ĭ/, /p/ ... mip ...
Narrator: The lesson ends with more practice with everyone tapping and reading words together.
Ms. Miller: Let's look at this one more time. This is a straight back, big belly. What letter is this?
Students: 'b'
Ms. Miller: What sound does 'b' make?
Students: /b/
Ms. Miller: Let's try that again.
Ms. Miller and students: /b/, /ĭ/, /p/ ... bip
Ms. Miller: Good. Is that a real word or a nonsense word?
Students: Nonsense.
Ms. Miller: All day long. Let's go to the next one.
Ms. Miller and students: /h/, / ĭ/, /p/ ... hip
Ms. Miller: Hip. Good. Real or nonsense?
Students: Real.
Ms. Miller: Real. Put your hands on your hips. Excellent. You guys did an amazing job blending our words. You're such great readers. I love it. Give yourself a little shine. Shine. I'll give you shine ...
Narrator: Enjoy this video? Don't forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel @RUTeaching. For more information, please visit ReadingUniverse.org. Special thanks to Burgess-Peterson Academy and Atlanta Public Schools. Reading Universe is made possible by generous support from Jim & Donna Barksdale, the American Federation of Teachers, the Emily Hall Tremaine Foundation, and three anonymous donors. Reading Universe is a service of WETA, Washington, D.C., the Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book.
Ms. Miller: This is Reading Universe.
Course Overview: Phonics for Paraprofessionals
What You Will Learn
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1
How to decode new words using phonics patterns
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2
Which teaching strategies are most effective for helping students learn to decode simple and multisyllabic words
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3
How to help struggling readers address skill gaps like phoneme awareness within phonics lessons
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4
What feedback is most helpful to students for quickly and effectively correcting decoding errors
1
How to decode new words using phonics patterns
2
Which teaching strategies are most effective for helping students learn to decode simple and multisyllabic words
3
How to help struggling readers address skill gaps like phoneme awareness within phonics lessons
4
What feedback is most helpful to students for quickly and effectively correcting decoding errors
Course Preview
Recommended for
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Meet the Author Deborah Glaser, Ed.D.
See Dr. Glaser’s Full BioDr. Deborah Glaser is a consultant, author, and teacher-educator beloved for enriching teachers' knowledge of reading and for her proven instructional methods. Following her teaching career, she directed the educational arm of a nonprofit dyslexia learning center, Lee Pesky Learning Center, where she developed programs to teach teachers and students.
Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book Hide Video Transcript Show Video Transcript
Hi, I'm Dr. Deb Glaser. I've been an educator for my whole career. First as a teacher and now as a writer, researcher, and teacher educator. A student with dyslexia once told me, "if you don't know how to read, you don't have a life." I've spent my whole adult life doing everything I can to help ensure that every child has the chance to read and to have the kind of rewarding life that reading makes possible. I wrote my first book for educators back in 1997. Since then, I've worked with thousands of students and educators across the country, and I've learned a lot. Teaching reading is really hard, and while I believe that just about every child is capable of reading, I now know that many children need a team of well-trained professionals to help them learn to read, not just a single teacher. Paraeducators like you can play a critical role. That's why I've joined forces with Reading Universe. Together we've produced this series of five parareading courses that cover the most critical information and strategies that you'll need to become a skilled reading teacher. This course focuses on one of the core skills that every student needs to master — phonics.
Questions About This Course
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Do I need to purchase specific textbooks or other supplies to take this course?
You do not need to purchase a textbook however, you will need to print or make your own phonics flash cards using index cards and markers in the second lesson of the course. Some activities also ask you to use paper and pencil for writing and/or worksheets that you may choose to print.
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Are there any prerequisites for taking this course?
Although there are no prerequisites for taking this course, we do recommend taking the five courses in the ParaReading series in order — beginning with Course 1: Phoneme Awareness for Paraprofessionals. That’s because the content of each course builds on concepts and skills presented in earlier courses in the series.
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Do I need to work with other people while taking this course?
This course can be completed entirely on your own. That said, there are several practice activities — like roleplays — that encourage you to work with one of your own colleagues, friends, or family members. None of these activities are graded and you can decide whether or not to do the activity on your own or with a partner.
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What grade do I need to pass the class and earn my certificate?
You need to achieve an 80% or higher on the end-of-course quiz to earn a certificate of completion.
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Where do I access my certificate?
You can find and download your certificate on your Reading Universe profile dashboard. It shows up automatically after you pass the end-of-course-quiz with a grade of 80% or higher.
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Do I get a certificate if I don’t sign in?
No. To get the certificate, you must register for an account and be signed into your account when you take the end-of-course quiz.
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Can I receive professional development credit for taking this course?
Reading Universe offers a certificate of completion for three hours of training time. You will need to check with your school district administrators to find out what credit, if any, is available to you for completing this course.
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Do you have other courses for teaching reading for paraprofessionals?
Yes! This course is one of a collection of five courses on teaching reading that are specifically written for paraprofessionals. Other courses cover phoneme awareness, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Visit the course series page to learn more about these courses.
Reading Universe also has skill explainers covering for all of the phonological skills.
Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on future course offerings!
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![Kiesha Griffin from Literacy Academy Collective, Bronx, NY with her student.]()
“I want to be a teacher where I equip every student to learn, to investigate the world, ask questions, and not be afraid to learn and read and be a math whiz or a science whiz.”
Kiesha Griffin Literacy Academy Collective, Bronx, NY
