Course 1: Phoneme Awareness for Paraprofessionals

This course is all about phonemes, the smallest speech sounds that make up our language. Phoneme awareness will help your students become readers!

We designed this course to be fun, insightful, and hands-on to give you the know-how you need to help your students learn to read!

And, it’s free!

Course Type

Free and Self-Paced
Grade-Level

K-3 Paraprofessionals
Duration

3 Hours
Certificate

Available upon successful completion for registered users

A Sneak Peek

In this video, reading specialist DeAngela Huggins from Burgess-Peterson Academy in Atlanta uses word play to help her students learn about phonemes, the littlest sounds of language that we blend into words — like the /j/ sound you hear at the beginning of the word jump, and the /ă/ sound in the middle of the word cat.

This course includes lots of model teaching videos — like this one — for you to learn from.

Video thumbnail for Blending Phonemes with DeAngela Huggins — Produced by Reading Universe, a partnership of WETA, Barksdale Reading Institute, and First Book

Course Overview: Phoneme Awareness for Paras

What You Will Learn

1

Which concepts and skills your students need to know about phonemes to become skilled readers
2

How to use a variety of teaching strategies to help your specific students strengthen their phoneme awareness
3

How to give helpful feedback to each student so they can correct reading mistakes
4

How to communicate with your lead teacher about students’ reading progress and needs

Course Preview

Recommended for

Kindergarten - 3rd Grade Paras

Meet the Author Deborah Glaser, Ed.D.

Dr. 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.

See Dr. Glaser’s Full Bio

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 adult life. First, as a classroom teacher and learning disability specialist, and now as a writer, researcher, and creator of professional development material about teaching young children to read. Throughout my career, I've had the chance to work closely with the paraprofessionals who play such a vital role in helping our students to succeed. Now, I've joined forces with Reading Universe to develop an entire set of courses for paraeducators because we all share a common goal to ensure that every educator can be better prepared to help our students to read and write well. I've dedicated my career to separating fact from fiction when it comes to teaching reading. In this series, we're aiming to present the best research-based strategies to demonstrate how to use those strategies in your classroom, and to give you a chance to develop your own practice. This course focuses on one of the core skills that students need to master — phoneme awareness.

Questions About This Course

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.
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.
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.
Where do I access my certificate?

You can find and download your certificate on your Reading Universe profile dashboard (opens in new window). It shows up automatically after you pass the end-of-course-quiz with a grade of 80% or higher.
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 in to your account when you take the end-of-course quiz.
Do I need to purchase specific textbooks or other supplies to take this course?

You do not need to purchase specific textbooks or other supplies to complete this course. All course activities only require basic, on-hand items — like scraps of paper and a pencil.
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 role-plays — 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.
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 phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. To learn more about these courses, click here.
Reading Universe also has skill explainers covering additional phonological awareness skills including articulation, syllable awareness, and onset-rime.
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“I mainly work with kindergartners, and I am excited to try the Elkonin boxes with phonemes. I have seen them before, but I was not shown how to use them. I also plan to use some of the games I learned in this training. Especially the head, waist, knees. Sometimes manipulatives can be distracting so this game seems very easy and interactive.”

Misty Chase Paraprofessional

Course 1: Phoneme Awareness for Paraprofessionals