This professional development course is designed for educators seeking to enhance their understanding and instructional practices in phonics and word study. Using Teaching Phonics and Word Study in the Intermediate Grades by Wiley Blevins as a foundational text, participants will explore practical, research-based strategies for developing students' decoding, spelling, and vocabulary skills. The course provides a comprehensive look at how phonics and word recognition intersect with fluency and comprehension, offering tools and techniques that can be applied across a range of grade levels and literacy needs. Through collaborative discussion, hands-on activities, and reflective practice, teachers will gain the confidence and skills to support diverse learners in becoming proficient and independent readers. While this book was written with intermediate grades as a focus, the skills learned are applicable K-8.

Required Text:

• Teaching Phonics & Word Study in the Intermediate Grades, 3rd Edition by Wiley Blevins

Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Identify and apply research-based phonics and word study instructional strategies to enhance decoding and spelling abilities in K-8 students.
• Integrate phonics instruction with reading fluency and comprehension skills in lesson plans that support students’ ability to read and understand grade-level texts.
• Reflectively evaluate their current instructional approaches to phonics and word study and create an action plan to adapt their teaching methods to meet the diverse needs of K-8 learners, fostering independent reading skills in all students.