Helping Students Read
(Instructor-Led WORKSHOP)

Teacher seated next to a student pointing at the student's work seated next to her at a desk that is concentrating while holding a pencil writing.

Introduction to the Module

This workshop presents key ideas, drawn from the latest research, on how students learn to read and how educators can help students become good readers. Using this module as a guide, you’ll have enough knowledge and confidence to help teach reading as part of a student’s instructional team.

There are 9 units. Each includes a variety of learning activities: 

  • Make real life connections… through scenarios and reflective exercises.

  • READ… an overview that summarizes the major ideas presented in the unit

  • WATCH… a slideshow that presents relevant information in a varied format.

  • ENGAGE… with specific content that supports and strengthens your understanding.

  • Get introduced to relevant online resources… many of the units also include documents providing links to relevant on-line resources. 

Throughout the text, you will see letters between slashes, such as /a/. The slashes are called virgules and indicate use of the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) to represent sounds.

You can find a helpful guide to reading and using the IPA at https://www.internationalphoneticalphabet.org/ipa-sounds/ipa-chart-with-sounds/.

Breznitz, Z. (2006). Fluency in reading: Synchronization of processes. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers. 

 

Hall, T., Meyer, A., & Rose, D. (2012). Universal design for learning in the classroom: Practical applications. Guilford Press.  

 

López, F. A. (2017). Altering the trajectory of the self-fulfilling prophecy: Asset-based pedagogy and classroom dynamics. Journal of Teacher Education, 68(2), 193–212. 

 

 Whitehurst, G., & Lonigan, C. (1998). Child development and emergent literacy. Child Development, 69(3), 848-872.  

 

Willingham, D.T. (2017). The reading mind: A cognitive approach to understanding how the mind reads. Jossey-Bass. 

 

Kilpatrick, D. A. (2016). Equipped for reading success: A comprehensive program for developing phonemic awareness and fluent word recognition. Casey & Kirsch Publishers.  

 

Knoop-van Campen, C. A. N., Segers, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2018). How phonological awareness mediates the relation between working memory and word reading efficiency in children with dyslexia. Dyslexia, 24(2), 156–169. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1583  

 

Kuhn, M.R., & Schwanenflugel, P. J. (2019). Prosody, pacing, and situational fluency (or why fluency matters for older readers). Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 62(4), 363– 368. 

 

Lederberg, A. R., Branum-Martin, L., Webb, M.-Y., Schick, B., Antia, S., Easterbrooks, S. R., & Connor, C. M. (2019). Modality and interrelations among language, reading, spoken phonological awareness, and fingerspelling. Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 24(4), 408–423. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/enz011  

 

Marzano, R. J., Gaddy, B. B., & Dean, C. (2000). What works in classroom instruction. Midcontinent Research for Education and Learning.  

 

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., & Pollock, J. E. (2001). Classroom instruction that works: Research-based strategies for increasing student achievement. ACSD. 

 

Miller, E. M., Lederberg, A. R., & Easterbrooks, S. R. (2013). Phonological awareness: Explicit instruction for young deaf and hard-of-hearing children. The Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education, 18(2), 206–227. https://doi.org/10.1093/deafed/ens067 

 

National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD), NIH, DHHS. (2000). Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching children to read. U.S. Government Printing Office.  

 

O’Reilly, T., Wang, Z., & Sabatini, J. (2019). How much knowledge Is too little? When a lack of knowledge becomes a barrier to comprehension. Psychological Science, 30(9), 1344– 1351. 

 

 Sabatini, J., Wang, Z., & O’Reilly, T. (2019). Relating reading comprehension to oral reading performance in the NAEP fourth-grade special study of oral reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 54(2), 253– 271. 

 

Saddler, B. (2005). Sentence combining: A sentence-level writing intervention. The Reading Teacher, 58(5), 468-471. 

 

Seidenberg, M. S., & McClelland, J. L. (1989). A distributed, developmental model of word recognition and naming. Psychological Review, 96(4), 523-568. 

 

 

The Core Competencies for Special Education Paraeducators from the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC) provide a structured framework for ensuring that paraeducators are adequately prepared to support students with disabilities in various educational settings. By focusing on the four key areas of collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral development, and instruction, these competencies align with the High Leverage Practices (HLPs) for special educators. These practices are critical for fostering effective, inclusive educational experiences for all students.

 

By completing the module, Helping Students Read, paraeducators will work towards the core competency of instruction, improving their skills and knowledge as they learn how to work closely with teachers, administrators, students, parents, and related services personnel to implement individualized instructional supports for students. Effective instruction should be guided by the educator and ensure that the paraeducator understands the specific science-based approaches approved and required to meet the needs of students with disabilities and those struggling to read. The following core competencies are used as the base of this module.

K3.1 Purposes of supports, services and specially designed instruction which provide access to general education reading curriculum
K3.4 Individual learner characteristics as the primary basis for instructional programming 

S3.1 Access credible and reliable websites and resources to expand understanding of special
education services and reading resources and students with disabilities under the guidance of the instructional team
S3.2 Support a safe and equitable learning environment that honors diverse literacy needs and inclusion under the guidance of the instructional team

S3.5 Prepare and organize materials to support teaching and learning as directed by the
instructional team

K5.1 Concepts of differentiated instruction, accommodations, modifications, High Leverage
Practices, specially designed instruction and the science of reading
K5.2 Instructional strategies and literacy instructional technology to support the individual student’s
learning

S5.1 Demonstrate proficiency in academics including oral and written communication and literacy, appropriate to the job assignment
S5.2 Follow written instructional plans provided by the instructional team, seeking clarification and training as needed
S5.3 Communicate relevant information about the student with disabilities to the instructional
team
S5.4 Support the use of effective and culturally responsive instructional strategies in literacy as directed by the instructional team
S5.5 Review and reinforce learning activities, essential concepts, and modified content as directed by the instructional team
S5.6 Use instructional time effectively
S5.7 Modify pace of instruction and provide organizational cues under the guidance of the
instructional team
S5.8 Make responsive adjustments to instruction under the guidance of the instructional team
S5.9 Provide least intrusive levels of support, fade support, and fade physical proximity from
students with disabilities under the guidance of the instructional team

Goal 1: Build Foundational Understanding of Reading and Learner Differences

Paraeducators will develop a strong understanding of how reading develops as part of language acquisition, including the role of phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension, and how individual learner characteristics and experiences with reading influence instruction and access to the general education reading curriculum.

Goal 2: Support Evidence-Based Reading Instruction Across the Components of Literacy

Paraeducators will apply knowledge of the science of reading to support instruction in phonemic awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension, using appropriate instructional strategies, literacy technology, and materials as directed by the instructional team to meet diverse learner needs.

Goal 3: Implement Inclusive, Strategic, and Collaborative Literacy Practices

Paraeducators will help create a safe, inclusive, and equitable literacy environment by supporting strategic reading before, during, and after instruction, following written instructional plans, communicating relevant student information, and accessing credible resources to strengthen their understanding of literacy instruction and special education services.

Goal 4: Adjust and Fade Literacy Supports to Promote Independence

Paraeducators will provide just-right literacy supports by adjusting pacing, using organizational cues, making responsive instructional adjustments, and fading prompts and physical proximity to promote student independence, confidence, and engagement as readers.

 

12 hours

We suggest that it would be best for paraeducators and educators (who support them) to complete this workshop in tandem. 

Some OPEPP partnering districts create professional learning communities (PLCs) where paraeducators meet up regularly to share what they have learned from the OPEPP modules.  This is a productive practice that has increased para engagement in their professional development.  

Your team of educators can use the reflections after each unit to summarize your learning and ideas and come together to grow in your understanding of best practices around helping students read. 

Helping Students Read
(Instructor-Led WORKSHOP)

0%
  • Workshop Information
  • Unit 1: All About Reading      Please Pre-Read Ahead of the Week One Zoom Meeting 
    • Lesson 4: Summary and Videos
  • Unit 2: Reading and Language Development
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Reading and Language 
    • Lesson 6: Summary
  • Unit 3: Phonemic Awareness
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Phonemic Awareness
    • Weekly Workshop Assignment A: Reflection on Reading and Language and Phonemic Awareness
  • Unit 4: Decoding: The Basics
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Decoding: The Basics
    • Lesson 6: Summary and References
  • Unit 5: Decoding: The Next Steps
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Decoding: The Next Steps
    • Weekly Workshop Assignment B: Reflection on Decoding: The Basics and Next Steps
  • Unit 6: Reading Fluency
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Reading Fluency
    • Lesson 7: Summary
  • Unit 7: Reading Comprehension: Nonfiction
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Reading Comprehension: Nonfiction
    • Weekly Workshop Assignment C: Reflection on Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension: Nonfiction
  • Unit 8: Reading Comprehension Strategies
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Reading Comprehension Strategies
  • Unit 9: Reading Lessons for All Learners
    • Lesson 1: Introductory Scenario: Reading for All
    • Weekly Workshop Assignment D: Reflection on Reading Comprehension Strategies and Reading for All
  • Open All · Close All

Remember…

All students are unique and complex beings. Their prior experiences, interests, and capacities play a role in how they learn. Even though learning to read English follows predictable steps (as you’ll see by reading this module), each child experiences a distinct reading journey. For this reason, some learning activities will be more successful than others, and success for you and your students may not be obvious immediately. It takes time!

Registered users can enroll in this and other modules offered on OPEPP.org and keep track of their progress.

CLICK HERE TO LOGIN / REGISTER
Scroll to Top

Research Based Professional Development