Science of Reading: Structured Literacy Foundations for All Educators, PreK–12 • 3 Credits • UMass Global

Course Description:

Something remarkable is happening in reading education. Across the country — in more than forty states and counting — schools are returning to what decades of research tell us about how children actually learn to read. This course is your complete, teacher-friendly guide to that science: what it says, why it matters, and exactly what to do with it in your classroom.

Science of Reading: Structured Literacy Foundations for All Educators walks you through the full arc of evidence-based reading instruction — how the brain builds its reading circuitry, why phonemic awareness and systematic phonics form the foundation, how fluency, vocabulary, and background knowledge power comprehension, how to recognize and support struggling readers (including students with characteristics of dyslexia), and how to bring structured literacy into any grade level or content area. Every module translates the research into plain language and practical moves you can use Monday morning.

You'll finish with your own Literacy Action Plan — a personalized, step-by-step roadmap for bringing the science of reading to the students you serve, whatever your role and wherever you teach.

What You'll Learn:

• How the Reading Brain Works: Why reading isn't natural the way spoken language is — and why that makes skilled teaching so powerful. You'll master the Simple View of Reading and Scarborough's Reading Rope, two research-validated frameworks that explain exactly what skilled reading requires.
• Phonemic Awareness & Systematic Phonics: The difference between phonological awareness, phonemic awareness, and phonics — and how explicit, systematic instruction, paired with decodable texts, builds confident word-readers from the very first lessons.
• Fluency, Vocabulary & Comprehension: How to build the bridge from decoding to deep understanding, with evidence-based routines for fluency practice, vocabulary that sticks, and knowledge-rich comprehension instruction.
• Recognizing & Supporting Struggling Readers: What dyslexia is (and isn't), how screening and progress monitoring work, and how MTSS layers support so every reader gets what they need — all through a strengths-based lens that honors every learner's capability.
• Structured Literacy Across the Curriculum: The six principles of structured literacy and how to weave them into every subject and grade level — including support for multilingual and diverse learners — plus your own step-by-step Literacy Action Plan.

Why Educators Love This Course:

• Practical From Day One: Every concept connects to real classroom application — concrete strategies, sample routines, and ready-to-use tools you can bring to your students immediately.
• Hopeful and Strengths-Based: This course reframes reading difficulty the way the science does — not as something wrong with a child, but as skills we can name, assess, and strengthen, with dignity at the center.
• Flexible and Teacher-Friendly: 100% self-paced and online. Complete modules anytime, anywhere — no meetings, no start dates, no due dates.
• Grounded in Research, Written for Real Classrooms: Built on the findings of the National Reading Panel and current structured literacy scholarship — explained in warm, plain language, never jargon.

Transform Your Teaching:

Whether you teach PreK or 12th grade, reading intervention or high-school history, this course will change how you see every reader in front of you. You'll understand what's happening when reading clicks, what to do when it doesn't, and how to be the confident, informed advocate your students need.

You don't need to be working with students right now to participate fully — classroom teachers, specialists, coaches, counselors, administrators, and educators between roles are all welcome and supported.

Enroll Today:

Earn 3 graduate-level credits (45 hours) while building the literacy knowledge every educator deserves. Teachers across the country are stepping into the science of reading — step in feeling equipped, hopeful, and ready.

Self-Paced, Quiz-Based, and Completely Online

No portfolios, no lengthy papers, and no scheduled meetings. Check your understanding with short, retakable quizzes, connect with fellow educators in friendly discussion boards, and complete one short, practical written piece — your own Literacy Action Plan. With no start dates and no due dates, you can begin whenever you like and work at your own pace.

To Enroll in This Course:

Start by completing the $165 registration using the enroll button on this page. That creates your For Teachers By Teachers (FTBT) account and gives you immediate access to your online classroom. You can begin anytime and work at your own pace.

✶ Want 3 graduate-level university credits through UMass Global? Inside the classroom you'll find simple step-by-step instructions for UMass Global's separate $190 credit registration. Everything you need — the direct link, course code, and payment steps — is waiting for you after you enroll, and you're welcome to complete that step later, even after finishing the course. You'll have 12 months from your UMass Global registration to complete the course. These credits appear on an official university transcript and may support salary advancement or license renewal, depending on your state, district, and licensing agency's policies.

University credit issued by UMass Global — a regionally accredited university partner.