Join us for this five-day institute designed to deepen your knowledge of essential understandings related to the alphabetic system — no matter what program or curriculum you currently use. You’ll explore the characteristics of the English language and examine how the essential understandings grow in complexity over time across grades K-8. You’ll learn how to assess for and plan responsive instruction that goes beyond isolated skill mastery—connecting phonics, vocabulary, and spelling instruction to meaningful literacy learning.  

We’ll look at the role of explicit teaching and organized, inquiry-based learning, helping students to notice how words work and develop their curiosity about language. Through direct, systematic phonics instruction and word study analysis, students expand their ability to solve words when reading and writing increasingly complex texts.    

Outcomes

• Analyze the relationship between phonics, spelling, and vocabulary, and how these competencies develop over time. 
• Extend understanding of nine key areas of learning: phonological awareness, early literacy concepts, letter knowledge, letter–sound relationships, spelling patterns, high-frequency words, vocabulary, word structure, and word-solving strategies. 
• Examine the significance of word consciousness and strategies for cultivating students’ awareness and curiosity about words. 
• Develop expertise in delivering direct, systematic, evidence-based, and inquiry-driven instruction that deepens understanding of word learning processes. 
• Differentiate word study instruction to address diverse learner profiles, including multilingual students and those requiring additional support.