Ready, Set, Read!

Learn how a child becomes literate from the moment of birth. This course allows you to explore the development of reading and writing from infancy to early school years as you discover what problems to look for and how to assist struggling young readers.

Details
Syllabus
Requirements
Instructor
Reviews

Enrollment Options

$125.00 USD

Select a start date for the course below:

Instructor-Moderated

6 Weeks Access

Study online with Instructor moderated discussion boards.

April 15, 2026

May 13, 2026

June 17, 2026

July 15, 2026

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$125.00 USD

Instructor-Moderated

Select a Start Date

Details

Take this opportunity to find out how children really learn to read and write. Explore current research that cuts through the media messages about reading wars and the right way to teach children. Learn by reading stories about children, doing interactive assignments, and exploring the latest in parent and childcare information. You will see everyday children's play with a new eye as you understand how play can connect to literacy.

You'll learn how a child becomes literate from the moment of birth. First, you'll investigate the many things a child's growing mind must do to make sense of the written word and create writing. From there, you'll explore the development of reading and writing from infancy to the early school years. You'll know what problems to look for and how to assist a struggling reader. You will see how you can boost literacy growth during daily routines and child's play.

Gain confidence in your ability to guide a child's literacy development, and take pleasure in seeing how even the littlest events can lead to really big steps in reading and writing success.

Note: To receive 25 hours of instruction in the State of Oregon, please ensure your school is eligible to issue professional development units, and that the course is approved by your professional learning coordinator.

Syllabus

Lesson 1 - Introduction to Literacy

In our first lesson, I'll introduce you to the course philosophy and our objectives. Then I'll provide examples and anecdotes to show you some of the many ways we all interact with reading in our daily lives. We'll explore the history of reading instruction so that you'll understand where research has taken us.

Lesson 2 - Language Development

Just as a child communicates with us before using words, young children initiate many literacy-related activities before they actually read and write. In this lesson, I'll reveal the language skills that have the greatest impact on a child becoming a successful reader and writer. You'll end this lesson with a new understanding of the complexities of language development. You'll also see any child's language skills in a new light.

Lesson 3 - Sounds and Symbols

We all get excited when children learn their ABCs. But what role does this skill play in becoming a reader and writer? And what does it really mean to know your ABCs? Today we'll uncover the differences between rote memory, knowledge of sounds and symbols, phonemic awareness, and how all these things come together for the early reader.

Lesson 4 - Attention and Literacy

While attention and literacy may seem like big words for little people, the way a child's brain is attending to print in his world has a huge impact on reading, writing, and learning. In today's lesson, you'll learn about different types of attention and the importance of having an organized thinking system in order to learn about print. These discoveries may shed some light on your thinking, too!

Lesson 5 - Memory and Literacy

Today you'll discover what's happening when a child works to store information in memory. By the end of this lesson, you'll realize how important it is to store information in some sort of order, and also how to get things out of memory again once they're put away. You'll then be able to watch a young reader with a new awareness of how this skill impacts her success.

Lesson 6 - Comprehension and Literacy

You'll understand what understanding is all about in today's lesson. How does a child make sense of what you read to him or what he reads to himself? In this lesson, we'll explore the many skills a child needs to understand text. Just because a child can say a word doesn't mean he knows the word when reading it. After this lesson, you'll know why!

Lesson 7 - Birth Through Age Two

While we'd never want or expect a child under two to read, much pre-literacy work goes on during the early years before a child is really even talking. In today's lesson, you'll learn how infants grow to become readers. We'll explore the many emerging literacy processes that occur during the first two years of life. Then I'll fill you in on numerous activities that you can do during this period to build literacy skills. Put away the flashcards—these activities are way more fun!

Lesson 8 - Ages Three and Four

Today we'll explore the sequence of skills that brings toddlers and preschoolers to the threshold of becoming true readers and writers. You'll learn why you should read that favorite story one more time, with enthusiasm! In fact, once you understand how much this repetition is helping your child's literacy, you'll want to read it a dozen more times. I'll provide examples of pre-writing and reading in this lesson, too.

Lesson 9 - Kindergarten and Beyond

Research shows that we all learn literacy skills in pretty much the same order. In today's lesson, I'll show you that order, and then I'll explain why it's okay if your child doesn't meet these milestones by a specific age. This lesson will guide you through the evolution of reading and writing letters, words, sentences, and then complex ideas.

Lesson 10 - Becoming a Fluent Reader

How do all of these pieces come together to produce an able reader? By the end of this lesson, you'll know what fluency looks like when a young child is successfully reading. We'll also look ahead to a child's future growth. Literacy skills continue to develop so a child can be successful with literacy activities throughout school and life. Today's lesson will help you experience fluent reading through the eyes and mind of a blossoming reader.

Lesson 11 - Becoming a Fluent Writer

Now that you know all about the mental processes and learning sequences that lead to becoming a writer, I'll show you many activities that demonstrate how the complex skill of writing emerges. You'll learn what to watch for and how to assist a child who's becoming a successful scribe.

Lesson 12 - A Word About Disabilities

What's going on when a child isn't reading or writing when you expect him to? By the end of this lesson, you'll know how to assist a child who struggles with literacy learning and how to locate resources for assistance. We'll also discuss learning differences to help you enjoy the strengths of a child who may be a little slower to master reading and writing than her peers.

Requirements

Instructor

Kt (Katie) Paxton is a certified teacher with a Master's Degree in Education focusing on Learning and Technology. She has more than 15 years of classroom experience and has been an online instructor since 2003. She also owned and managed a home daycare for five years and is the author of More Adventures With Kids in San Diego.

Instructor Interaction: The instructor looks forward to interacting with learners in the online moderated discussion area to share their expertise and answer any questions you may have on the course content.

Reviews

Kt Paxton was a wonderful teacher! She always had a reply to my discussion board post by the next day, which was impressive. She also was very quick to answer any question I had about the course or if I was unclear on an assignment. I would like to take another class that she teaches.

Wonderful course. I am already a teacher, so this course validated some of the things I already knew and updated me on some new information. I felt the lessons proved to be interesting and I liked how the instructor used frequent examples and stories, instead of just feeding us straight information

This course was thorough and up-to-date and addressed many of the issues I, as an English teacher, face with my middle and high school grades' struggling students. Since I began taking the course, I have been noticing some of the struggles that my readers face and I feel that I am better able to boost them over the hurdle they encounter. I have recommended this course to others.

This was my first online course and I really enjoyed it. The instructor was very prompt and helpful in discussions, which helped make a personal connection. The content was very relevant to me personally and I would definitely take an online course again.

Kt was an exceptional teacher. This course was interesting and I thoroughly enjoyed the challenges of the quizzes. The final exam was right on target, it covered everything that I learned in this course. Every thing was done well. I would definitely take another class from Kt.

This was one of the best classes I have taken. I can't believe how much I learned, I was able to use the information right away. Thank you for this course!

I found this to be the best ed2go class that I've taken. It required critical thinking on my part, rather than just parroting what was said in the actual lesson. In addition, the links provided at the end of each lesson were up to date and useful. I appreciated that the teacher did not try to sound like she was speaking to us and expect rhetorical answers. Great class!

The course is great! The instructor was helpful and her tone was encouraging. The content was well-sequenced and provided excellent examples and connections. I would highly recommend this course and enjoyed taking it.

Enjoyable course and helped me strengthen my skills to enhance my job working with preschoolers, promoting emergent literacy. Thank you.

Valuable information presented in a thorough manner, with excellent assignments to build knowledge, and extremely useful supplemental materials. I would recommend this to beginning and seasoned teachers alike. I came away with a more orderly understanding of the development of literacy and many new ideas to implement in my classroom.