Duration: 2 days
Level: Intermediate
Venue: Singapore University of Social Sciences
Synopsis
As preschools move towards classroom-based differentiated instruction, educators play an increasingly important role in supporting diverse early literacy needs within their classrooms. This course equips and empowers early childhood educators with practical strategies to turn their centre’s curriculum plans into key experiences in the classroom that strengthen the teaching of foundational reading skills. Participants will learn how to develop children’s phonological awareness, introduce phonics effectively, and support early word reading through structured classroom routines. The course also introduces simple ways to recognise early signs of reading difficulty and adjust instruction to support learners who require additional scaffolding. Through hands-on activities and lesson planning exercises, educators will gain practical tools to teach phonics more confidently and build strong reading foundations for young learners.
Who Should Attend
- Early childhood educators teaching Nursery, Kindergarten 1 and Kindergarten 2
- Preschool teachers responsible for early literacy instruction
- Curriculum leaders or senior teachers supporting literacy teaching practices
- Early childhood educators seeking practical strategies to support diverse literacy learning needs
Topics
- Foundations of Early Reading Development
- Introducing 44 Speech Sounds and Mapping Sounds to Spelling
- Supporting Early Word Decoding (Reading) and Encoding (Writing)
- Recognising Early Indicators of Reading Difficulty
- Simple Classroom Checks for Early Literacy Skills
- Differentiating Literacy Instruction: Step-up & Step-down Roadmap in the Classroom
- Lesson Design and Planning Structured Literacy Routines for Preschool Classrooms
Objectives
- To facilitate recognition of early indicators of reading difficulties and identify children who may require additional instructional support.
- To promote implementation of consistent differentiated instructional strategies to support diverse literacy needs within the classroom.
- To enhance design of structured classroom routines that strengthen children’s foundational literacy skills.
Learning Outcomes
A. Knowledge and Understanding (Theory Component)
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Explain the role of phonological awareness and phonics in supporting early reading development in young children.
B. Key Skills (Practical Component)
By the end of this course, participants should be able to:
- Apply classroom activities that develop children’s ability to identify and manipulate sounds in spoken words.
- Analyse simple classroom observations or checks to identify children who may be at risk of early reading difficulties.
- Design and adapt literacy routines to support learners with varying levels of reading readiness in preschool classrooms.
Schedule
| Time | Agenda |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | |
| 09:00 - 09:30 | Course Overview & Learning Expectations |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | 44 Speech Sounds |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Break |
| 10:45 – 11.45 | Foundations of Early Reading and Writing |
| 11:45 – 12:15 | Practice Session 1: Mapping Sounds to Spelling (regular spelling) |
| 12:15 – 13:15 | Lunch |
| 13:15 – 14:15 | Common Graphemes and Spelling Patterns |
| 14:15 – 15:15 | Segmenting: Supporting Early Word Encoding (Writing) |
| 15:15 – 15:30 | Break |
| 15:30 – 16:30 | Blending: Supporting Early Word Decoding (Reading) |
| 16:30 – 17:00 | Practice Session 2: Segmenting and Blending |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Practice Session 3: Mapping sounds to spelling (regular and irregular spelling) |
| Day 2 | |
| 09:00 – 09:30 | Recap & Reflection |
| 09:30 – 10:30 | Simple Classroom Checks to Recognise Early Signs of Reading Difficulty |
| 10:30 – 10:45 | Break |
| 10:45 – 12:00 | Differentiating Literacy Instruction: Step-up & Step-down Roadmap in the Classroom Skill 1-Speech Sounds (Step-up/down + Tier 1,2,3 sample class routines) |
| 12:00 – 13:00 | Lunch |
| 13:00 – 13:45 | Skill 2: Segmenting and Encoding (Step-up/down + Tier 1,2,3 sample class routines) |
| 13:45 – 14:30 | Skill 3: Blending and Decoding (Step-up/down + Tier 1,2,3 sample class routines) |
| 14:30 – 15:30 | Group Project: Lesson Design and Course Integration |
| 15:30 – 15:45 | Break |
| 15:45 – 17:00 | Assessment |
| 17:00 – 17:30 | Debrief |
Assessments
- Group Practical Demonstration
Requirements
- Have a basic understanding of child development and early childhood pedagogy through their educational background, professional role, or industry, and
- Have experience working in early childhood education settings. 1-2 years of prior experience teaching Language and Literacy to Nursery, Kindergarten 1 or 2 is recommended.
About the Trainer
Serena Park, MSc (Early Childhood Education) has over 23 years of experience in early childhood education, teaching in both private and public preschool settings in Singapore. Trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach, she has spent the past 15 years studying, adapting and implementing a range of phonics programmes in classroom contexts. Her work is currently aligned with research from the Science of Reading, focusing on evidence-based approaches to early literacy instruction. Ms Park has designed literacy curricula and coached educators in strengthening phonological awareness, phonics instruction and early word reading and writing skills in preschool classrooms. She has also led teams of educators in developing greater confidence and competence in teaching literacy. With the evolving early childhood education landscape, her work focuses on capacity building for educators, equipping teachers with practical, research-informed strategies and classroom routines that support the development of strong foundational literacy skills.
Application Procedures
Please submit the following documents to [email protected]:
- Coloured copy (back and front) of NRIC for Singaporeans and PRs, or "Employment"/"S"
Pass for foreign applicant
- Application form
Course Fee
1 Mid-Career Enhanced Subsidy:
Singaporeans aged 40 and above may enjoy subsidies up to 90% of the course
fees.
2 Enhanced Training Support
for SMEs: SME-sponsored employees (Singaporean Citizens and PRs) aged 21
and above may enjoy subsidies up to 90% of the course fees.
- Participants are required to achieve at least 75% attendance and pass any prescribed examinations/assessments or submit any course/project work (if any) under the course requirement.
- Participants are required to complete all surveys and feedbacks related to the course.
- The course fees are reviewed annually and may be revised. The University reserves the right to adjust the course fees without prior notice.
- Singapore University of Social Sciences reserves the right to amend
and/or revise the above schedule without prior notice.
For the various payment modes, please refer here.
Course Withdrawal and Refund
Request for withdrawal from a course must be submitted to SUSS Academy formally in writing.
- Course Withdrawal before Application Close Date: No charges.
- Course Withdrawal after course confirmation: 50% of the full course fee with an administration fee imposed.
- Course Withdrawal after the course commences: Full course fee applies.
For clarification, please contact the SUSS Academy via the following:
Telephone: +65 6248 0263
Email: [email protected]