Wilson® Professional Training

Wilson Reading System® Introductory Course

Details This 16.5-hour course provides participants with an overview of the Wilson Reading System® (WRS) and serves as the prerequisite for WRS Level I Certification Training. This course examines the intensive intervention reading instruction necessary for students in grades two and above with persistent and significant phonological-coding deficits. Participants learn about dyslexia (indicators, misconceptions, neurobiological aspects, and prevalence), typical versus atypical reading acquisition, appropriate student identification and placement, and key components and principles of instruction, including the factors necessary for high-quality program implementation. How to teach phonology (including phonemic awareness), morphology, and orthography in an integrated, explicit, systematic, and multisensory way is demonstrated and practiced during the course. Participants explore the standard ten-part WRS Lesson Plan and practice planning, delivering, and individualizing a WRS Lesson while receiving modeling and feedback from a Wilson® Credentialed Trainer (W.C.T.).

Prerequisite None

Duration 3 consecutive days (16.5 hours)

Graduate Credit One graduate credit (optional) is available through Fitchburg State University, Fitchburg, MA, upon completion of course requirements. Please see Process for Graduate Credit for details.

Course Objectives

Upon completion of the course, participants will be able to:

• Define dyslexia and understand its prevalence and impact on the acquisition of reading skills and cognitive processes.
• Explain the process of identifying students with a language-based learning disability, such as dyslexia, or other characteristics that indicate the need for intensive, multisensory instruction with the WRS.
• Understand the Response to Intervention (RTI) model and how to implement it.
• Demonstrate understanding of the key components of WRS instruction: alphabetic knowledge, rapid naming skills/word retrieval, sound-symbol relationships, word identification, accuracy, automaticity, phonology, morphology, orthography, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
• Demonstrate understanding of the WRS principles of instruction: direct, explicit, structured, sequential, integrated, multisensory, synthetic, analytical, diagnostic, prescriptive, mastery/automaticity, cumulative, metacognitive, and emotionally sound.
• Identify the lesson components and procedures for Lesson Block 1 (word study/foundational reading skills), Lesson Block 2 (spelling/foundational writing skills), and Lesson Block 3 (fluency/comprehension) of the WRS Lesson Plan.
• Practice and prepare a ten-part WRS Lesson Plan.